The Weber Spirit BBQ collection is the brand's mid-priced gas barbecue range, with prices varying from £559 to £1299 depending on the specifications.
This Weber Spirit II E-310 gas barbecue review put the brand's entry-level three-burner grill to the test, and thanks to its quick assembly time, solid build, easy-to-use features, and super tasty grilling, this compact grill with powerful performance soon won the Ideal Home team over.
Its relatively small build makes it a great option for less-than-large patios or even balconies, and whilst it might not have the stylish good looks of some of its competitors, it is a robust and reliable grill that's competitively priced considering it offers the benefits of three-burner cooking. Why are three gas burners better than two? Because they open up your outdoor cooking options by allowing you to sear burgers and steaks on super-hot direct or medium direct heat, whilst also allowing you to grill using indirect heat for slower cooking and smoking.
All in all, we think its winning formula of high-end performance at a relatively affordable price point means the Weber Spirit II E-310 gives plenty of the best BBQs a run for their money. Read on to find out the detail.
Weber Spirit II E-310 gas barbecue: specifications
- Fuel type: Liquid Petroleum Gas (refillable cylinder sold separately)
- Gas burners: 3
- Main burners: 8.79kW
- Dimensions (lid open and side tables extended): H145 x W132 x D66cm
- Dimensions (lid closed and side tables extended): H113 x W132 x D69cm
- Cooking area: W60 x D46cm
- Cooking grates: Porcelain-enamelled cast iron
- Wheels: 2
- Weight: 51.9kg
- Assembly: 2-person self-assembly
- Colour options: Black
Weber Spirit II E-310 gas barbecue: unboxing and assembly
Before building the Weber Spirit II E-310 gas barbecue we'd previously assembled the Weber Q3200 gas barbecue, and the first thing we noticed on unboxing the Spirit II E-310 was the quality of the components.
Unlike the Weber Q3200 which has a predominately plastic casing, the Spirit II is made of metal, and instantly feels in a completely different league in terms of quality and robustness.
This does make the Spirit heavier at 51.9kg compared to the Weber Q3200 which weighs in at 37.6kg and the Everdure Force gas BBQ at just 33kg, however, it was still easy enough to manouevre with two people.
The two-person assembly instructions were simple to follow with clear diagrams, although they would’ve been slightly easier to follow with some additional text. And despite there being 46 assembly steps, it only took one hour and 10 minutes to assemble. (The fact we were building it in the rain may have speeded things up!).
The only fiddly bit was wiring in the electrics for the ignition – something we didn't have to do with the Weber Q3200. And – as with all the BBQs we tested, there is no screwdriver or spanner included, which you will need.
Weber Spirit II E-310 gas barbecue: design
We were pretty impressed by the Weber Spirit II E-310 once it was built.
Simple and unfussy, it might not have the attention-grabbing good looks of the stylish Everdure Force 2 Burner gas BBQ, but it still felt a big step up in quality from the only slightly cheaper Weber Q3200 gas barbecue, and the Spirit II E-310 offers three gas burners for a similar investment to the two-burner Everdure Force and Weber Q3200 gas grills.
The Spirit II E-310 also easily gave cart barbecues three times its price a run for their money in terms of build quality.
Underneath the BBQ is a storage shelf for keeping essentials close at hand, and the BBQ features some of the most robust wheels of any BBQ we tested, with two large wheels on the right-hand side that made easy(ish) work of rolling over uneven surfaces.
Once you've reached your grilling location, there are no worries about wheel locks coming undone, as the fairly heavy two-wheeled design means it's not going to roll anywhere unless it's manually tilted onto its wheels by the user. That offers good peace of mind for a family BBQ, especially if you're grilling on slightly uneven ground. The only downside is the lack of dedicated handles when you come to push or pull.
Otherwise, everything on the Weber Spirit II E-310 feels robust and easy to use, from the large, easy-grip temperature dials with easy-to-read bright red markers to the sturdy folding side arms that create some super-useful prep space.
We also loved the six handy utensil hooks on each end of the side arms – especially as the positioning on the sides rather than the front meant there were no greasy utensils brushing against the cook's clothes.
