Hmm... I guess the HE3 is a popular model. We ended up with the HE3T, which if I recall the only difference is the HE3T can boost the temperature of the water if you want called the "Sanitary" cycle whereas the HE3 can not, the HE3T also adds a faster spin cycle (1200 rpm's vs. 900).
The clothes come out spotless. We started lowering the temperature of the water, didn't require as hot to get clean clothes, and ended up even on tap cold clothes come out spotless. So, we now wash everything on tap water cold, and cleans better than our old on hot. It has an extremely fast spin cycle so you don't have to pay for the heat to dry your clothes as much, we use constantly as well. After getting it, and having cleaner clothes on tap water cold, we no longer use hot water for washing clothes and a reason we knocked our oil bill down, I can't say how much electricity we save either with the super fast spin cycle so clothes don't stay as long in the dryer, and as a bonus not having clothes stay in the dryer getting beat up makes them last longer as well. Too late to help you now, but maybe someone else. We love our Kenmore HE3T.