I bought a new 2025 Explorer ST in January and reside on a rural Texas ranch so I think I can speak from experience in answer to your question. Our ranch is off of a dirt county road that is poorly maintained and can be a mess in rainy or winter weather. I have to negotiate a 2.3 mile stretch of this road to reach pavement and I've only seen worse roads in wartime Iraq. That being said since moving here in 2010 I've driven a 2010 Buick LaCrosse, 2013 Toyota Venza, and a 2019 Mazda CX-9 GT before getting the Explorer.
ALL of those previously mentioned FWD vehicles (with all season radials) navigated this terrain without difficulty and while I wish the ST had a higher profile tire on it, the 4WD paired with the Pirelli Scorpion tires is definitely more surefooted. Also, the Explorer has a significantly higher ground clearance than any of the other vehicles that I had.
My wife drives a pickup as do plenty of my neighbors but some of them have regular cars like a VW Golf or Nissan Sentra too and don't have any trouble. You might feel more confident driving some big tired 4-Runner or Bronco but unless your road is worse than mine you don't need that or AWD/4WD. Good luck with making your decision.