It's not fair when we're paying over £200 in the UK!
Really strange. Like anyone that has bought a second anything, I've relegated the Zoji I bought a few weeks ago to the second-home and tried the new one. It's the same model but produces different results. Firmer race and better.
Still .... both produce better rice that I did!
Possibly the older the machine, the less effectively it works? I mean, it makes heat, maybe it doesn't get as hot when it's been used a while.
For future rice cooker purchases, on your travels to this part of the world you might consider price comparisons at the local electrical stores (surprise, we have Courts here). Anyway, places using the UK plug are Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. If you know the right replacement cord to use, you can look at the other countries here in Asia. I bought a Panasonic rice cooker in Bangkok, swapped to a local (UK) cord; saved about $35 and works fine.