I have owned a lot of bikes in my lifetime. I am now on my 2nd "H" series KDX200. I just love the bike. The motor is just about perfect for the tight, boney New England trails I ride on. It is light enough to work well when the going gets really tough. It is comfortable for a long trail ride (something a lot of newer bikes are really lacking, IMO). It comes with lights, and is easily street plate-able (as mine is). It has a 6 speed transmission. It has a decent fuel capacity/range. Parts are plentiful. But probably the biggest thing for me is that they are super reliable, hardly ever needing anything more than an oil change. Oh, and they are really very affordable on the used market.
When you add up all of these advantages, they are really hard to beat for a non-competitor/casual trail rider.
The only other bikes out there are the KTM200, and the Gas-Gas 200, and with both of those, you will pay significantly more, and trade some of the positive attributes of the KDX for a relatively small edge in performance.
I have found that the folks that I ride with tend to look down on my KDX, until I let them try it out. When we do go riding, I am usually out front, unless we are in a sand pit, where I usually just pull over in the shade somewhere.
