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...I just don't want my car to attract much attention. It sometimes moves with a sense of urgency. ...
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Heh, I like the way you put it.
In any case, maybe I have some constructive input being the owner of a '98 Forester. I have had excellent results with switching to 0% ethanol gasoline. It was an experiment, but here is my rationale (and correct me where my chain of reasoning fails):
1. "Normal gasoline" has a lower resistance to self-ignition because of the ~10% ethanol content.
2. Therefore the ECU cannot tell the variable valve timing to advance the timing as much as it theoretically could.
3. Therefore you get less compression within the cylinder and less torque.
For the last 5 years I have been running 91 grade gas or better in our long-termer Civic with great results. (The 91 means higher resistance to knocking, correct?) But even 91 grade gas has 10% ethanol...
I then found out that in our town we have one ethanol free gas station, so I gave it a shot even though it is "only" 89 grade.
Now the Subaru is happier revving at 1500 rpm as opposed to previously 1750 rpm. This has enabled me to drive 35 mph in 5th gear @ 1500 rpm instead of 4th @ 2000 rpm on level ground. It's almost like the car was designed to run on E0 gasoline from the start.
Here is the website I found my E0 gas station with:
Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. and Canada
Even if you do not have the opportunity to sample ethanol free gas, I would suggest to try a higher grade of gasoline to be able to take advantage of the higher knock resistance. Even with the higher cost of gasoline at higher grades, the increase in mileage easily pays for the lower fuel consumption.
p.s.: If you check out my gas log, note that my daily driving is 95% city and suburban driving.