[Vettezuki]

I daily drove mine for nearly 12-13 years. I'm a Jeep kind of guy and loved it. You need to test drive one and see how you like it, they're nothing like any other car or truck; they have a unique feel to them.

Some random pro/cons.

Mileage ain't too hot in any model I'm aware of. (They're very heavy, geared low, and not exactly aerodynamic.)

They're pretty loud on the freeway, especially with a soft top.

Soft tops are okay in CA. If you get a one with a hard top, I rather strongly recommend one with a factory hard top, not an aftermarket hard top (like I have). They're just not (or at least weren't) OE quality for cealing at all.

4 cylinder is OK, if you keep tire size quite close to stock (small) and don't plan on towing anything. My tires are 31.5x15 (modest by off road standards) and I either need to regear or have more power to use 5th (OD) in most typical freeway situations.

I don't know what the price differential between a 4 and 6 is on the used market, it may be a fair bit, but you may want to lean towards the 6. But this doesn't really matter for recreational off roading because the gearing goes down so far that even the lil 4 banger can do just fine (as you recall).

Automatics are definitely more convenient for off roading. I enjoy the challenge, but in tight spots, your feet may be doing quite a lot of dancing in a stick.

If they've been mechanically maintained, they are tough as all hell. Mine jumped off cliffs, was submerged under water and ran through a tree. . . still ran. They are simple as can be, basically a chunk of steel. Mine is a 91' which still had the ancient AMC designed 2.5L 4 Cyl.

Mine has leaf springs front and back. They are basically unbreakable, but obviously ride a bit hard and aren't setup for as much travel as some of the later coil spring models.

If you're going to do much off roading, obviously LSD is going to be helpful (if not an outright aftermarket locker). But it isn't the end of the world. Mine's an open diff I've done lots of fairly gnarly off roading.

I've personally never met a person who got a Jeep and then hated it. I think most people have an idea of what they are, get one and find out that is indeed what they are.