The Vario-cam is set up to give you a nice, smooth patch in the torque curve that gives better performance, but it doesn't feel as "peaky" as VTEC cars I have driven. Get over it.
You are out-accelerating the car that surges as it VTECs or whatever you want to call it.
The 2.7 is a great motor and if you keep the revs high there is a decent amount of "kick". 30mpg is a nice bonus in a car that will smoke most when the road gets twisty.
The 3.4 is significantly quicker, and has the same feel. But I am not sure how much that comes across in a test drive. Have fun with your quest.
