As far as gas ranges go; I found out the hard way IF you get one , decide before you buy it how much range top burner you need.
I/we got a mid-level one with 1 large burner, 1 middle burner and 2 small burners.
If you do a lot of simmering the small ones are nice; they are as useful as teats on a boar for any thing else.
I used to/do see ranges now with the four burners and and some type of grill/burner in the middle, even if you never use the middle one, it is worth the extra money as on our range, if you are using a 12 inch frying pan, you have room for more than only small pans or pots on the rest of the range. (ALSO, the size of the large burner is far, far more important than one thinks.)
My one grandmother had an old electric range, it was in her basement after they moved to town with four coils AND and built in deep fryer.
I left it in the house when the govt. took the house, (I had no place to put it {or the old totally mechanical control washig machine , I WISH I HAD KEPT})
That range, and I DO NOT like electric ranges, was sweet as you could use the deep fryer AND put a large frying on the stove at the same time, (It also had a warming oven).
SO, if I could go back twenty years when buying a new range to replace the electric POS, that replaced the gas range that mom and dad used when I was younger, I would spend the money for a better range.
Addendum:
I did some looking awhile, probably twenty years, back and found a site where they refurbish ranges from the fifties and sixties, still totally analog, prices were high, about like buying a new one, but shipping was as much as the range.
I have a trailer that would be perfect for hauling a range, maybe if.....
