So, Peter, tell me more about the Viking v. Kitchenaid situation.
Last year she replaced the 5qt Kitchenaid mixer that she got as a wedding present (in 2000) with a 7qt Viking one. AFAIK, there was nothing actually wrong with the KA one. She just wanted an upgrade. Fine by me.
The Viking one more appropriately matches the colors in the kitchen, has a bigger bowl, and I see that it has a 1000 watt motor as opposed to the 350 watt motor in the KA. Just as in HT, more watts = better, without question.
But as my wife says, the Viking's larger bowl combined with high wattage motor results in far superior bread dough abilities. I have tasted the results, and she is correct. I'm fairly sure you could put bricks in the bowl and it could turn them into a nice mousse. It handles even the densest doughs without a care in the world. Sort of like an A1400-8 + M80's.
