Faults:
The windshield wiper motor died at 185,000 miles and was replaced.
The low speed on the intermittent wiper switch stopped working at 205,000 miles, but the other speeds still work fine.
The valve cover developed a small crack at 180,000 miles and was replaced.
General Comments:
The 4.0 L in-line six cylinder engine will run for ever provided a regular maintenance schedule is followed. Change the oil every 3,000 miles, and have the transfer case, transmission, and axles serviced every 30,000 miles, and these vehicles will outlast their owners.
I love to use my Cherokee off-road, and my Jeep has never gotten off easy. From day one, I have used it on trails all over the east coast in everything from door-deep mud holes and fast-flowing icy rivers, to rock climbing to surf fishing and sand dune running. Today, with 211,000 miles, I still use it just as hard and it has never let me down.
I have used it to tow a friend's full size Ford F-150, and another friend's full size Yukon. The straight six is a very torque happy engine, and never seems to run out of low end grunt. This also gives the engine a very flat power band, so whether you are idling over a boulder or cruising down the highway at 85 miles an hour, there is power on tap.
The Cherokee is small enough to whip around, and handles pretty well for a vehicle with solid front and rear axles. It is simplistic in design, but that is why they run forever and can handle abuse that would have other vehicles in the junk yard in a hurry.
Due to the indestructible nature of Cherokees, a new racing series has been started called Jeep Speed. These are largely stock Cherokees with a roll cage and any regular after-market lift kit, running around the desert like race trucks. It is a real series, and can be seen at www.jeepspeed.com. No other vehicle could take this kind of abuse with a factory set up.
If you want a truck that will show up your friends off-road, get you to any trail, down it as far as you can stand to go, and get you home again, then take you to work and back and school and back, pick up the dog from the groomer, take your friends on snow-boarding trip with all their gear... you get the point. My Cherokee does it all, and is the most reliable car I have ever heard about, driven, or seen. I even went out and bought two more, with a third in the works.