Sometimes you just want the best in life. In a vacuum, that’s going to be a Miele–perhaps a Complete C3 Brilliant or a Complete C3 Marin. In a kitchen floor, that’ll mean ceramic or porcelain tile. And in a freestanding range, that’s going to be a Viking stainless steel range. They’re expensive, but their quality is virtually unmatched throughout the cooking industry, with few competitors beyond Wolf and Vulcan.

Today we’ll review one of their 48″ double oven gas ranges in the Viking Professional 5 Series, the VGCC5488BSS Viking Stainless Steel 48″ Custom Sealed Burner Range, and compare it to the VGCC5486GSS 48″ range to see which offers better value and performance. Our thoughts are to buy the VGCC5488BSS 8-burner range if you want as many burners as possible and the VGCC5486GSS 6-burner range if you also frequently make pancakes, crèpes, quesadillas, or other dishes that require griddles for preparation. Aside from this, both ranges are identical and are two of the best double oven ranges money can buy. Our full review is below, and you can buy the Viking VGCC5488BSS here in the United States.

Pros, cons, and key features of the Viking 48″ VGCC5488BSS Gas Range

The VGCC5488BSS 48″ stainless steel gas range, like the VGCC5486GSS 48″ range, is manufactured in Leflore County by Greenwood, Mississippi-based Viking Range Corporation. The company has earned an unmatched reputation for quality, refinement, and performance, delivering professional-grade kitchen appliances to homes across the United States and Canada for decades. Beyond their gas and liquid propane (LP) ranges, they’ve expanded their empire to range tops, range hoods, dishwashers, wine coolers, and refrigerators. Every Viking appliance is clad in stainless steel and commands a premium in the home appliance market that few brands can aspire to. Today we’ll take a look at what sets the VGCC5488BSS apart from most competitors on paper.

The VGCC5488BSS is a double oven range. The primary oven, located on the right, is 30″ wide with a 4 cubic foot capacity and generates 30,000 BTU in a convection oven with a U-shaped burner as well as an infrared broiler. The secondary oven on the left is 18″ wide with a 2.1 cubic foot capacity and generates 15,000 BTU. The total oven capacity is 6.1 cubic feet. Above the ovens you’ll find 8 burners arranged in two rows. The front right burner is the most powerful at 18,500 BTUs while the remaining 7 burners generate 15,000 BTUs each. Each burner includes an automatic re-ignition system for safety in case of accidental extinguishing situations and all burners can be lowered to a few hundred BTUs for extra-low power simmer options. The range is powered by natural gas by default, but you can convert it to liquid propane as needed. Construction is primarily heavy-gauge stainless steel aside from the cast iron grates and black porcelain interior. The range includes 2 years of full warranty coverage and 5 years of limited coverage for the gas burners. The entire unit is 47-7/8″ wide, 37″ tall, and 28-11/16″ deep, and the shipping weight is approximately 575 pounds. Make no mistake, this is a big range.

How easy is it to use, control, and cook with the VGCC5488BSS?

To put it simply, the VGCC5488BSS is a work of art. The knobs turn smoothly and light effortlessly. Cooking is a minimal, focused, almost spiritual experience. The range is nearly devoid of electronic components; nearly every feature is controllable through manual knobs and switches. You aren’t setting clocks, programming timers, syncing anything with your smart phone; you’re simply cooking.

This not only leads to a nearly seamless connection between you, the range, and your cooking vision; it also results in a nearly immortal appliance. There’s nearly nothing to break; it doesn’t use an electronic circuit board, making it nearly impervious to planned obsolescence through electronic brain damage. Food cooks quickly and evenly, whether on any of the powerful and quiet burners or in either of the two ovens. There’s no other way to say it: this is a professional machine for professional results.

What’s the difference between the Viking VGCC5488BSS and the VGCC5486GSS 48″ ranges?

The only difference between the VGCC5488BSS and VGCC5486GSS 48″ double oven ranges is the configuration of burners and griddles on the range top. To put it simply, if you want all 8 burners on the range, get the VGCC5488BSS; if you’d rather have a 15,000 BTU griddle burner instead of 2 15,000 BTU brass sealed burners, get the VGCC5486GSS. Aside from the burner arrangements, the ranges are effectively identical. Technically, the GSS weighs around 10 pounds more than the BSS, but when both weigh almost 600 pounds, you’re not going to notice those 10 pounds.

Why buy the Viking VGCC5488BSS 48″ stainless steel gas range?

To bring our thoughts to a close, if you’re looking for a cross between an oven and a smart phone, the Viking 48″ stainless steel range isn’t for you. If you don’t mind replacing your appliances every few years, there are cheaper options on the market. And if you don’t really enjoy cooking or baking, you don’t need a Viking. But if you love to create in your kitchen, if you want technology that is as durable as it is beautiful, and if you simply have a passion for cooking and want nothing to stand in your way when you step into the kitchen, there are few ranges better on Earth than the Viking 48″ 8-burner range. Our main recommendation would be to consider the 6-burner+griddle range instead if you frequently make use of a griddle in your current cooking style. Either machine will serve you well for decades.

Is it worth paying extra for Amazon’s professional expert installation with the Viking VGCC5488BSS?

Finally, regardless of whether you buy the VGCC5488BSS or the VGCC5486GSS, we’d strongly suggest using the “include installation” option when you buy it from Amazon (which we also recommend due to the fact that they’ll give you fast shipping on a 600-pound appliance. The expert installation will cost a few hundred dollars more but it will give you a fast, safe, and error-free installation by trained professionals; they’ll also remove and responsibly dispose of your existing range when installing your Viking. When investing in a multi-thousand dollar appliance that you want to last in pristine condition for decades, the last thing you want to do is drop it or install it incorrectly because you wanted to save a few dollars here or there. Get it done correctly and enjoy your Viking for as long as you find joy in cooking–which, if other Viking owners are correct, will probably be for the rest of your life.

You can buy the Viking VGCC5488BSS 8-burner 48″ professional gas range here on Amazon or buy the VGCC5486GSS 48″ range if you want the griddle instead of the 2 additional burners.

Canadians, unfortunately, neither Viking range is readily available. However, you can buy a substitute 48″ range, the Thor Kitchen HRG4804U 6-burner range with double oven, here.

If you find our research on PMC helpful, you can follow our efforts to keep maniacally reviewing home appliances by shopping through our links above. We promise to keep fighting the good fight against every horror children, animals, and grown, yet messy humans can inflict upon a clean home.