All the Doo pros prefer the 2.6 on the 154. But wtf do they know? I love my 154/3. You definitely need to use more throttle control, but I have no problem with that. It's way more nimble than a 165/3. Buddy has one and ive ridden it enough to say there's no comparison. Probably better in deepest snow, but that's only a few days per year. The rest of the time the shorter track is more fun.