longer answer: you can gain around 5% power for roughly $500 worth of tuning; the next step up is [something radical like a turbo] and couldn't possibly cost less than $3k if someone else is turning the wrenches.
There are hack gadgets that will give roughly the same improvement for less, but all they are doing is faking the ECU into using more fuel which comes out as terrible MPG and rapidly burnt-out catalytic converters. Not practical in the long run.
Any tuning might have to be temporarily removed and reinstated to pass your local smog test, consider this difficulty.
Swapping for an H6 is almost always more cost effective.
I'm in LA for a few weeks each year, almost always in a low horsepower rental car. I don't find it that hard to get around, even with those steep onramps on the 14. Plenty of heavy 100hp hybrids doing fine, IMO.