Hi,
indeed e_ prefix represents 32-bit VLE instrction whereas no prefix means BookE instruction.
Regarding e_stw / stw:
both are 32 bit instructions with same operands but different opcodes.I don't think there should be a big timing difference between these two instructions.
In general you can expect VLE code a bit slower in contrast to BookE but on the other hand the code density is much higher.
The higher code density may result in more efficient instruction cache/instruction buffer usage which may improve the code speed too.
Can you describe your observations more in the detail and also test case you use for benchmarking?
Thanks!
Stan