for exploring the outdoors especially in the desert and mountains around Southern California on the weekends.
My budget is $15,000 to work with.
Must be dependable and easy on the gas.
Drive-through sand.
Drive-through River.
Climb mountain trails.
Don't need a lot of electronic gadgets.
Don't need a lot electronics that could cause the vehicle not to work.
I'm not looking for a hard-core rock crawling truck.

thank you for your help.

You have defined some things you want a vehicle to accomplish. I will challenge you to consider the type of vehicle capable and your expectations.

Now, dependable and easy on gas. There you are creating a conundrum. As your other expectations dictate capabilities that are going to require a trade-off.

With that in mind, MY major criteria is on dependability. That beings to limit vehicle type to one whet repair parts are readily available when outside a major metropolitan area.

Don't need electronic gadgets - good choice as dust and electronic controlled mechanics can be a problem.

You want something that will drive through sand, rivers and climb mountain trails.

With these criteria, you are defining vehicle capabilities the dictate lift, lockers and tire size. Here comes a trade off, those will affect mileage. And, many of the electronic packages can be a problem in adverse conditions.

In my opinion, you are looking for a moderately modified vehicle that has a mild lift to provide ground clearance. Ground clearance and traction are important criteria to consider. Along with ground clearance is increased tire size which dictate an appropriate change in gear ratio to accommodate the extra engine effort.

At the end of the day, you are looking for a Jeep or Toyota that has been modified to provide for lift, lockers, and gearing. But, I would not rule out a MItsubushi Montero.

There are a lot of options. Based on your criteria, you are looking for a short wheel base vehicle that provides ground clearance and is dependable. The weak link is dependability. And, dependability does include consideration for electronic packages which are a failure prone option.

on the Toyota Tacoma side what year would you recommend?

on the Jeep Grand Cherokee side what year would you recommend?

fuel economy average 20 is good for me..

Pretty much any year of Tacoma. They are a reliable vehicle.

WRT the Grand Cherokee, I wold look at the smaller Cherokee. The Grand comes with V-8 and is heavier and you would not get the milage.

Jeep JK (4-door model) is another consideration.

what do you think about the 2007 Grand Cherokee with the 6 cylinders?

the straight 6 in a grand is fairly gutless. All of the extra amenities equals weight and more stuff to go wrong. I am biased towards mitsus to be honest but I have had many different 4x4s. Your goals could either be a small pick up or a SUV. Unibodies should be ruled out because of the cost to fix them if you tweak the sub frame. If you want a soft top option jeep wrangler has the most options but at your price point you'd need to buy an early TJ and build on it. Pretty able from the factory is the Montero, and it has factory lockers and lots of mods that are cheap and easy. Its popular as a soccer mom/ mall crawler and comes in quite a bit cheaper than many Toy and Jeep SUVs.

Gorgon beat me to the answer but, he is correct. I overlook Monteros as they are hard to find in Southern Cal. The unibody Cherokee do have drawbacks but they are an inexpensive vehicle and surprisingly durable. As long as you are not into rock crawling and radical frame twister trails.

The Grand Cherokee is a heavy vehicle and a six cycl. Is under power, especially if you add any weight.

When you compare the three basic platforms, you are looking at Toyota, Jeep and Mitsubishi.

Within the Toyota, you have several options: Tacoma, 4Runner, FJ. Jeep you have TJ (2 door) or JK (4 door). The Monteros do come out of the showroom equipped better than most others.

Southern Cal prices are high. When you look at vehicles, if they have been modified with a lift, find out the provider of the lift and who did the install. Some home DIY installs can be budget and a potential problem.

While I am a bit partial to the Monteros, (i own 2) I also have a 80 series Land Cruiser. These things are built and you can get in them for a reasonable amount of cash. Upgrade options are plentiful too. Big inline 6 for power. Look for the factory diff lock option.

How much gear do you want to carry? People? Animals?

A Suzuki Samurai could fit your most basic needs. Mods are plentiful. I know of one Sami that went 467,000 miles plus/minus that was only retired due to metal fatigue in the frame....and could no longer pass Cal smog.

Your 20 mpg dream...needs evaluation in the face of your other criteria.

There are a number of options available. As a disclaimer, I'm a Jeep guy. But, I don't hesitate to recommend a Toyota, Montero, or other vehicle.

It comes down to what is available in your area?

And, your original posting did say Southern Cal.

Toyota and Jeep are readily available. Outside of that, you may stumble on a good deal with Montero or Kia Sportage.

Personally, I would like to have a Susuki. Just looked at one that really needed work with a high price tag. Somehow $6k for a 20 year old vehicle needing a head gasket was more than my idea of a good deal. But a friend in Sacramento area snagged one for $2000 that runs and has the factory hardtop.

The deals are there provided you take your time.

The Mitsubishi forums will give you a lot of info about problems and solutions. The Kia forums will give you info about problems and solutions.

Shop around. I will steer you away from Land Rover, unless you have deep pockets or stumble on an old Defender. Nissan builds a good small truck but not durable Offroad.

Chevy Blazer, not bad, limited with suspension and lift mods. Ford - year and engine dependent. F-150, great truck. A little bigger than your specs. Dodge Ram, great truck, again, a little bigger than your specs.

For SoCal deserts, 110 inch wheel base or less. Coil spring suspension.

The optimal tire size is 33 inch (roughly 295 or 305 P-metric).

Engine - vehicle weight and cargo defendant. If vehicle is less than 5000 lbs, a six cyclinder should be sufficient. But, larger tires require gearing to compensate.

In short, there is no "perfect" vehicle for all occasions. There are trade offs.

And, there are upgrade opportunities. My personal desire is for a platform that has ready supply of parts. On a trip in North Rim of Grand Canyon, pulled into Fredonia AZ. I needed a water pump for an 89 Jeep Cherokee. In stock. Buddy needed a fuel pump for a 99 Toyota Tacoma. 24 hour delivery.

Montero is a good vehicle. As is Jeep, Toyota, Kia and a few others. Space considerations are important. Jeeps (unless Cherokee or 4-door) can be space limited.

Shop around, read about the different options and, ask questions.