My ongoing /6 vs. big /4 debate - an illustrated approach, Or, "Why I love driving around Bend, OR" Options

[Lavanaut]

I have an almost stock '74 2.0 that I love. Owned it for just over a year, what a fun car! It drives like it was designed for my little town of Bend, Oregon. Here's why:



If you notice, (one of) my favorite brew pubs is in the upper-left corner. My house is down south of the lower right. Between the two? 4 miles of twisty, turny roads including 6 large traffic circles (one of them wouldn't fit into the image). These are big traffic circles, single lane, that work well to keep traffic flowing. When I first got my car with it's stock-size tires, I could easily break the rear of the car loose going around these things (they're big, as evidenced by the cars in the image). This is a really fun drive, one I do all of the time. And this is the basis for the broader subject of this post. I love my stock 2.0, but I crave more power and torque! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rocking nana.gif)

So, I know the /6 vs. big /4 debate has been done to death. But perhaps applied to this particular situation, we civilized adults might be able to choose a clear winner. See the thing is, the above driving route is absolutely typical of the use my teener sees. Rarely am I driving more than 65 mph, and 85% of the time it's less than 45 mph.

So I ask ~ is it even possible to get my money's worth out of a /6? I'm convinced a big /4 (Raby 2046 or 2270) would be right at home in these conditions. But still, a low-mileage, matching numbers factory /6 is appealing to me for performance, aesthetic, and collectible reasons. You can't change my mind there. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) But I've yet to drive one, and I'm not sure it'd my a good choice for me and my traffic circle time trials...

It's Friday! Cheers all! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

Reid

ps: To those of you that I've spoken to about this topic directly, thanks for your input to date, and for the patience. It's almost final decision time. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/boldblue.gif)

[Johny Blackstain]

My six is far from stock but I have driven a stock 2.0 & was impressed at the wide band of torque out of that little 2.0. Not balls to the wall like my 2.7 or bigger, but a lot more umph that the stock 2.0 4 cyl. Four is lighter & more nimble & could be fun around those curves but the six would rule the straights. I know, no help.