Sorry, not meant to sound so dogmatic about it. I just can't stress that it all depends on your intended uses, cost and most importantly the fun had adding your own needs specific modifications.
A JKU RUBI is a drive-off-the-lot AWESOME vehicle. I easily put 5K miles on it off-road. I only sold mine because I went through a divorce at the time after owning it for a 2 years. If I remember I paid $38-ish for a manual NEW in Nov.2006. I ended up putting on a 2" lift, 33's, steel bumper and a roof rack. It's legit out of the box.
Once I was ready to get another Off-Road Vehicle I shopped hard and got a 2012 SPORT that was 6 months old with 11K miles on it. I paid $24K for it. It was an automatic that had all the power options except remote start, touchscreen and leather. So there's a difference of $14K-ish. My build evolved as I tried various lifts, pulled them off, then sold them to other Jeepers, and tried different brands. The great thing about shopping a Jeep is the aftermarket choices are great and installing a lift is really easy compared to other vehicle brands.
My final suspension / gear build was this:
35's that really measured 34", 4.56 Gears, Truetrac rear, Teraflex 2.5" springs (front), OME HD 2.5" springs (rear), JKS control arms, Grade 8 upgrade, JKS Quick Discos, Rancho RS9000 Shocks. I may be forgetting something?
The amount spent is less and I had the fun of adding what I wanted based on my needs. I never had issues with D30, the lockers I barely used on the RUBI before (I actually like the truetrac better for my type), and the ride on the SPORT was WAY smoother and nicer than the RUBI.
That's my experience in a nutshell for JKUs. Everybody's story is different, better or worse than mine...
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