I've been pondering a response since you posted this. Since I'm a Toyota veteran of many years it's hard to acknowledge other 4x's. But, Jeep Cherokees with the straight six are pretty good vehicles. Why Chrysler decided to end production is beyond me. There is a demand for them, specially here in the mountains. They get fairly good gas mileage and the engine is a strong runner. And like you say they have the solid axle up front. They're easy to lift and trick out and are pretty darn good off road, I've seen plenty in the boonies of Utah and western CO. Only bad thing I know about them is the tendancy of the exhaust manifold to crack. IMO you wouldn't be making a bad move at all. All this being said, I hope you'all will forgive me for my temporary lapse of Toyota-ness.