The FAL was probably the best of the cold-war era semiauto rifles. It was extremely reliable, easy to clean, adjustable for different kinds of ammo (gas pressure letoff adjustable) and, if not known for extreme accuracy, could be made accurate with careful manufacturing and a slightly heavier barrel as per the DS FALs.
If you had to pick a semiauto rifle to like today, it might be the FNAR.
Thank you for informing me about that FNAR.