I am sure this has come up before and i did a search to find info on it but with no luck.  As i talked about before i am looking at buying my first boat in March or April.  I am looking at a Stratos 294 Pro XL.  My engine options are the Etec 200 and the yamaha 200 HPDI.  What are your opinions on both engines?

Some things to consider:

Etec has free 7 year warranty if purchased before March 31st!

Yamaha is about 2700 dollars cheaper (according to my local dealer)

I favor the yamaha because i havent heard much about the Etec's.  I have heard of a few minor problems that BRP took care of with little hassle.  And Yamaha's are on everything.  Whether they are cheap or just good motors, they are everywhere!

Any help is appreciated!!

check the Yamaha,they sometimes offer a 5 year warranty in the beginning of boating season and for $2700.00 you buy an extended warranty. I'm a Yamaha fan. I love their motors. But I cant say anything about the E-Tec's, I haven't owned one and I dont know anybody who is running one.

Guy I used to work with is running an E.  He seems to be very happy with it.  He's into his second year now.  My own personal experience (lately) is with Yammie.  I have an '01 200 OX66 on my Ranger, my friend has the HPDI '03 on his.  He gets better MPG than I.  Other than that, regular maintenance and turn the key. My last two outboards have been Yamaha, and I know that they, like all others, are not bulletproof.  But I have not had anything happen to make me think I would want to change.

I have run the E-Tech on a Champion and the HPDI on a Skeeter; both are outstanding outboards with very similar performance.

So I would have to say it's a coin toss  :-/

One thing you might want to consider.  Both motors run very high dollar oil.  Unless the new Yammy's have changed, they burn a hellava lot more of it than the etecs.   Fuel economy on the etec is suppose to be a little better also but reading diffferent comparison numbers, not sure there's truely enough difference to notice.  I think both motors are suppose to be good motors, Yamaha's HPDI has been around longer than the e-Tec seems to have a good reputaton for now but for me, the jury is still out as far as how the reliability rates between the two.   I know the 250 HPDI has a bad reputation about blowing but that's the only one of their motors I've heard anything about having any real problems.

Personnaly, I would still go with the e-Tec, BRP pretty much worked all the gremlins out of their DFI motors before coming out with the etec.

Yeah, according to each outboards performance bulletins (each, Yammy and Etec, have them on their website, the yammy is done on a 294 where as the etec is done on the 295.  Both boats are the exact same except for the bigger gas tank on the 295 and a little more storage, its not in the lineup for '07) they are identical motors, performance wise, MPG wise, and speed wise.  Both in low 70's for top speed (which isn't real important to me, but who doesnt like fast things), both around 3000 RPM's for best fuel economy at around 4.5 MPG and 35 miles per hour.

Like i said i just got these numbers from the respective websites so if somebody knows their different, i am just going by what i saw.  

thanks for the info guys!

Also consider the E-tec has no break in period.

Also consider the E-tec has no break in period.

And no scheduled maintenance for the first two years............

Also consider the E-tec has no break in period.

And no scheduled maintenance for the first two years............

Yeah, but if you want the motor to last, they suggest you get it maintenanced annually.  The Evinrude dealer around here said that the Etec's are like any other motor, you still should get them maintenanced annually.  For the amount of money you put into a motor, I wouldn't want to go without a yearly maintenance program.