Hello Zuphil77
I understand your concerns, I had the same ones at first! But I can assure you that this blender was my best purchase ever! I looked at this exact blender on various sites, read the reviews and then decided to buy it. I assume that there will probably be a new model soon that will replace this blender. However, I also bought my WMF blender in a Galaxus sale and am mega happy. I make smoothies every day, have already made various pestos and almond "powder" for my macarons.
Conclusion = there is no catch ;-) and performance IS top