Unless you're towing or live at high altitude, you're not likely to need the optional V8. The standard V6 delivers respectable performance. You can hear and feel the V6 under full throttle acceleration. It isn't as smooth as Toyota's V6, but it is entirely within acceptable bounds. The 4.0-liter V6 with overhead cams and aluminum heads is rated at 210 horsepower at 5100 rpm, and 254 pounds-feet of torque at 3700 rpm. It was revised for 2002 with a new intake system for increased performance and aluminum main bearings for improved durability.

The 4.6-liter V8 has a lovely intake roar at full throttle, yet is supremely smooth and quiet. It works well with the five-speed automatic transmission to move this 4500-pound machine effortlessly over flat territory. As the transmission settles into fifth-gear overdrive at highway cruising speed, the tachometer drops well below 2000 rpm, and the engine is just there, in the background, working noiselessly until you downshift with the tip of your toe. Throttle response lacks some verve in hilly terrain. Here it's best to lock out the overdrive fifth, and let the engine rev a little higher in fourth on the way up a long hill. Hook up a trailer and you'll know it's back there when you head up a long grade.

The available all-wheel-drive system balances the handling whenever traction is limited. It does this by distributing power to the front and rear tires as needed. In normal driving, the system biases torque 35 percent to the front and 65 percent to the rear to minimize understeer. (Understeer is when the front tires slip before the rear tires, causing the vehicle to push toward the outside of a turn.) It relies on an open differential with a viscous coupling. A clutch pack distributes power between the front and rear wheels based on traction needs. There are no switches or levers for the driver to operate. There's no low range for serious off-road driving, either, but the Mountaineer's system easily handles snow, rain, mud, wet leaves, ice, and gravel.

Body roll, or lean, is controlled well in fast corners. The all-wheel-drive system lets you hammer the throttle whenever you want without wheelspin, even in the middle of a turn. Mountaineer is very stable and inspires confidence, a description that also fits the two-wheel-drive models. Its rack-and-pinion steering minimizes wandering on the highway.

Mountaineer's rigid frame lets its fully independent suspension soak up bumps, potholes and tar strips.