A friend of mineuses one for daily driving due to it being so cheap versus his dodge dually. The fiancé got one while her car was getting painted, not a samurai but a new grand vitara and she loved it. Seemed like a nice little 4x4 for a lady
I had one a long time ago. It may have been slow but at least it got shitty has mileage, especially on the freeway since you have to keep it matted to do 65.
I didn't mind driving it in town and on the few occasions I took it off road it did remarkably well.
From what I understand they do last a long time with good maintenance and NO performance mods.