Our biggest bugbear on the design front was that the open cart design does make the gas canister very visible. On the E-310 the canister buckles onto the side of the cart, and there's no denying it looks a little unsightly, however, the flip side is it makes attaching and detaching the canister pretty easy.
You need to upgrade to the Weber Spirit E-315 GBS gas barbecue to get a three-burner model with an enclosed cupboard, and whilst we do love the top-spec model's sleek looks, that does mean paying an extra £200 or so, so we suppose it's up to personal preference how much the exposed canister is going to visually upset you.
We also felt a black finish would have looked sleeker than the Weber Spirit II E-310's grey/khaki powder-coating, but overall this is an unobtrusive barbecue that will easily blend into an outdoor kitchen, even if it doesn't elicit the oohs and aahs of a showstopping grill like the distinctive Kamado Joe Classic Joe BBQ.
Weber Spirit II E-310 gas barbecue: performance
The Weber Spirit II E-310 is the lowest-priced barbecue in the Spirit collection to come with three independently operated gas burners.
Why should you care about that? Because upgrading from a two-burner gas barbecue to a three-burner opens up more cooking options. A two-burner BBQ only allows you to cook on direct or medium direct heat, which is great for achieving the high temperatures needed to sear burgers and steaks, however, a three-burner grill also opens up the option of cooking on a gentler indirect heat that's perfect for slower cooking and smoking.
Operating each of the burners on the Weber Spirit II E-310 is super simple thanks to the electric ignition which lights the gas grill at the press of a button – here's where fiddling with the electrics during assembly pays off and you save time compared to the somewhat labour-intensive job of lighting a charcoal BBQ.
The three large temperature dials have a tactile silicone feel and are very easy to use with easily-visible bright red markers to show whether you're dialing the heat up or down. The only downside is there are no lights, so if you're BBQing at dusk you will just need some illumination.
Considering that overall the Weber Spirit II E-310 build feels fairly compact – especially if you lower the side arms – there felt to be a generous amount of grilling space on this model, with a grill area of W60 x D46cm available to cook up a storm. We found it could easily fit 10 burgers and 20 sausages on at once.
You also get a warming rack measuring W55.7 x D11.4 included which is a useful addition. The positioning of the warming rack was also good, as unlike the Weber Q3200 gas barbecue it didn't interfere with the grilling area, so overall cooking felt spacious and easy.
Our first cooking test involved getting the grill up to 250 degrees which the Weber Spirit II E-310 achieved in a fantastic five minutes – far quicker than many of the BBQs we tested over our two-day reviewing.
We also found that the BBQ retained the heat really well with the lid both up and down, something that the Weber Q3200 gas barbecue in particular lacked.
You can keep an eye on the temperature the BBQ is hitting thanks to the built-in thermostat on the grill lid, although we would have liked this to be a little bigger to make it easier to read, and after being built in a downpour of rain it had misted up a little on our first use.
Grilling-wise, the Weber Spirit II E-310 delivered brilliant results in all of our cooking tests.
Using direct and medium direct heat we got great results on the foodstuffs that required high temperatures, like halloumi and vegetable skewers and the sausages and burgers. On both, our novice barbecuers achieved great chargrill lines, crispy skins, and juicy interiors. In fact, both the halloumi, sausages and burgers were voted the tastiest achieved over our two days of BBQ testing by the team, with nice charred outers and lots of taste, all without being overdone in any way.
The middle burner was noticeably hotter than the other burners, so the perfect place to sear a steak. It did just mean we needed to keep a little closer eye on food in the middle of the grill when the grill was filled with burgers and sausages, but we soon learned where best to place food to get the results we wanted.
Thanks to its three-burner design, this BBQ also achieved the best taste results on the Spatchcock chicken test, which benefitted from the indirect cooking we could achieve by turning off the middle burner and allowing the outer flames to cook the chicken slowly. Again, the taste test resulted in the chicken cooked on the Spirit II E-310 being voted the best-roasted chicken for texture and flavour over the two testing days.
The only downside we encountered when cooking was the relatively widely spaced gaps in the grill. That meant a few slices of courgette from our roasted vegetable skewers fell through the grill whilst cooking, something our colleagues testing the Everdure Force gas BBQ with its diagonal grill pattern didn't encounter. However, the Weber Spirit II E-310's simple grill did make for far simpler cleaning after the party was over, so the grill design was something we soon came to see as an advantage.
