for small spaces I had a mini cuisinart. I actually found it at Home Depot, one of those unadvertised sales- a huge crate of them for $29.
I sent it to college with my daughter and bought myself the largest most powerful Cuisinart since I'm a serious home cook and DIY just about everything. I like it fairly well, especially the waterproof gasket and three different size containers, but what I hate about it is that there's a big gap between the disks and the side of the container and stuff like carrots don't get fully shredded or sliced and slide thru the gap. You have to sort out the stuff in the bowl and remove the big hunks.
Next time around I'll check out a KitchenAid instead.
And I'll admit I'm an appliance snob, I tend to read reviews carefully and stick to the highest performance marks vs price. I don't mind spending more if I get superior performance and longevity. Unfortunately there were no reviews that indicated the gap issue with the Cuisinart. And my little Cuisinart didn't have that problem. And it had PLENTY of power.