Because elliptical trainers are fairly new to the home fitness market, there aren't as many consumer reviews on them as you can find on some of the other home fitness equipment that is sold online. But there is enough to help identify some of the best models that are available for purchase. As we looked over these reviews, here are the top results that we found.

First of all, it's important to note that most reviewers feel that the low cost budget part of the elliptical trainer field is seriously lacking in overall quality. That's why many reviewers encourage spending at least $2000 in order to get a really high quality machine. Of course, the very best units are commercial machines that you will find in most gyms. But they usually start around $5,000 in price, so when looked at from that perspective, $2000 is not so much to spend. With that in mind, here are two elliptical trainer models that we found were usually rated very highly:

1.The Precor EFX 5.19 - this elliptical trainer comes very highly recommended by many, and sells for about $2400. It has a lot to offer though, including an adjustable incline and a child's safety feature to prevent accidental start-ups. It's said to be very quiet and had a solid stable feel. Some of the lower-priced Precor models are also very good machines but they lack the handlebars for an upper body workout. We think that is very important, and so could not recommend those lower-priced machines instead. The only thing that this machine could use in our opinion is an included heart rate monitor. At this point, you have to pay extra for one, and the costs is around $150. Still, overall this is a very fine machine that should provide years of quality service.

2. The Life Fitness X3i - this trainer is also another very highly recommended model, and it generally sells for $2600 or so. It's especially highly rated for ease-of-use and ergonomics, and it's build quality is superior in every way. It also has movable handlebars to give you a complete and thorough upper body workout, but unfortunately you also have to buy the heart rate monitor as an extra on this machine, and that can cost up to $200. But lots of reviewers and consumers are very positive in their comments on this elliptical trainer, and that is a very good sign. Both of these elliptical machines can take up quite a bit of room, so be sure that you have the space to be able to accommodate them before you buy. Actually either one would be a fine choice to make.

There are several other highly rated elliptical trainer machines as well, but we could not include them all in this article. But hopefully, the models that we have mentioned above will work well for you too, as they have for so many other people. As with most other home fitness equipment, we recommend that you use them and try them out in person before you make your final decision.

Thad Pickering writes on many consumer related topics including fitness. You can find the best elliptical trainer and best elliptical machine by visiting our Home Fitness website.