Automatic open and close seats, custom music selections, built in sanitizers and deodorizers, heated seats, air dryers, feet warmers and softly illuminated panels. This sounds more like an options list for a new luxury car but it is in fact the feature list for some very fancy toilets, yes I wrote that correctly…toilets. There have been high end toilets manufactured by Kohler, Duravit, American Standard and Toto in the marketplace for quite some time, however the toilets contained in this article are of a new breed, in a class all by themselves. We call them Ultra Premium Toilets and suffice to say these aren’t your parents Kohler San Raphaels. There are millions pinching pennies across the globe but the market for these Ultra Premium Toilets continues to grow. Here are the three (3) Ultra Premium Toilets from the biggest manufacturers, Toto, Inax and Kohler. You’ll be amazed at the technology used in manufacturing these truly golden thrones. These regal receptacles are not for the faint of heart, most start in the $4,000.00 range. Pick yourself off the floor you’ve got work to do, save up, impress your friends and we hope you enjoy.

Toto Neorest

We will start with the grandaddy of them all the Toto Neorest. The Toto Neorest introduced the Ultra Premium segment to the market, being introduced in 2004. The current line-up of Neorest toilets come in three different models the 500, 550 and 600. Please don’t misunderstand the models, each one has virtually the same feature list. The only differences are in the ascetics. The 600 has the largest footprint with a clearly defined tank, the 550 is the

most compact. In fact the seat and cover appear to blend in with the entire face of the toilet. Finally the 500 is a combination of the two, it has a compact design but a more transitional look. Truth be told they all look fairly similar except for the fulcrum point of the seat and cover. Each model comes in three (3) colors Cotton (White), Colonial White (White) and Sedona Beige (Biscuit). As a side note Toto’s whites are a little wonky, they are both white but they are different shades so if you are mixing fixture manufacturers be sure you pick the right one. Colonial White works best with American Standard white and cotton works best with the rest. Here is a feature list common to all three:

Front and Rear Cleansing. (I don’t think I have to explain do I?)

Adjustable Heated Water for Cleansing

Air Deodorizer

Heated Seat

Heated Air Dryer

Soft Close Seat and Lid

Automatic Open and Close Seat

Seat Sensor

Automatic Flush

Remote Control Seat, Cover and Flush

Anti Bacterial Coating

**Optional Music

Kohler Numi

The next ultra premium commode we will talk about

is the Kohler “Numi”. It is the newest entry to the ultra premium toilet family and the most polarizing as well. Because of the Numi’s extremely contemporary design it’s not for everyone but in the right bathroom it will be the centerpiece as every throne should be. The first thing you’ll notice is the toilet’s bold lines, it is all right angles. There isn’t a curve in sight to soften the fixture’s look and the illuminated side panels further differentiate it’s look from any other toilet on the market. When the automatic lid and seat is engaged it looks like a hard top convertible retracting, very cool stuff. If you want a toilet that looks like no other and has a color LCD IR controler the Numi is for you. The only color this toilet comes in is white. Here are the standard list of features you’ll get if you plunk down 4k on this bad dog.

Front and Rear Cleansing.

Adjustable Heated Water for Cleansing

Air Deodorizer/Neutralizer (Air is pulled through a charcoal filter to neutralize odor rather than cover it up.)

Heated Seat

Heated Air Dryer

Soft Close Seat and Lid

Motion Activated Automatic Open and Close Seat

Feet Warmer (There are vents located at the floor level that will blow heated air on your feet on cold winter nights.

Illuminated Panels for a Soft Warm Glow

Automatic Flush

Color LCD Remote to Control, Seat/Cover, Flush, Water and Air Temp, Music etc.

Anti Bacterial Coating

MP3/Ipod Dock or FM Stations. (Adjustable Sound Controls)

INAX Satis and Regio

Finally we have the INAX line of Ultra Premium Toilets. Most of our readers are probably

not familiar with the brand so we’ll give you a brief run down. INAX as a company has been around since 1924 however they didn’t start out as a sanitary fixture manufacturer. They built their first manufacturing facility with the guidance of Frank Lloyd Wright to build terracotta and ceramic tiles for the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. Since then they have obviously expanded and diversified into sanitary fixtures. INAX now offers several lines of premium toilets, lavatories and faucets that keep sustainability in mind without sacrificing high style. From a design standpoint INAX is clearly transitional bordering on contemporary taking design cues from TOTO while remaining entirely unique. We can confidently say that there are no finer toilets made in the world.

Enough about the company, more about the models right? INAX makes two different models of Ultras, the Satis and the Regio and although they are similar each serves a purpose with design cues and footprint. The Satis has a compact design that is rounded in

the front and fully skirted to hide the trapway. The front of the lid to the back of the tank is rather flat having just a slight taper upward to the back, the lid closes over of the seat really unifying the bowl with the cover. The Satis uses the water saving dual flush (1.32GPF/0.92GPF) siphon vortex. It is the more water stingy of the two. The Regio is the real looker here, it also has a skirted trapway but instead of it being round it is more squared off in the front and it rises at a more dramatic angle from the front of the toilet to the back of the tank. The Regio is a more transitional look but would fit well in any bathroom and serve as it’s centerpiece. The Regio uses a 1.6GPF silent flush mechanism and just like the description it’s virtually soundless, so no more waking your spouse up at night. So here is how these two toilets stack up against each other with respect to each other.

Satis Regio Front and rear cleaning (Dual Nozzles) Front and rear cleaning (Dual Nozzles) Adjustable Heated Water for Cleansing Adjustable Heated Water for Cleansing Water Message Function Water Message Function Plasma Cluster Odor Elminator Technology by Sharp (It’s basically an Ionizer and it is the most effective odor eliminator in its class) Plasma Cluster Odor Elminator Technology by Sharp (It’s basically an Ionizer and it is the most effective odor eliminator in its class) Adjustable Heated Seat Adjustable Heated Seat Heated Air Dryer Heated Air Dryer Soft Close Seat and Lid Soft Close Seat and Lid Fully Automatic Motion Activated Open and Close Seat and Lid Fully Automatic Motion Activated Open and Close Seat and Lid Automatic Flush Automatic Flush Soft Bowl Light (Interior bowl is filled with a soft glow) Soft Bowl Light (Interior bowl is filled with a soft glow) Wall Mounted Controller Wall Mounted Controller Hyper Clean Anti Microbial (Combination of Ultra Hard Surfaces with Silver Ion) Hyper Clean Anti Microbial (Combination of Ultra Hard Surfaces with Silver Ion) Proguard Antibacterial Surfaces. Music Features (Relaxing Elevator Music Can be Played Through an Embedded Speaker or You Can Play Your Own Music with an SD Card) Music Features (Relaxing Elevator Music Can be Played Through an Embedded Speaker or You Can Play Your Own Music with an SD Card)

Well we hope you enjoyed the article. Make no mistake you can’t lose…….well you’ll part with some hard earned dough but they are all truly innovative plumbing fixtures. So sit on the throne of your choice with comfort knowing you are in elite company.