Drive it some time, FC. . . you might change your mind.
The new Wranglers drive better than my era . . . but it's on-road manners are still compromised by it's suspension design (which is awesome on the trails) and probably no where near what modern SUVs are.
Power wise, Wranglers always had "just enough" power. . . . as in, just enough to move the Jeep. If you drive "normally" the way most other people drive they'll probably be fine. Just don't expect great performance out of the engine. . . think slow mini-van speed.
As for the X vs. Sahara vs. Rubicon. . .
Well, you have the brochures and will figure something out for you. But for me I'd either go X or Rubicon. In my mind the Sahara only offers cosmetic upgrades and, well, it's a Jeep so what's the point?
. . . actually "I" would go Rubicon but that's because I'd put all that awesome offroad capability to use. For you? Would you use the Rubi's capabilities? Do you really want all that fancy cosmetic stuff on the Sahara trim line? I can tell you that the Wrangler's basic 4x4 system does an amazing job even in severe conditions . . so if you're looking for snowy road, gravel mountain routes, or heck, even some serious offroad trail conditions, then the X will be more than plenty traction wise.
I don't want to talk you out of a Rubi, I think they're awesome and hopefully you'd use it offroad. But if you have zero intention of doing that . . .
An option is to get an X and then fix it up the way you want. Toss on your own wheels/tires. Or put on your own tow-bar/rear bumper. You'd likely get your Jeep outfitted for less with more robust aftermarket parts.
Anyways
People need to adjust the metric by which they measure a Wrangler. It's not a car, it's not an SUV, it's not a truck, certainly not a sports car. It's a Jeep.
Its a utilitarian vehicle designed for the outdoors. It'll take you places you'd be surprised you can drive. And it'll handle bad weather, crappy roads, snow, floods, and mud holes with grace.
On good days it turns into a convertible. VERY convertible. The windshield folds down and the doors come off in addition to the top coming down. This offers a sense of openness not found in anything short of a motorcycle. There are myriad ways to configure any wrangler to fit your needs / environmental conditions.
And the interior, while "shitty" is probably one of the best set up interiors for dealing with wet, muddy, dirty passengers (you know, who actually get outdoors and play in nature). The carpets fit poorly but that is because you can unsnap them and remove the from the vehicle. Why? So you can HOSE OUT the interior. Yeah, that's right, how many other vehicle can you spray out the passenger cabin with a garden hose?
And it's drive train is also designed toward this ruggedness. Solid live axles at each end are durable, simple, offer tremendous flexibility, and safely encase all drivetrain components (no rubber SV boots to tear). They use an "old school" locking transfercase to switch between 2WD, 4Hi and 4Lo. In the case of the Rubicons that 4-low is a 4:1 crawl ratio for extra low-end grunt. So there's no shifting of power front/rear . . . it's always 50/50 power distrubution and each axle always has power to it. No computerized mumbo-jumbo to get in the way.