personally i would never buy a new jeep unless i had absolutely NO plans of wheeling it.... they cost too much money to tear up off road....(6 or 7k vehicle i dont mind beating up... but 40k? hell no)
the only newer jeep i would own would be-
SRT-8


however, i love my 4runner and am VERY impressed by its offroad and onroad abilities (most of you saw it in moab this year )