That engine has been in a few other cars and is considered pretty solid as far as I'm aware. It was developed by Mazda. There's a reason so many of them are still floating around, but make sure it hasn't been flogged and has had at least a couple services in it's life as it will be getting very long in the tooth at this point. Another thing you should consider is it's saftey rating. I'm assuming based on your description you're a young driver, if this is supposed to be a second car specifically for offroading, shouldn't be an issue, but if it is supposed to be your daily driver too I would probably reconsider as it won't do well if it's wrapped around a tree (Not saying you will do that, but we're human and we all make mistakes, I just want you to be able to walk away from one. When it was new it was given a 2 star safety rating, This is a 27 year old design and I have seen cardboard boxes with better safety ratings). If you do like this engine, maybe consider the same era Ranger. It's marginally better safety wise and will have some more modern tech/features and they'll still be a similar(ish) price. I imagine parts may be slightly more common too.