Which template system should I use ?

[eluser]Crafter[/eluser]
[quote author="GregF" date="1192891388"]Smarty has all the features you need, and others you may find very useful. I've found it to be stable and relatively fast. The ability to write your own plugins, filters, and modifiers is great.
[/quote]

I agree. Can't get better than Smarty.

But one point that always comes to the fore when discussing template engines in particular is how close the templates start to resemble (PHP) code. And this is what has kept me away from Smarty.

Being a developer. I get the point of keeping the PHP logic away from designers. To me, a good template is one that allows separation of code and design, without doing too much.