the Suzuki will win that argument hands down, every time!

 Personally i would not touch the etec, too many horror stories. Suzuki and Yamaha are both awesome motors. I would think tou would need at least another 90 or 100 is you are going to a 4 stoke!

 Have had both. Etec's were fine other than a couple of small issues but the upgrde to the Zuk's last year has been great. No more worrying about oil for one thing and a bit better on fuel with larger motors (from twin 90's to twin 140's). Etecs were 11 yr olds so can't comment on current models re fuel. Only difference I noticed was the power out of the hole. Etec's seemed to have the Zuk's covered there. More low end grunt. 

I have the 200 etec (2008) and just did the 700 hours service. Never missed a beat although the throttle creeps and has since day 1 which shits me to tears in bad weather. BRP did nothing about it. Economy/consumption (in my experience) is pretty comparable to 4 strokes but add oil cost and its more.
Next I get will be a Yammy or Suzuki....no smelly 2 smoke

 Hands down but go the bigger motor, you will be disappointed if you under power 

 Yeah thanks guys- Iv been told the 70 Suzuki is s detuned 80 and 2000$ cheaper so for my budget 70 is all I can afford, it has the same kW output as the 90 on it but obviously it won't be as quick off the mark which doesn't bother me. I do a lot of trolling and the 2 stroke is killing me in fuel as the v4 90 doesn't like it to much

I haven't had a spot of bother with my 60 Etec and after reading up on the new ones would not hesitate to buy one.

From reports I have read on them , its now a 500 hour service, up from the 300 hour on the old models, and a reduction of 40% on fuel consumption which is something to think about

 I have had a qoate for 13200 for a 90 Mercury as well ?

 i have had a 200HO etec on my last boat had no issues with it found it to be thirsty but to be fair it was the HO version plenty of grunt , i now have a Suzuki 250 on new boat and have been very impressed so far but havnt had it long but so far brilliant on fuel and really good mid range power and when idling forget its running . But i would choose the 4 stroke over an ETEC just my personal preference though.

I have a Suzuki DF90 on the back on my 600kg glass boat which is the max it's rated for and get out of the hole quickly, runs on minimal fuel and get 33 knots at WOT. A 90hp on a 5m ali boat would fly but I'd always tend to go the max hp as it'll use less fuel and be kinder to the engine at cruising speed and you have the power there if you ever need it.

 !

It has so far been brilliant on my 22ft Commodore. Gteat launch power, and smooth, quiet and silent / smooth in an out of gear.
I would recommend the new ETECH's to anyone just wanting to get out there & get back

 I have a DF140 and I love it! If you are on a budget I would save for a year to get the hp you want! Put the 90 on the back! 

 I can get a Mercury 4 stroke for 13200$ on special as the 90 Suzuki is 14600$

big $$ difference- is the merc ok, I haven't heard to many bad reports

and all way better than 2S. With 4S you will need more horses than the Johnno 90, whereas with the Etec you might get away with a 75, but trust me you will always regret the power down.
If you fish both great and I have used my fathers boat with a Suzi, and mine with an Etec.
If you ski or scurf etc, go the Hole shot which the Etec will blast the Suzi away.

 Iv got a merc 115 4s with 1000+ hours mate and haven't missed a beat

I ended up choosing an Etec. Have been happy but my throttle creeps at times too. I've got 88hrs on it and I'm still wiping dirty oil maarks from round the exhaust. Done it since new. Was told it would reduce after 10 hrs which it did but now noone seems to have any ideas not cares much either.

I'll do Suzy next for sure.

Suzuki for me every time. That said I dont think you can far wrong with either Yamaha or Suzuki.

use the etec for an anchor and buy a Suzuki or yammy 

 Apparently the new etecs are awesome on fuel. A boat with twin 300 etecs has better economy thany my single 300 yammy!

 The decision is getting harder haha

im defo thinkn I have to go to the 90 tho

 Knocking the E tecs had issues with them themselves or going off what they have heard second hand?

the bad rap must have been deserved in the earlier models but my 200 has never missed a beat.

power out of the hole is way better than any similar powered 4 stroke and you save a lot of weight, about 70 kilos lighter than some other 4 stroke 200's.

I think they warrant more thought than outright dismissing them as lemons.

my last boat had a very reliable Honda 4 stroke Vtec, did a lot of research and thought and went the E tec on my new boat despite the horror stories on here, very happy that I did.

 This time last year repowered though Brett Ward. 90hp Suzuki fitted for $12900.

