Tower T17025 Compact 1.5L Air Fryer review

One-minute review

The Tower T17025 Vortx Compact 1.5L Air Fryer is a small, affordable and effective air fryer that’s a good option for small kitchens and small meals. Limited capacity makes it unsuitable for frying entire family feasts – we found that two average portions of chunky chips filled the entire basket – but it’s a good option for making sides or foods such as chicken wings, roasted vegetables or fish. Unlike larger models, however, it doesn’t require much cupboard or countertop space.

As you’d expect of an appliance at this price, the Tower doesn’t arrive packed with fancy features or the ability to turn its hand to other kinds of cooking. It’s largely well designed – although the text size on the temperature dial is difficult to read – and it’s easy to use and quick to clean. However, its compact form also means it’s all too easy to overcrowd the basket, and if you do so – blocking the side vents in the basket (unlike some other similar fryers, the basket here is only mesh on its underside) – then you’ll block airflow and end up with uneven results. When the airflow isn’t impeded, however, the results are good. 

If you’re looking to get the best air fryer (opens in new tab) you can find on a budget, and prioritise a small footprint above all else, then this is a decent option. However, if you can spare a little more space then models just above it in Tower’s range are more powerful – 1,400W compared to 900W – and have more useful capacity, up from 1.5L here to 4L. And they’re not significantly more expensive, although with Black Friday looming it would always be worth an idea to keep a look out for any emerging Black Friday air fryer deals (opens in new tab) to save some more money.