I have a dirt cheap, bottom of the barrel, Romanian AK-47 and have no complaints about it - it has always functioned perfectly. Spending high $$ on an AK platform seems counter intuitive to me - the whole point of the guns is cheap, reliable, and simple enough for the average third world child to operate.
I also have a late model Ruger Mini 30; I prefer the cheap AK. Never been much of a Ruger person.