The Explorers with the 5.0 V8 have the same transmission as an F150 truck. The all wheel drive option is nice but prone to dying if you aren't religious about rotating your tires. Always buy 4 tires at a time. If you get one odd size tire on there due to irregular wear you can kill the transfer case. If your only needs are reliable on-road winter driving then an AWD V8 Explorer(or Mercury Mountaineer) might be an option. If your planning any off roading then skip it. The Trooper is your better bet but no matter what you buy research all of it. Just like the Explorer the Troopers have there little annoying problems also. Every vehicle does eventually.