Welcome to Flavor Country: Weber Spirit Propane Grill Review

I’ve only had the honor of christening a new grill a couple of times in my life. That’s because a good grill can last 10 years or more, which, in reality, is pretty great.

So it was a really special day at the tail end of winter when I built up Weber’s latest offering, the Weber Spirit EP-425 4-Burner Propane Grill. I connected the propane, pressed the igniter, and watched the flames emerge for the first time. Heat wafted past my face, and I smiled.

Now, after grilling many meals on this innovative propane dandy, I’m here to tell you the Weber Spirit is hard to beat. The joy of cooking on this grill is within the four singular burners, two of which have a boost setting that helps seal in flavor. Coupled with a great price and durable build, this grill is — pardon the cliché — cooking with gas.

For 2025, the Spirit line is all new. Weber went back to the drawing board to see what it could bake into an entry-level grill line.

In short: Weber’s new Spirit line of propane grills resets the bar for entry-level outdoor cooking. With a focus on flavor, easy assembly, and easy cleaning, Spirit grills offer great value to enhance outdoor cooking.

Looking to upgrade your tailgate? Check out the best portable grills here.

Weber Spirit EP-425 Propane Grill Review

Features

The Spirit EP-425 ($699) is a four-burner propane grill with the ability to crank out 35,000 BTUs per hour. Each burner utilizes Weber’s Snap-Jet ignition that lights them independently with a turn of the knob. The right two “boost” burners can unleash 40% more heat in the sear zone. This is the area where you’ll set your grill marks to provide your bragging rights at your next cookout.

There is a battery-powered digital temperature gauge on the front of the right-side prep table. It’s a real pain to get the screw on the battery door removed, so be warned.

Like all Weber grills, the Spirit uses Flavorizer bars that divert the flame and spread it out so that it just touches the flame of the next burner. On my old Weber Genesis, the bars touched. However, on the Spirit, there is a large gap between the two.

I may be in my honeymoon phase with this grill, but after cooking steaks, chicken, and multiple forms of sausage, I believe the gaps improve the overall efficiency of the grill. I also can appreciate that these gaps allow for anything that falls through the grates to reach the bottom instead of getting hung up in the bars, creating a mess.

Additionally, the Spirit has two side tables. Both tables offer an area to work and store your utensils on their built-in hooks on the sides. However, owners can replace the right table with the Weber Works Cutting Board and Basin ($40). This has come in handy for transporting whatever I’m grilling from the kitchen out to the grill.

In terms of cleaning, the bottom pan of the Spirit is angled so everything flows down into an easy-access and easy-to-remove foil pan. This pan is kept inside the bottom cabinet with the propane tank, out of sight and out of mind.

Why the EP-425?

For its new Spirit lineup, Weber offers 16 different models. Nine of them are propane, and the other seven are natural gas. In that offering, there is one two-burner model, five three-burner models, and 10 four-burner models.

There’s a lot of overlap from model to model as well as the choice between black or stainless steel. So, when you’re looking on the site, it can be a little overwhelming.

When looking into what I wanted to test and review, I knew I wanted a large cooking area that had as many cooking zones as possible. With four burners, I could adjust each zone to zero in on what I was cooking on it. This is a big deal when you’re cooking a variety of different things all at once. I also knew I didn’t need a side burner. I’ve never had one, and I don’t want one. This led me to one choice — how many wheels do I want on it?

No joke. I picked the EP-425 because it had four burners and four wheels. I don’t need to move the grill around that much, but when I do, I don’t want it to be a hassle. The EP-425 has two locking casters and two that spin freely.

Assembling the Spirit

Weber has taken special care in making sure that building their grills isn’t a burden. In fact, it takes more time to unpack all of the components and hardware than it does to put the whole thing together. Each piece is packed in such a way that it won’t get damaged in shipping. Additionally, all of the nuts and bolts are separated into individual bags that are marked and then referred to in the instructions.

Those instructions are fairly simple. They rely more on images than words. However, I found them to still be simple and the parts easy to identify. In less than an hour, I had a new grill to admire while considering what cut of meat I was going to christen it with that night. I also had a mountain of cardboard that was as impressive as it was a burden to break down and perfectly place into my recycling bin.

Something’s Missing

Something that’s always been a staple in the Weber grills I’ve owned or have seen has been a propane gauge. In the past, they’ve been bolted to the side of the grill, under a side table. You would hang your propane tank off of it, and as the tank got lighter, the indicator would let you know when it was time to refill it.

Maybe omitting it is something they do to differentiate it from higher-tiered models like its Genesis or Summit lines? Either way, the quick remedy to this malady is a $30 Tank Level Indicator. That still puts you at more than $400 less than the lowest-level four-burner Genesis model.

The Cooking Experience

For years, I only cooked steak in a cast-iron skillet. Gordon Ramsay had me convinced that the only way to do it right was that way, using a little butter and garlic. However, once I built the Spirit, my appetite and endorphins took over. I decided to throw one of the most beautiful pieces of beef tenderloin on those freshly seasoned grill grates and was blown away.

Coupled with a MEATER PRO ($130) thermometer to time out everything correctly, I had a juicy, flavorful cut of medium-rare beef that couldn’t be beat.

I repeated that experience two more times before I moved on to chicken, and then breakfast sausage, hamburgers and hotdogs, and a variety of other sausages, big and small. All in all, in the course of a month, I switched every dinner I made for my family from the stovetop to the Spirit and could not be happier.

Across the grill top, the cooking is even. I rarely have had to put this grill on high unless I was looking to warm it up quickly, which it does well enough in general. The Sear Zone burners, which act like regular burners when they’re not searing, offer up some of the best grill marks with little effort as well. And, the mess has been minimal.

There is another thing I need to bring up that involves the foil drip tray. The back of the grill cabinet is open. When it rains, rain comes in and fills the drip tray. Because it’s in a cabinet, I’m not worried about the dog getting in there and having herself a disgusting, yet gourmet to her, meal. But it is a little nasty having to deal with it when it’s filled with water.

Weber Spirit Propane Grill Review: Overall Impressions

The Spirit EP-425 is my second Weber grill since 2004. The last one, an early version of the Genesis lineup, I bought back in college. It served me well until I put it up at the top of the driveway in 2023 so it could go live its second life with whoever drove by and picked it up. (Someone did about 10 minutes later).

I also have the Weber Traveler 22 Portable Griddle, which I reviewed last summer. So, I had some inkling of Weber’s innovative and appealing approach to its modern products going into this test and review session.

As innovative and impressive as the Spirit is, time will tell to see if it lives up to its nearly 20-year-old predecessor. But, that said, Weber grills are an investment because of that possibility.

I am sure that a few years from now, I will need to replace the Flavorizer bars. Maybe a burner will crap out. However, Weber does a great job of supporting its products. Maintain them, and they keep cranking out impressive meals for years.

Where this grill might be overkill for a single person or even a couple, the Weber Spirit propane grill reviewed here offers up plenty of grilling space for a family, or someone who hosts a few ragers at their house from time to time.

At the time of writing, I’ve got both Easter and a birthday for an amazing 9-year-old on the horizon. I have no doubt that this grill will get the job done. As much as I like hanging around the grill, I hate knowing people are waiting to eat. With this gas workhorse, they won’t be waiting long.