Coleman RoadTrip LXX Portable Propane Grill, Black

As a very satisfied owner of the RoadTrip LXE for 10+ years, I made the decision to trade it in for LXX this month. The original LXE I owned was purchased for tailgating mostly but had it for the 10 years after graduating college at a time when I rented and probably moved upwards to 12-15 times. With volatile my living arrangements purchasing a more substantial grill for everyday use was not practical and this grill became my home grill as well - kept outside, with a cover for the last 7ish years. I loved it and probably would not have changed models but my wife ordered this one without realizing a difference. Having used the LXX a few times now, here is my comparison of the LXX vs LXE:- Appearance: The body design, opertional setup & weight are all pretty much identical. The LXX has a thermometer built into the lid and the LXE does not. If my LXE were new and the same color, that is the only difference that I would see at a glance aesthetically.- Quality: The LXX has higher quality parts- legs, handle & cooking dials are made of metal vs LXE where those are a durable plastic. On the LXE, I've left the lid down for too long & the knobs show signs of melting- they always worked fine but started looking like junk after a while. I don't anticipate the knobs melting on the LXX.The hardware for the slide out end tables & the end tables themselves are the same in appearance but on the LXX they also better quality- sturdier, smoother operation & more substantial.- Use: LXX is 22K btu vs LXE at 20K...I personally haven't noticed much of a difference yet but it's nice to know I suppose. I also haven't personally had any practical benefit from the lid thermometer on the LXX but again it's nice to have & I may see more value in it as I use it more. Both grills can reach extremely high temps very quickly and it was cool to validate that seeing the thermometer reach 550+ degrees in a matter of minutes on the LXX. Neither grill allows good control of cooking at lower temperatures but this doesnt become much of a limitation if grilling for just a family or small group because of the size of the cooking surface & having 2 burners (same on both). Grates are very high quality & also the same on both.Overall, I am very happy with the LXX. There arent any differences that make the LXX inferior & for the $20 difference at time of purchase, I would absolutely purchase the LXX over the LXE when I hit this cross road again in 15 years.

An update on this: Amazon made it right. I am looking at replacing the damaged parts, which I discovered included the thermometer, through Coleman. Still waiting to hear back from them. That has been its own little fiasco. The customer service, so far, has not been great.With that said, I love this grill. It takes a little getting used to, imo, due to the cooking grates. And it gets HOT. You really have to watch your food and make use of the indirect cooking method. But once I got the hang of things, I love, love, love this grill. In fact, I use it instead of the stove a lot. Think of an oversized Coleman propane camp stove with a pile of accessories that you can grill on. Yeah. That. Did I mention I love it?I haven't used it yet because I am sending it back. Amazon sent me one from the returns center, sold as new. Three guesses. You guessed it. It was damaged. Both side tables have deep gouges in them. This is not the first time Amazon has shipped me something, sold as new, from the returns center that was damaged or missing parts or both. They seem to be large items that are a real problem to get back in the box and return. Go figure. So from here on out anything I order from Amazon that comes from the returns center (look at the shipping label to see) is going straight back unopened.Now, about the grill itself. I haven't cooked with it, obviously, since I am returning it. But, aside from the damaged parts, it's quite nice. I was very disappointed to not be able to use it when it arrived. I will be getting another one, as I think it was a very good choice for my needs. It's replacing a Charmglow (aka RustGlow) and a portable Brinkmann that finally bit the dust. I don't need anything huge, and the versatility of the cooking surfaces will make it not only great for variety of cooking options, but really handy in a power outage where I might want a burner to put a pot on, etc. Being able to hook this up to a 20 lb propane take is super handy. It will reside on my deck as my primary grill.Super disappointed that Amazon has pulled this returned-items-as-new thing for about the 4th time on me. That's getting old. If you buy one, you might want to buy it locally and save yourself some grief.