I own a Taurus PT-145 and think it is the best "bang" for the buck. It is small, which makes it very concealable. It holds 10+1 rounds of 45. It is comfortable and easily handled, even for someone like me with a small hand. I shoot it one-handed a lot of the time as I believe the Weaver Stance is great for punching holes in paper but may not be practical in a SD situation, well, unless you can get the perp to hold still for you while you take careful aim. The PT-145 has been a reliable shooter through over 1000 rounds; I carry it most often now. It shoots everything I feed it: my handloads, Remington Golden Sabers, Speer Gold Dots and others. By choice, I only load and shoot 230gr ammo.
As for the naysayers, I can relate. I have owned 4 Chevrolets in my life. 3 were great; the 4th was a lemon³. These were American made. Every forum has members that have shared their problems with just about every make and model of firearms on the market. It happens. Such is life. Many companies that turned out junk found out the hard way that firearms owners sort of like their firearms to be reliable if nothing else. Taurus was one of them; I believe they got most of their problems fixed. I would own another without hesitation.