Ariane Resnick, who also updated this article, is a special diet chef, certified nutritionist, and bestselling author. She has more than 20 years experience in the food and writing spaces and believes in a joy-filled approach to health and wellness. It’s a much better grill than the original – cheaper, more compact, and better looking. The two large plastic wheels are more maneuverable than the four small caster wheels on the original.
However, we’re bummed that Weber decided to move the propane tank hook and gauge from the side (where they sit on the Spirit II and previous Genesis models) to under the firebox inside the cart. We can only imagine the crawling and contorting one must do to hook a full tank of liquid propane in that small cabinet. The Genesis E-325s is the only one of our picks that we haven’t physically tested, but we did check it out in person at a few different stores. When we visited Bering’s in Houston, we took measurements and got a thorough rundown of the grill’s features from a helpful staff member with a wealth of grilling knowledge.
We don’t recommend grills with side burners because we don’t think that extra feature is worth the $100-plus markup. We think you’re better off saving over $200 with the Spirit II E-310. If you want to splurge on a grill with exceptional temperature control and a dedicated searing zone, go for our upgrade pick, the Weber Genesis II E-325s, instead. Gas grills run on either liquid propane (most common) or natural gas—both fossil fuels.
After about 10 minutes of cooking, we compared how well each grill had seared the burgers, and we looked for excessive charring or patties that were still unacceptably raw. However, our picks are also sold in natural-gas versions, which are gaining in popularity. But they require that you have a natural-gas hookup on your deck or patio. If you have natural gas in your home but don’t have an outdoor connection, you’ll need to hire a technician to install one, and this may involve cutting into walls. And if you want to easily move your natural-gas grill into and out of storage, you’ll also need to buy a quick-disconnect system, which can add another $150 or so.
Most grills have multiple measurements listed in their specifications, including the total cooking area, primary cooking area, and cooking racks. The Weber Genesis EX-325S is essentially the same grill as our pick for best investment, the Weber Genesis E-325S, but it has added smart features that are sure to please any tech-savvy grillers. Once it’s connected to your smartphone, the grill can send you real-time food temperature alerts, flip weber portable grill reminders and serve notifications so you never overcook another burger. This grill produced consistently good results during testing, responding well to heat adjustments and cooking food evenly — though we did wish some of the char marks were more pronounced. The sides and front of the grilling surface were slightly cooler than the center, but overall, we found it was easy to operate, even for those with minimal grilling experience.