Prestige vs Prestige Pro - worth the jump?

[Zanatta]

Hey there everyone, my 14ish year old Weber Genesis has served me rather well over the years, but it's time for me to upgrade. After a fair bit of research I'm leaning towards a Napoleon this time around - likely either the Prestige Pro 665 or the Prestige 665 RSIB. There's a good $1200ish between the two models, but looking at the Napoleon site I can see a big chunk of that is the stainless grill grate set (priced at about $1k on its own). I do like some of the other features - the internal stadium lights, the stronger rotisserie - but those are nice to haves for me rather than must haves. I'd appreciate any thoughts on the Pro vs Prestige: is it worth the extra money? I don't mind spending the extra if there's good value in doing so. Thanks for any advice you may have!

[Sdell]

I have a Prestige 500 rsib and it has been great. The rotisserie is fine with everything I have put on it including turkey and the stainless rod grates have held up very well over 10 years. I did upgrade the side burner grate to stainless but that did not cost much. I just don't see what you get with the Prestige Pro that justifies the big price jump. I would get the Prestige and spend the $1200 on some great meat.

[Zanatta]

I think this is the right way to go - get the stainless grate for the side burner and a decent light for the grill surface and I'll have all I need. I appreciate the feedback!

[GolfGeezer]

I have the 500 Prestige Pro. The biggest help to me is the slide put tank holder in the cart, and the two shelves. I’m tall, and old, and arthritic, so getting that propaneTank to slide out to lift off and then slide back in was a big sell. Plus I like the lights, and the upgraded grates. Need? No, Want? Yes.

given your comments about the feature differences, it seems you do not need or want those extras for the price. Either way, it is a good gasser.

[Zanatta]

I think "Need? No, Want? Yes" is right on the money, and the jump in price is more than I can justify to myself for the jump in cost for "want." Thanks for your feedback!

[glitchy]

When stainless grates cost 1K on their own I’ll probably give up. I have a Weber gasser with pretty nice fully stainless grates that didn’t cost $1000 total. If Napoleon is that proud of funny S shaped stainless steel grates, why not buy another Weber?

[Zanatta]

They both have stainless grates - the Pro model's version are just a bit thicker. I was just mentioning that because the fancier grates seem to be a big part of how Napoleon justifies the difference in cost. Not worth it for me, so going with just the Prestige series, and as Sdell suggests above I'll apply the savings to a lot of good meat / other cooking gear.

[glitchy]

Zanatta I haven’t kept close tabs on Napoleon and their pricing, but I wonder if the Pro has thicker metal in the body and cabinet than the regular Prestige? Competing more with the Summit where the Prestige is the Genesis competitor?

[dogeyl]

FWIW, I bought a Prestige 500 RSIB last month. I had a similar model 15+ years ago. Was very happy with it but ditched it when I moved to a new place with no natural gas, suffered with a second hand propane Weber. I looked at Weber before buying the Prestige, but Weber's higher price, lesser warranty and no infrared sear burner made the Prestige a no-brainer.
It's a great unit and cooks perfectly. P.S. I bought the Stainless grates for the sear burner.

[charlesSFG]

I just bought the Phantom Prestige 500 a few days ago. So I'm still waiting for delivery. A few things that sold me on the Phantom are the cast stainless steel grates including the sear burner and the satin black finish. My old grill was stainless steel finish. They are harder to keep clean and look nice, plus the suns reflection can blind you at times and shine right into our house. For about $500 more I'm looking forward to delivery day.