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Tower Elite 11-Liter Flexi Drawer Air Fryer: 30-second review
The Tower Elite 11-Liter Flexi Drawer Air Fryer offers up a huge cooking capacity at a price which undercuts pretty much any other serious contender on the market. If you’re looking for capacity and flexibility bang-for-your-buck, look no further.
Is this the best air fryer out there? Not exactly, but for families on a budget it’s hard not to recommend Tower’s large basket machine.
Not only can you cook a whole chicken or pizza in this air fryer, it also comes with a handy divider transforming the single drawer into a dual-basket offering, allowing you to cook separate foods, at different temperatures, for different durations, simultaneously — and it works much better than I expected.
It does have a few key competitors including the premium Ninja Foodi FlexDrawer (with a 10.4L basket), and the almost equally affordable Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer (that only has a 7.1L basket), but with the Tower being the cheapest of the trio you’re looking at a unique proposition.
It’s not perfect. The large basket is heavy when fully loaded and is handwash only, while the controls aren’t overly intuitive, and the cooking presets don’t always deliver the results you want.
There is some trial and error required in the cooking process, but once you’ve got a feel for how it cooks, the Tower Elite 11-Liter Flexi Drawer Air Fryer can deliver delicious food, from cakes, to chicken, to fries.
Tower Elite 11-Liter Flexi Drawer Air Fryer: price and availability
- Affordable £119.99 list price, but…
- It’s often reduced to sub-£100, great value for such a large capacity
- Available in the UK, but not in the US or Australia
The Elite 11-Liter Flexi Drawer Air Fryer price is £119.99, although it is regularly discounted making this large capacity cooker even better value.
At time of writing (March 2026), I’m seeing it available for £99.99 on the Tower website, and £89.10 on Amazon, with similar prices at plenty of other third-party retailers.
That’s considerably cheaper than its main, single-drawer, larger capacity competitor, the Ninja Foodi FlexDrawer, which is twice the price of this Tower.
The Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer is closer in price to the Tower, but still costs more and has a smaller cooking capacity.
The Tower Elite 11 air fryer’s list price is equivalent to about $160 / AU$230, but it’s not available in the US or Australia.
Tower Elite 11-Liter Flexi Drawer Air Fryer: specifications
|
Review Model |
T17200 |
|
Number of baskets |
1 (plus a divider) |
|
Number of cooking programs |
8 |
|
Cooking programs |
Steak, drumstick, fish, prawn, fries, pizza, bake, dehydrate |
|
Extra functions |
Smart Finish, Match Cook |
|
Smart control |
No |
|
Wattage |
1700W |
|
Capacity |
11L |
|
Temperature range |
35-200 degrees C |
|
Time range |
1-60 minutes (24 hours for dehydrate) |
|
Dimensions (H x W x D) |
30.5 x 39.2 x 39.8 cm |
|
Dishwasher-safe |
No |
|
Weight |
8kg |
Tower Elite 11-Liter Flexi Drawer Air Fryer: design
- Huge 11-liter basket is great for family meals, and divider provides dual basket flexibility
- Controls and overall look don’t compete with premium air fryers, but that’s expected at this price point
- Basket can be heavy when fully loaded, and it’s handwash only
With its sizable 11-liter basket the Tower Elite 11 Litre Flexi Drawer Air Fryer is, unsurprisingly, wide (39.2cm) and deep (39.8cm).
It can dominate the worktop in smaller kitchens, but its horizontal design (unlike the vertically tall Philips 4000 Series Stacked Dual Basket or Ninja Double Stack) means height is kept to just 30.5cm, allowing it to sit neatly under wall-mounted units, and slide into cupboards when not in use (assuming they’re wide enough).
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The matte grey finish provides a sleek, modern aesthetic, while the large, glossy black front panel adds a splash of space-age to the look.
It’s smart, without pushing the boundaries of air fryer design, and on closer inspection I found areas where Tower has cut corners to keep the price point at a tempting level.
The buttons and dial felt a little cheap under my finger, with some travel and wiggle to them. Clicks don’t feel smooth, and having used premium Philips and Ninja air fryers recently, the lower quality finish here was even more noticeable.
This isn’t a massive negative though, and it’s to be expected at this price point. Plus, overall the air fryer feels sturdy so I don’t worry about long-term use, as long as you’re relatively gentle with the controls.
The main attraction is the massive 11-liter cooking basket though, which slides into the front of the machine, and there’s a reassuring clunk when you correctly interest the basket, letting you know it’s snugly in.
What’s particularly nice is the addition of a removable divider panel which you can slide down the middle of the basket, allowing you to have two separate cooking zones. This gives you the flexibility of a dual drawer air fryer, while also giving you a single larger basket when you want to cook bigger items such as a pizza or a small chicken.
But with great size comes great weight. Fully load the basket, and you’ll find it gets rather heavy. This is especially problematic when cooking has completed and you’re attempting to remove the basket while it’s very hot.
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I found that putting a couple of heat mats directly in front of the air fryer and pulling the basket straight out onto them helped alleviate the tricky maneuvring of the larger basket. It takes a bit of getting used to, but once you’ve cooked a few times with the Tower Elite 11-Liter Flexi Drawer Air Fryer, you should be able to find a process that works for you.
