My 1990 Ranger with the manual transmission has given more than I've ever had a right to ask of it, and it's pretty much never failed. It's ratty, sees more use as a work truck, is RWD, and lightly built more in a desert pre-runner style (with 33" tires, regeared LSD in the rear, Camburg front arms, Swayaways, Bilsteins and Deavers, and glass front fenders), but when my Jeep has been down, it's done well.
That's coming out of Saline Valley less than two months ago, on a road that's rough even without snow. I was followed by a guy in a 4WD Tacoma, and once we got back to the pavement an hour and a half later, he told me that as far as he could tell, I never put a wheel wrong the whole way; never lost traction, never slid, never skidded. Don't know how I did it that well, but it was an old beat up 2WD Ranger with a 2.9L V6 that did it.
I should also note that there is no lack of aftermarket support for Rangers. It's just that a lot of those companies may not be as familiar to the typical Expo or crawler type driver. Pretty much the sky is the limit with Rangers, from six figure multi link race trucks, down to a simple gear swap. Camburg is one of the better known ones; there are many more. I'm kind of removed from that world so I don't remember who's doing what, but the stuff is out there, and a lot of it is extremely high quality, with Baja racing pedigrees.
As for MPG? Ermmm...I'm SOL on that count!
