There is little power difference between the two.
The difference is that once you're DIY repairing a 20+ year old vehicle, you're fairly dug-in to it, and want it to last as long as possible, particularly in this case since parts are so abundant, most repairs are relatively easy once you know how, and there's such a huge support knowledgebase out there.
The problem is, the SOHC makes for a shorter finite lifespan. If you consider the average miles a US citizen drives per year, by 20 years, the average SOHC Explorer "might" have succumb to timing chain issues. It's hard to speculate about like that because of cash for clunkers and collision accidents that total vehicles out, but it's essentially a ticking time bomb that will happen eventually to every SOHC engine if something else doesn't take the vehicle out of service first.
Plus, the 5R55 tranny is weaker. These are the two big ticket items that tend to put vehicles with low bluebook value in the grave, if not for massive (frame) rust.
If you already own one it is anecdotal, drive it till the wheels fall off or some major repair you can't DIY, exceeds the vehicle book value. Even then, if it exceeded the book value a little on mine, I'd still repair it because the book value is so low and any vehicle, even just out of warranty can incur repairs more expensive than the book value of a 2nd gen explorer, and there's something to be said for "the devil you know".
On the other hand I won't cry too many tears when my 2nd get gets retired. The handling is abysmal even after upgrades that improved it, always a tradoff between handling and ride quality, more significant where I'm located because it's mostly hills and curves. It wasn't unreasonable handling for something in '98, and the design lends itself to durability, but even a next gen explorer with independent rear suspension, is far better in the handling category.
Granted, a significant crowd wants solid axles for offroading. I go offroad to get to where i want to be on a fairly frequent basis, but not as a sport where I push my luck, so for my purposes, I don't need solid axles, but with salted winter roads here, I do benefit a lot from a frame instead of rear strunts on a unibody upper mount which would have had rust-through failure by now.