celdtceldt seems to be weighing the advantages of buying a slightly
newer car versus keeping the old one, which he says he is reasonably
happy with.....I  drive a 96 Outback which I've had since new, and I
have not experienced power problems with it. I've hauled hundreds of
pounds of sound equipment, camping gear, building materials, 4
passengers, and yes, while my perception of underpowered may be
different than yours, Suburboturbo, I don't have any problem with
traffic in the Balto/DC area in this car. I have seen far fewer
problems with this engine/trans combo than with the later versions,
and to me, reliability is the main thing. Every 4 cam engine'd car
that comes in the shop is noisey, leaks oil(unless that's been fixed)
and/or needs head gaskets, and that is a given(unless that too has
been fixed). I've got about 187K on my car, all I've done is oil
changes, the occasional tune up, brakes, and tires(and valve cover
gaskets), which is not bad; if I had to drive to California tomorrow
in that car, no problem....all I am advocating is to stick with the
known quantity; bells and whistles don't get you where you want to go,
I think Todd H. and I are in agreement on this....good luck celdtceldt
and may the best car win......