I really enjoy trying out new kitchen faucets, and I've installed ~35 of them in the past six years. As for my preferences, American Standard falls behind Moen, Grohe, and Delta. I've installed (if memory serves) five of their faucets so far, and they've all been sturdy yet not as refined feeling/looking as the other brands at the same price point. I will say that this is probably the best American Standard faucet that I've tried out so far, though. I really like the aesthetics of it. Installation is straightforward and simple. At least, just about as simple as kitchen faucet installs go. The hardest part might be getting your older faucet removed if it's been installed for a long time, as it might be difficult to loosen up the nuts underneath of the sink. As for installation of this faucet, it is easier if you have a helper to hold the faucet upright while you screw on the locking collar underneath, but I do that myself all of the time. (A trick for the less experienced is to wrap something soft like a towel around the faucet to prevent it from hitting your sink if it falls over while you're working under the sink.) Once your old faucet is removed, you just insert the water lines and the base of the faucet through the hole in your sink, route the locking collar (and seal and washer) over the water lines and then screw it on to the threaded base of the faucet. Once that's all tighten up, you attach the hot and cold water lines to your main valves, attach the hose for the pull-down spout to a quick-connect attachment near the base of the faucet, put on the hose weight, and then that's pretty much it. Please note that this does not come with a deck plate, so it will only cover one hole in your sink. If you're replacing a faucet that used three holes or had a deck plate that covered the two side holes, you'll need to get an optional deck plate or (like me) get hole covers. I found some PVC hole covers on Amazon that push through the holes and have nuts that screw on from underneath for about $10, and they match the color of my sink. This faucet really does feel sturdy to me. The pull-down spout is plastic, like almost every faucet these days. The weight on the hose gives it the illusion of being heavier, though, so it doesn't feel lightweight or cheap. The handle has me torn - the movement is very smooth, which is awesome, but it moves so smoothly that it actually feels like a cheaper cartridge than other faucets. My instinct is that the ceramic cartridge is a high quality one, but it just feels different to me. That said, it's very easy to adjust the handle in terms of water flow and temperature. It's also a comfortable shape for a handle. The high-neck design is also a preference of mine. I like the additional clearance for pots and pans, and the pull-down spout is so convenient. In addition to being able to toggle between stream and spray, you can pause the water flow right from the spout - that's a big deal (at least to me). As an example, if you want to fill a bucket full of water, you can turn on the water via the handle and then stop the water flow using your hand on the spout as you guide it to the bucket. This avoid getting water all over. I've always loved that pause feature on faucets that have it, and miss is on those that don't have it. I find the quality to be just fine. The hoses all seem pretty standard and well made, the body of the faucet is well done, and the spout is standard. If this was my first upgrade from my original contractor-grade Moen faucet, I'd be extremely happy with it. However, it's not my first new faucet. In this price range (currently $332 as I type this), I can get a Moen Arbor with equally nice features (including the pause button) in a much nicer surface finish (their Spot Resist Stainless, which I think is amazing) for over $100 less. Yes, the aesthetics are different, and you might not like the Arbor...but there are others. That's my main reason for giving it four stars. That said, if you like the looks of this faucet and like American Standard hardware, I certainly wouldn't try to talk you out of it. It's a nice faucet.
