Sam Sifton, then food editor of The New York Times, also joined in the testing and added his extensive knowledge. In 2018, we tested Weber’s new Spirit II E-310—successor to our previous pick, the first-gen Spirit E-310—against our upgrade pick for the best gas grill. Open your door to the world of grilling with the sleek Spirit II E-210 gas grill.
This is a grill that will stand the test of time to give you enjoyable BBQs for years to come. Use the side tables to keep platters, seasonings, and tools within arm’s reach while the food is cooking. Hang your essential grilling tools on the hooks for easy access and organization of your backyard workspace. As mentioned, the grates have been designed to be easy to clean. As long as you use a cleaning brush to dust them off after every cooking session, they should remain as good as new. Remember to avoid using too much pressure or harsh tools or you may risk chipping the coating.
Look for grills in the $400 to $900 range with a cast-aluminum firebox (which holds heat well and won’t rust). If you want your grill to last, don’t cheap out on a budget model. But also don’t overpay for extras you won’t use, such as a rotisserie or a side burner. Hands-on time, reviews, and availability concerns led us to dismiss grills from lesser-known brands like Huntington, along with well-known names like Cuisinart and KitchenAid. And the Cuisinart and KitchenAid grills appear to be afterthoughts next to their respective brands’ main areas of expertise, with materials and design to match. The Spirit E-310 comes in smart, easy-to-control, features the iconic GS4 grilling system and integrates well with technology.
This grill also features a porecelain-enameled cast iron cooking grates, fold down left side shelf, tool hooks and LP tank gauge. Weber is no longer producing our former upgrade pick, the Weber Genesis II E-310. But this model is still available for purchase at big-box stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s. For one thing, this grill has an externally char broil performance mounted propane tank, which is easier to install and replace than traditional, under-grill tanks (like on our current upgrade pick). And this type of tank also frees up the area under the grill for storage of tools and other items. With the Genesis II E-310, we didn’t notice a significant upgrade in performance over that of the Spirit II E-310.
The really important part is that the entire heat-delivery system—the firebox, burners, and burner hoods—has a much greater effect on the overall results of your food. And all those elements are of the same great quality we’ve consistently seen on Weber grills. The Weber Spirit II E-310 provides the unrivaled combination of top-notch grilling performance, a versatile three-burner design, durability, and a relatively affordable price. It excelled at every test, producing the best sear on our burgers of any grill, and equaling or outdoing the others in our tests involving barbecue chicken and whole roasted chickens.
If it spills over, you’ll be cleaning grease out of the inside of your grill for an hour. After years of testing grills, we can’t think of a better deal for a great grill than the Original Weber Kettle, which Blackstone Adventure has been our favorite charcoal grill for almost 10 years. Cooking with charcoal is not as convenient as turning a dial and walking away, but we love a Weber kettle for its simplicity and durability.
Click below to see all the benefits, take a free 30 day trial, and help keep this site alive. Register your grill and gain quick and easy access to manuals, replacement parts and warranty. Easily fold down the left side table of the grill whenever you want to save space and need extra room to work with. Just click the button and flip the table down – making it ideal for smaller balconies. I hope you found this review helpful on your grill buying journey! If you are still interested in the Spirit grills after reading this then there is another model that you owe it to yourself to look at, the Weber Spirit SP 335.