Edit: Please don't take this the wrong way. It's all in good fun. I'm not trying to start an internet war or dump on anybody's ride. By all means, drive what makes you smile. That's my point above. But, forgive me, Pentastar's and I have had a difficult relationship.
I haven't driven the PUG/8-speed, but I never had a problem with how the old Pentastar drove. I loved it. The power was great. It's the quality that I had a problem with.
Every single person I knew in Dubai that regularly drove a Penta-Jesus in the desert had to replace the engine after 18 months. Every single one. Snorkels helped, but did not cure the problem. Manual transmissions went through throwout bearings in about six months unless you lifted them. A 2.5" lift would get the bellhousing up enough from the sand that the throwout bearing would survive, but over there, a lift would void the warranty (which was critical the way they went through motors), and absolutely guarantee a front driveshaft failure within six months. The dash lighting up like a Christmas tree soon became a weekly occurrence.
We were in a large 4WD club, and I personally know of 20-30 pentastar's replaced under warranty. It was a running joke that our club used to meet in the desert on Friday mornings to drive, and the Jeep drivers met again in the service department of the Jeep dealership every Saturday morning to weep. It was funny because it was true.
Susanne and I went through three engines before I gave up and went Toyota. She just kept letting the dealer replace them because it drove sooooooo good. And it did. Her stock 2013 2-door JK sport would run circles around my 70-series.
Meanwhile the Toyota's, Nissan's, Chevy's, Mitsubishi's, and even Kia's just kept on driving without a hiccup. They didn't drive as good, but they drove every time you needed them to. Ironically Ford Raptors were very capable, but limited to low level rides because the airbags were too sensitive to do the advanced rides without blowing.
No doubt that what we were doing was hard on the vehicles, borderline abuse, but there were many times more Jeep problems than all other brands combined. Like five or six to one. And in four years out there driving every weekend, I never saw a Toyota break a factory part unless he hit something. I never saw a single engine replaced that wasn't a Pentastar.