Thanks everyone for the input, and the Pros/Cons list.
The cooking grates are about 8 inches (maybe a little more) above the sear plates when in "charcoal" mode. In gas mode, they form mulitple "teepees" with the tops about 3-4 inches from the cooking grates. The pictures on their web site are deceiving. My grill that I have now just has the one teepee that runs right to left in the center only and it is about 2 inches from the cooking grate.
So even if that isn't a great design, it is better than what I have now. Heck, right now, just about anything would be better. It has been a great grill, but I am tired of replacing burners and the teepee shield every year just to get moderately even heat.
I think that this will work out great for me. Maybe my next grill will be a Holland or something higher end, but for now, I just want a good grill for a good price.
Which reminds me, for those that are wondering, the 4 burner grill is on sale right now at Menards (www.menards.com, although I don't think that you can buy it online) for the $269 price.
