Weber® Spirit® E-325 Gas Grill, Outdoor Cooking, Small Propane Grill, Black

Why it's worth it

The Spirit E-325 is a three-burner propane grill with a hot sear zone and the same porcelain-enameled cast-iron grates as pricier Webers. It's the pick if you host eight people a few times a summer, not twenty every weekend.

You get the Weber fundamentals in a smaller package. Cast-iron grates hold heat — Good Housekeeping Institute testing found porcelain-coated cast iron retains heat up to 40% longer than stainless after the lid opens — and Snap-Jet ignition lights each burner with one hand. Bob Vila's testing found a Spirit reaching grilling temperature in under 10 minutes from cold, ahead of comparable three-burner rivals.

The 10-year warranty is the same promise Weber makes on grills that cost far more. That's the single biggest reason to pick this over a similarly sized no-name grill. Owners who've cycled through cheap grills every season or two consistently say this one broke the pattern, and one replaced a Spirit that had run for over 15 years.

From our review of 8 gas grills for outdoor entertaining, by Genevieve Dubois, Home & Living Expert

What we like

• +You get the Weber fundamentals in a smaller package
• +The 10-year warranty is the same promise Weber makes on grills that cost far more
• +The Boost Burners give it about 40% more power in the sear zone, so you're not giving up steak searing just because you bought…

What to know

• –Three burners and a compact grate mean this tops out sooner than the rest of this guide
• –There's no side burner, so sauces and sides go back to the kitchen