Cherokee. I'm not sure how the mountains or hills are in billings, but I've driven a Samurai on flat pavement where a bird's fart was enough of a headwind to force me to drop 2 gears just to keep speed. In all seriousness I like the Samurai's but in terms of daily drivability I compare it to wearing a loincloth to a business meeting. If gas mileage was your major concern in buying the Samurai, perhaps consider a Tracker or Sidekick. Although the motor in those are no technological marvels, they are widely accepted as reliable and provide decent power relative to the vehicle and good gas mileage. Other considerations may be a Forester since you already have a Wrangler for more serious trails. There is a very good aftermarket for these vehicles and both front and rear limited slips can be fitted to add to their already capable AWD system, Just look at the Forester build that Chazz Layne is doing in this sub-forum. I'm not ruling out a Cherokee either as a previous owner of one I love them to death and am amazed at their out of the box capabilities. I f looking for a Cherokee, my personal preference would lean towards a Selec-Trac model with the NP242 and 2WD, Full time AWD, 4LO, and 4Hi. I feel this offers the best of all worlds and has proven itself to be a fairly sturdy transfer case with a respectable 2.72 low range. Either way if it was my call, I would run away from the Samurai unless your plans were to build a trail rig. Pretty sure a Gator 4Wd has more creature comforts than those things nowadays.
So if you can find one in good shape, nab it!
