I agree, the little 2.5 gets little respect. Around town and on trails it has more than enough power, on the highway with bigger tires, 31's it also does fine with exception of a large headwind, then I can maintain 60 miles per hr in 5th, with no hills. It came stock from the factory with 127 horsepower, which is not to bad considering other 4 cylinders out there.
I do happen to agree with people that want to do little things that do not cost much to improve what little extra horsepower they can get out of it, 4.0 throttle body, high flow air intake and cheap headers will add 10 to 15 horsepower to the 2.5 at around 300 to 400 bucks. 10 to 15 extra hp's in that motor will be noticable! while there is not much more you can do but that, while being cost effective, I think it would be worth it. So anyone that says do not invest anything for extra hp's on the engine is ludacris, the common response is, get rid of it and put in 4.0, well that is not cost effective for most people, if for 400 bucks I get a few more ponies, under the hood looks better, sounds better, then I can live with that. The biggest thing we cannot forget is how robust the engine is, I am still on mine at 310,000 kms (186,000 miles), and have not batted an eye at its reliability, starts and runs great everytime, never add a drop of oil between changes. yes, the 4.0 has more power (naturally) and is just as robust (is a 2.5 with two more pistons), but sometimes you have to give the 4 squirrels a pat on the back once inawhile as well.