OP - I think you made the right choice.
I had a 57 plate Ranger Thunder double cab and spent a lot of time before buying looking at the other models. The L200 was thirsty, not comfortable and drove like a barge (for a pickup), the Hilux was too expensive and even more expensive when looking at similar interior and exterior specs matching the Thunder. The Rodeo was fugly and interior was uncomfortable. The Navara was good, but the Aventura was similar specd to the Thunder but a lot more expensive.
While I had the Ranger it only needed servicing, no faults over 20,000 miles and was decent off-road. I heard horror stories of clutch issues when towing, but never had any issues with mine.
I was test driving a black L200 Warrior at my local Mitsu dealer with spot lights on front of the bull bars and a spot light rack on the roof. It wouldn't have looked out of place in Mad Max. There's a load of rough ground the dealership uses for test drives out the back of the bays. I come hurtling round the track at 40mph to come face to face with a Micra with a young lady and her dad on her first driving lesson. Sh*t myself, but probably not as much as them. Narrow miss!
