we have a whirlpool frontloader and I love it. Like Jennifer's you are able to pause the machine during certain stages and the door will unlock after a minute or so. The cycle I use takes about the same amount of time as our old machine, and has a couple of different rinse options which I like, as I use the intensive rinse to wash DD's clothes.
It was very affordable when we got it as The Good Guys were having a 15% off sale anyway, plus we got $150 back from the government for buying a 'water saving' machine, plus Whirlpool sent us a year's supply (8 boxes) of washing powder - we've only used half of it and it's probably about 8 or 9 months since we bought it.