If you’re looking for a 4-burner grill that’s high-performing, easy to use, and a fraction of the cost, we recommend our Best Overall pick, the Monument Grills 4-Burner Grill over this one. Weber added two new models to its Spirit line of gas grills in 2020, but we ultimately chose not to test them. One of them, the Spirit S-315, is similar to the Spirit II E-310 (our pick) with regard to the specs, and with a few cosmetic differences—and higher price tag. The S-315 features a stainless steel lid, a cabinet-style grill stand with a door, metal dials, and four swivel casters, whereas the E-310 has a black enameled lid, an open cart stand, plastic dials, and two fixed wheels.
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. This kettle grill has a 22-inch diameter, and can hold up to 13 burgers at a time on its 363 square inches of cooking space. The lid and bowl of the grill are porcelain-enameled for superior heat retention, and the lid has a built-in thermometer and aluminum dampers. The Napoleon Prestige 500 was one of the most expensive gas grills we tested, and while it has an incredibly sleek design, its performance wasn’t good enough to earn it a top spot on our rankings. This grill has 500 square inches of cooking space over four main burners, and it also has a unique “Infrared Sizzle Zone” side burner that gets extra hot, allowing you to char meat quickly.
Salvaggio has found that cleaning hot grates more easily damages the porcelain coating on cast iron, allowing rust to form. And though stainless steel grates are more rust-resistant than cast-iron ones, it’s still a good idea to follow this cleaning advice to keep them in tip-top shape. In terms of size, performance, and value, it’s hard to beat the Monument Grills 4-Burner Propane Gas Grill. This attractive grill has a sleek stainless steel exterior, and it features four burners across its 513-square-inch main cooking area. It has porcelain-coated cast iron grates, and it even includes a 12,000-BTU side burner and a rotisserie kit. Despite all these features, it’s still extremely reasonably priced, costing hundreds less than many other models we tested.
More-recent models have the same bones as their predecessors, with minor tweaks like redesigned cabinets, handles, and control panels. It’s easy to control the flames underneath the stainless-steel cooking grates, and if you like to have your accessories on hand, there’s room to store them. This grill is a real crowd-pleaser, and you can cook up to 28 burger patties at once. But as one grill master pointed out, the ability to have such a large work area makes it easier to cook up a variety of tasty dishes.
The Char-Broil Performance Series 2-Burner Gas Grill is another option that didn’t quite make the cut for our top picks, but it’s still worth mentioning. This grill is one of the more compact options we tested, with weber portable grill just two burners and 300 square inches of primary cooking space. It’s lightweight and mounted on four caster wheels, and while it was extremely easy to put together, we found it was a bit wobbly during operation.
Since wood pellet grills work by indirect heat, you’ll be able to smoke food as well, without any accessories. You will need to make sure there’s an electric outlet nearby since most need to be plugged-in for the ignition and the weber portable grill auger. To get you ready for peak grilling season, we’re doing a new round of testing on both gas and charcoal grills in early 2023. We’ll be testing both tried-and-true models as well as a few of the newer grills on the market.