GrandPa:
The AEV suspension is in a class all its own. The handling is extremely noticeable on and off road. Also with towing. The Rubicon "notices" bumps with much more "bump" than the AEV.
Dugedug: I am not sure the answer regarding mileage ...
The Rubicon doesn't get as good of mileage as my heavily modified AEV. The other perplexing thing is that my sister in law drives a Chrysler car with the same motor as the JKU, and her car gets twice the mileage as the Jeep. Now, granted, we are driving aerodynamic bricks, ... but lots was done by Chrysler to improve the mileage of the JKU- even the slightly curved windshield yielded an extra mile per gallon.
The other thing that is curious, is that some days the jeeps get better mileage than other days. So, I don't know what to tell you.
Regarding service- In some parts of the Country, the land rover service writers are behind bullet proof glass ... that's for a reason!

Not so much on the LR3, but I often felt like on the Classic Range Rovers, DI's and DII's that the dealership (and I have a great relationship with my local landrover dealers- so I am not dogging them) was guessing on repairs. I'd take the truck in for something, they'd "fix" it, I'd pay through the nose for it, ... and then get 10 miles down the road, and it would be doing the same thing. Take it back, ... and them find another "cause" of the problem and still charge me to fix the second thing (as if ... they were just guessing the problem and the fix).
Brushogger:
I love the FJ's. The main reason I didn't go with the FJ was the lessor mod ability with them and I found that the area in front of the rear side windows had a major blind spot for me. But- I do love the look of those trucks.
StumpXJ:
At $5/gallon for gas, I may be camping in my driveway this Spring! Seriously, we are doing most of our trips close to home lately. We do have great places - Land Between the Lakes, Fall Creek Falls, and the list goes on. But, you guys live and camp in an area near and dear to my heart. Hopefully we can at least make one long trek and meet up with you guys.
D