I own a women's specific Giant that is a road bike. The OCR1. I am happy with it.

My mtb just happened to be a diff brand at another shop that didn't deal Giant. It's a Trek. Hard trail wsd 4500. No disc brakes.

Like you, the next big $ bump up was the disc brake model. Att, I would have never thought of really getting them. The lbs said unless I was doing more agressive mtb, I didn't need them either.

I'm more of a roadie gal, but recenlty have found some diff mtb trails to ride. Now, I will preface this with, I'm a middle aged broad, have some health/back issues per doc's orders I have to be careful about my activities (like not crash hard on my mtb), and after riding the new trails, I wish I had disc brakes.

On the same trail, a younger guy friend of mine said he wouldn't need them. He's all about speed in descending. I'm more cautious (even in my road handling) and would like more stopping power. If I continue, think I might see about the upgrade. FWIW.

So, I can't say specifically about Giant's mtbs, but on what I have is good. Best of luck with your decision!