My wife has an '06 Off-Road with a manual and it has been a great vehicle. You get lower axle gears with the manual trans. One area that needs improvement is the rear suspension. It is under sprung and under dampened. I can bottom out the rear end often on the street with just two 45lb dogs in the back.
Thanks. That is an area called Caney Fork in western North Carolina. It has since been closed to high clearance vehicles due to "lack of funding" for the forest service.