Well I gotta admit my "play toy" is my truck, but I've put a modest 2" BB on the Grand Cherokee so I don't have to make all of my trips to the farm with the truck, 360 miles each way gets old in a lifted pickup.
Not to mention the GC is my camping vehicle of choice.

But I agree with you, Cherokees were sweet and fun to lift. Having had 2 Wranglers, I found that to use them as a daily driver gets old pretty quick. Just too loud and bumpy and a real PIA to carry anything. Maybe the 4 doors are better suited as a DD.



I'm actually debating pulling the coil spacers and installing a 4" suspension lift. My 265/65/17 Terra Grapplers are a bit tight and I'm going to put my old winch from the truck on the front. Afraid the weight of the winch might pull it down a tad in the front and cause some rubbing issues...

 

A few weeks late, but I'm gonna add my opinion: For a daily driver, you want a Grand Cherokee hands down. There is almost as much aftermarket support for a WJ as there is an XJ Cherokee, and I feel pretty comfortable saying the stuff that isn't available for the WJ isn't going to affect you in any way.

Get a 99-04 WJ. Opt for the 4.7 over the 4.0. The 4.0 is a great engine, however it's power is lacking for a vehicle that size, and the fuel economy is the same as the V8. As an added bonus to the larger engine, you will get 3.73 gears, Dana 44a rear differential, and a 45RFE/545RFE transmission. All of them better than what the 4.0 has to offer.

With the 4.7 also comes AWD (unless you are lucky enough to find a rare 4.7/NV242 Selec-Trac combo.) There is Quadra-Trac II and Quadra-Drive. Both use the NV247 transfer case, however the QD system has front and rear Varilock axles (GREAT for offroading.) QD is an option, and is usually found on higher end models (standard on the Overland models.)

Biggest problems are blend doors on the dual climate control models, and front brakes on the 99-02 models.

Get one that suits your needs, lift it 4", put some 32's on it, and have fun!