Just how feeble is the 4-banger?

This is awfully appealing: reasonable enough price I can get a loan, manual, clean, rust-free(ish), new top. And about 20 minutes from me, which is always appealing.

But I prefer the straight 6, not only for its reputation but also because I’m pretty clueless, and sticking with the devil I know helps compensate for my ignorance.

And I’ve never heard much good, power-wise, about the 2.5L engine.

So how bad is it, really?