 Do know first hand of a couple of bad experiences with etecs. All put down to low tolerance to bad fuel or batteries. I had just over 1100 hours on mine when I sold it. Never let me down.

Saying that, I would choose a 4 stroke if the choice was there.

 I've got a 75 four stroke merc on my boat 2004 Moodle done over 1200hrs never missed a beat still going strong love it got a few mates with suzys no complaints only had one mate with an etec was a mongrel thing broke down a heap of times was about a 2010 model he ended up getting a yammy which are also great motors after seeing the thrashing the pearl farms in Broome use to give them . 

 Me personaly ive never heard first had about etec problems. I didn't get one as at the end of the day it's still a 2stroke, still have to deal with oil!... my hole shot is awesome with my DF140 on a 6m alli boat, you just have to prop them correctly. Like others have said, shop around for prices... and I personally think resale for your boat would be better with a suzuki! Almost everyone loves suzukis (almost) but with etecs it's very divided! In my opinion.

 Suzukis have a tendency to be over badged

theres plenty of arguments in here about engines 

i have an etec and love it mate 

any regularly serviced engine should be fine 

YouTube etec vs Yamaha tug of war 

interesting viewing for the Yamaha lovers 

 iv'e got a 2014 40hp etec on the renagde and i love it . it uses bugger all oil and so quiet and smooth and no problems with it .

 I run a 2008 X 75 Etec on a 6m glass centre console. Fantastic motor. Around rotto from woodmans point on around 30l of fuel doing 14-18 knots. Pushes me at 30 when empty and the boat has foam under the deck so a heavy centre console.

 Hear a lot about Etec problems, but I can't think of anyone I know who has one.

At the end of the day though;

1/ G2's are godawful butt ugly

2/ the resale is a fraction of a Yam/Suz

3/ If BRP spent half of their DVD promotional budget on fixing the problems them maybe they would be better?

Mate i have had 2 Etecs now a 2006 90hp with over 600 hours and a 2009 200hp HO with over 500hrs and neither gave me any problems. Yes they do use the oil but are cheap to service in the long run if your doing more then 100 hours per year compared to a 4 stroke. All this hype about them being shit dates back to the early models and they seem to have fixed most of the problems. Jump onto the Etec forums to have a look. I have just repowered my 90hp as I wanted a 115hp and the only reason I went a Yamaha is they had a promo and big discounts. If the Etec was cheaper I would have bought one. They have plenty of puch. Just be aware the 75hp is only a 3 cyylinder and not as smooth as the V4's but is really only noticed at idle. They run fairly clean although with a following wind you will smell it but its a different 2 stroke smell.  As a few of the other guys have said dont underpower the boat for the sake of a few $$$. you will regret it very quickly. If you cant afford new have a look on the second hand market there are a few floating around. Also check to see if Yamaha are still doing deals I saved about $4k fitted on a 115hp which is only a few grand more then your budget. Have a chat with Chivers Marine they sell both the Yamaha and Etec.

 Thanks guys for all the info- it's good to get different opinions

 I had my Etec 90hp for about 4 years, it never gave me any problems until the EMM went and it cost me $3k to replace.

Once bitten..

 ...also have just replaced EMM, also a 90hp, after 8 years/630 hours of trouble free service...not very happy, but have worked out that the $2k that cost, plus the three services it's had, would've been pretty much the same as any other motor, assuming 8 services and NO dramas over the same period of time.

Here's the thing....the mechanic said he's had to replace SEVEN of these EMM's over the past two weeks, across all sizes of Etecs, and age/hours seem to make no difference. It's almost if it's some sort of a scheme by BRP to have these computers in their motors that are designed to fail and have to be replaced at a prohibitive cost to the owners.

Forget all you read here because everyone , including me , will say they have done the righty and bought the best motor available and all the rest are shit.
They are going to drag up a comment from their cousins second best mates uncles who heard it on some program that this bit is going to fail at so many hour and its going to cost 11 squillion shekels to discover where it is let alone to fix it.

Do your own research and take it from there

 Go the 4 stroke.it will give  you  10 years  of trouble free boating

I had a5.3m coastrunner with a yamaha 80hp 4 stroke. went fine..

^^^WHS  If you really are constrained by budget and are considering a new motor which may end up with it being a bit underpowered  because of the money angle, look at low-hours s/h four stroke motors. Usually plenty out there and they will be 2/3 the price of a new one with only 200 hours or so. As long as it has a fully documented service history,you can't really go wrong. A mate was taken aback at a quote on a new 140 suzuki a while back--Iimmediately showed   him one on the net with 175 hrs, fsh, for $11.5K. He had been quoted 18K new.