Normally I would advise to go for an E-tec OB; electronics are currently very
reliable, and fuel economy is of some importance. There is however one
situation that could make a difference; when you have to operate your OB for
prolonged periods of time far from the civilised world (and the diagnostics
and spare parts that come with it), I would always go for the carb-version.
With moderate tools and knowledge a carb-version can always be forced into
some kind of functionality, while for the E-tec dead is dead.
Mees de Roo