The Spirit II E-310 also features what Weber calls 'Flavorizer Bars' over each grill element. These triangular shields direct grease and drippings away from the burner tubes, with the aim to cut down on flare-ups and make clean-up after cooking far easier, something we certainly found they achieved during testing. And we definitely missed their addition to the Weber Q3200 gas barbecue during cleaning as without them we found the gas burners prone to getting clogged up with grease over time.
Weber says an extra benefit of the Flavorizer Bars is that – as the name suggests –they help to add flavour to your food. 'Drippings, marinades, and juices from food being cooked fall down onto the hot Flavorizer Bars and are then vaporized and circulated back up to the food and add that great, extra flavour'.
It makes sense as a concept and certainly explains why the Spirit II E-310 scored so highly in all of our taste tests.
This BBQ also felt both simple and safe to cook on. The lid is lightweight and easy to lift up and down – unlike the Everdure Force 2 Burner BBQ that felt quite heavy – the heatproof handle is very effective, and the insulated body meant neither the lid nor sides felt too hot to the touch.
When it came to how to clean, this BBQ was also a winner.
In order to clean the BBQ after use, the brand tell you to 'Remove heat deflector and inside parts and clean them in soapy water. Use a scraper on the bottom of the BBQ to direct everything towards the removable disposable tray'.
This was all very easy to do, with very few fiddly sections compared to other barbecues, although we'd recommend stocking up on some rubber gloves like these at Amazon to protect your hands and clothing from any grease residue.
The only negative is that the BBQ comes with a disposable drip tray which requires you to buy more for each use. You can, of course, buy a whole host of Weber BBQ accessories including replacement drip trays on the Weber website, but we would have preferred to see a more sustainable permanent solution.
Weber Spirit II E-310 gas barbecue: verdict
Overall, the Weber Spirit II E-310 is one of the best gas barbecues the Ideal Home team tested over our two-day review period, offering a great mix of performance and price that resulted in its five-star rating.
Whilst it can't rival the similarly five-star rated Everdure Force 2 Burner gas barbecue in the style department, the Weber Spirit II E-310 is a solid performer that offers versatile three-burner grilling compared to the two-burner Everdure Force. You need to invest in the Everdure Furnace 3 Burner gas barbecue to get comparative grilling versatility with the options of direct and indirect heat, and that's an extra £200+ investment on RRP.
The Weber Spirit II E-310 is great to cook on, lights easily and reaches grilling temperature fast, and maintains that temperature easily. It consistently delivered the top results in our taste tests – perhaps down to those 'Flavorizer Bars' that also make this an easy grill to clean and maintain.
All of the Weber Spirit II E-310 components feel robust and the build quality is good. The side tables feel sturdy and are well-designed with useful utensil hooks, and the two large wheels make it easy to move around over uneven ground, and safe to leave standing with no worries over wheel locks.
It was also (relatively) easy to assemble, taking two people just over an hour, and felt safe to use, with an easy-to-lift lid, an effective heatproof handle, and an insulated body that didn't get too hot to the touch.
All in all, if you're after a versatile three-burner grill that allows you to chargrill burgers and steaks on a high heat and cook slower dishes more effectively on a lower indirect heat – and you're a fan of super flavoursome BBQ food! – then the Weber Spirit II E-310 comes highly recommended.
You will need to value practicality and affordability over style, as statement good looks are the one department where this grill leaves a little to be desired, but overall we think the Weber Spirit II E-310 is a top-performing and great value BBQ that won't disappoint.
Weber Spirit II E-310 gas barbecue: how we tested
For the purposes of this review the Ideal Home team spent two days in a field in Somerset putting a range of bestselling barbecues through their paces.
We unboxed and assembled each BBQ to test the ease of self-assembly, then fired up the heat on each one to grill a range of foodstuffs including halloumi and vegetable skewers, sausages, burgers, and even a spatchcock chicken. We also debated design details, compared specifications and price points, and came up with our verdicts on value for money.
Click here to find out more about how we review products on Ideal Home.