Another small frustration is the basket, grill tray and basket divider are handwash only, meaning you can’t just pop them in the dishwasher. The non-stick coating on these parts means grime comes off easily with a bit of elbow grease, but the size of the basket can be awkward to wash in smaller kitchen sinks.
Tower Elite 11-Liter Flexi Drawer Air Fryer: performance
- Solid all-round cooking performance, but not always perfect
- Basket divider works surprisingly well for dual cooking
- Controls not overly intuitive and take time to get used to
The Tower Elite 11-Liter Flexi Drawer, as its name suggests, offers excellent flexibility in its cooking chamber. It comes with a single base plate which sits across the whole drawer, but also a dividing panel you can slide down the middle to create two separate zones.
I was unsure how this one piece of metal in the middle of the drawer would perform at allowing foods to cook at two different temperatures, but to my surprise it works well.
There are two heating elements in this air fryer — left and right — allowing you to set different temperatures and cooking durations for left and right, and that’s exactly what I did with my veg (carrots and broccoli, thanks for asking) and homemade fries.
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The fries had a much longer cooking time than the veg, and at a higher temperature, but I was able to cook both simultaneously without cremating the vegetables.
I used the vegetable and fries presets for this cook, and while the broccoli cooked well, the carrots and the fries could have done with longer. The carrots were still a little hard, while the fries weren’t as crispy as I would have liked — although they were cooked through.
It’s all part of the trial and error nature of air fryer ownership. It takes time, and several cycles, to understand how types of food cook in a new air fryer, with the details in the instruction manual more of a guide than a hard rule.
I was also able to use the Smart Cook function, where the air fryer will sync the two sides of the drawer to finish at the same time. It’s triggered by selecting the time and temperature for each basket and then pressing the Smart Cook button.
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The only issue is, there’s no visual cue to tell you the mode has been selected until you press start to set the air fryer going. This led to me realizing once cooking had started that I hadn’t set it up properly.
When properly engaged, the digital display on the side with the shorter cooking time displays ‘HOLD’ (but only once you’ve pressed start) until the other side’s cook time decreases and matches, at which point cooking will start for the shorter duration side as well. It’s a useful feature, but one I wish was easier to set up.
The controls aren’t the most intuitive either, and I found myself checking the manual a few times during the first few days to remind myself of the order things need to be set. I’ve found the controls on Ninja and Philips air fryers to be more straight forward.
During cooking I found the sides of the air fryer get the hottest, with my temperature probe reading 38 degrees. That’s not as warm as some air fryers I’ve used, which is good news if you have other appliances or items close by.
Being able to remove the middle partition means you can fit large items into the 11L basket of the Tower Elite 11-Liter Flexi Drawer. There is space for a whole chicken, or in my case a pizza.
Using the dedicated pizza setting (150 degrees C for 12 minutes), it cooked well on top, and the edges were crispy. However that crisp didn’t extend across the whole base, with the middle still a little doughy. I could have left it in for a few more minutes, but I fear the topping would have burnt.
Sliding the partition back in, the Tower Elite impressed when it came to baking. I made a blueberry loaf which rose wonderfully on one side of the basket, while on the other side my chocolate muffins also baked nicely. The muffins didn’t darken on top as much as I expected, but I can confirm they still tasted great.
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With no window on the basket, you’re not able to keep an eye on things while they’re cooking, you have to remove the basket from the air fryer, which pauses the program. This isn’t a surprise considering the affordable nature of the Tower Elite 11 Litre Flexi Drawer, but if you want to see your food while it cooks you’ll need to look at more expensive machines.
I also cooked tempura chicken pieces using the chicken program (200 degrees C for 25 minutes), and these came out with a beautifully crisp batter, while the meat remained succulent on the inside.
The preset programs include a shake reminder, which the air fryer chiming part way through cooking to remind you to shuffle the food in the basket.
Should you buy the Tower Elite 11-Liter Flexi Drawer Air Fryer?
|
Attribute |
Notes |
Rating |
|
Value |
You’ll be hard pressed to find a better value air fryer with the cooking capacity of the Tower Elite 11 Litre Flexi Drawer. |
4.5/5 |
|
Design |
Functional design where the huge basket is the star attraction, along with its clever divider. The basket can get heavy though, and it’s handwash only. |
4/5 |
|
Performance |
Solid cooking performance across all food types, but you need to perfect cooking time and temps as presets don’t always deliver the results you want. |
4/5 |
Buy it if
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Tower Elite 11-Liter Flexi Drawer Air Fryer: also consider
How I tested the Tower Elite 11-Liter Flexi Drawer Air Fryer
- I used the Tower Elite 11 Litre Flexi Drawer for two weeks at home in my kitchen
- I cooked a wide variety of food with it, including chicken, pizza, fries, cakes and vegetables
- I tested the different cooking functions, and the cleaning process
I used the Tower Elite 11 Litre Flexi Drawer for two weeks at home, where I cooked a wide variety of food and meals.
From crispy tempura chicken, homemade and frozen fries, and various vegetables, to baking loafs and muffins, as well as an entire pizza, I ensured this air fryer was put through its paces.
I cooked using the whole basket, just one side with the divider in place, and on both sides, at different temperatures and durations, to experience the full versatility on offer. I tried out a number of the preset cooking options, as well as experimenting with my own settings to improve results.
I even slipped on a pair of marigolds to handwash the basket, tray and divider, as these are not dishwasher safe.
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johnmccannfreelance@gmail.com (John McCann)
