I made the choice you are looking at about a year ago. I did the 100 watt with tuner. I have to say that it's the best choice as far as my use of that radio (fixed/mobile). I also wouldn't willingly have a Kenwood without that internal tuner if I have a choice, it is very handy to have! It really will handle any 'reasonable' mismatch, but certainly not all of them (and some that I never thought it would handle either!). That's especially handy for mobile use. You still need to use a 'tuned' antenna, but they do make that last little tweak that can make a difference sometimes.
Why not another 100 watts output? As already said, in most cases it isn't going to make enough difference to warrant the 'double' expense of the required power supplies. I already have a power supply in the house that would be more than adequate for the 'HX' model. I also have an amplifier that just doesn't need 200 watts of drive (or that full 100 watts either). If that won't 'do-it', well, that's just tough, ain't it?
- 'Doc
(I've also got an external, manual, tuner at home, so don't use that internal tuner all the time. If the manual tuner won't 'do-it', something's wrong some where.)