never heard of Fiesta, but both the others are decent lower cost lines. i have used both before and they work great, especially for the price.

more importantly than BRAND is SIZE. is the person going to be cooking just a couple burgers mostly, or several racks of ribs? by that i mean that if they just cook a few small things you don't need a large grill, but if they cook a bunch of stuff then a small one won't work either.

i have 3 grills at home myself. 1 table top charcoal grill if i am just doing a couple burgers/hotdogs for me and my wife and daughter, 1 big charcoal grill/smoker large enough to do 8 racks of beef ribs at a time for big parties, and 1 largish gas grill for when we have steaks/small gatheriing of folks. i have been know to have all 3 going at once too.

so back to my question, how much are they going to use it and for what purpose?

I prefer Weber all the way. Replacement parts are easily available. Although costly, they are made to last.

All the best,
the PorchGuy

Here is a link that might be useful: My Album

Check out the Holland Grill
**Your post confused me; because, here in N.Carolina BBQ is considered another food group - not a place to cook/cookout Here we call it a grill.
and I prefer eastern NC BBQ over western (or Lexington style) BBQ.

Here is a link that might be useful: hollandgrill.com

Thanks for the responses, and especially for pointing out the size question; I'll ask.

Unfortunately, since I'm clueless, I'm sticking with the Consumer Reports list, which mean probably among those three brands: Fiesta, Brinkmann, and Char-Broil. In particular, the Webers seem vastly more expensive than the others ($700-$1800, as compared to $200-$450), and the person isn't going to spring for that. I don't need the best. I just need something good and serviceable.

My first gas grill was a Char-Broil, the second was a Weber. Save your pennies and go with the Weber. There's more than initial purchase price with these things, long term service and parts availability is important too.

Beyond that, the Fiesta got the highest rating. Go with that one.

porchguy is right - get the Weber - 3 burners, stainless grills + side burner. I think they call that Genesis Gold. That's what I have, but without the side burner (my mistake)

I think less than $700.

For people who like to cook out, it's not a fad.

As in ... "this year I decided I prefer microwave cooking". Just doesn't happen.

Get the good stuff or just give cash.