Sometime in the 80s my wife & I bought our first Cherokee after having two AMC Eagles. We drove almost every Jeep on the lot when the salesman nearing his limit told us to take one for a dive, have lunch, take it home to drive our dirt road but not to look at the engine. When we got back in a couple of hours we had decided to buy it. When we raised the hood it was a four cylinder. It was great car, bad ass in the snow and rough roads. I didn't tow with it but it handled the mountains well. Later we had a Cherokee & a grand Cherokee with the 4.0 six. The grand was my favorite jeep to date. I think the 4x4 package you choose is more important than the engine if you intend to "use" them.
I had a supervisor buy a Wrangler back in the mid-late-90s when they were the 4 banger, and he liked it. I considered getting a Wrangler but never did. In 2002 I was looking for a Cherokee and visited numerous used car dealers around town. I didn't know the 1991 and newer ones had the 4.0, and argued with one of the guys about it being a 4, and then he popped the hood and showed me the 4.0, then started it and revved it up. I didn't find anything that suited me in town, but found one for sale from a guy in a mountain town, and arranged to meet him on my way home from a visitation weekend. Test drove it and liked it. It was a bone stock Laredo with 88k on it, he was the original owner, and I got the money from my credit union that week and went up to get it. Been a very reliable vehicle, and now has 208k on it. Besides the Old Man Emu lift kit, gear change to 3.73 and a few maintenance items, the only thing I have done is change the oil on a regular basis and drive it. Once I get the truck done, the Jeep will get a new engine, and the trans and transfer case will get rebuilt, and it will be good to go for another 200+k.
