Thanks for the welcoming replies! Yes, it's definitely still a family car - although the family is reaching that point where they are beginning to leave the nest. 99% of the time it is just a 2 or 3 person vehicle. Once a year (maybe) we'll get a chance to take a trip as a family. I have no plans to pull anything (I have an older Expedition if I need anything like that). Wish I'd had more time to research and I'm sure I would have sought out a 3.6 (the decision wasn't mine, as you might imagine!).
One positive (possibly) is that this little 2.4 looks super easy to work on with all that room in the engine compartment! Hopefully I won't be confirming that anytime soon. It is coming up on the 30k mark, so I will take the advice on the plugs (Champion, I assume?)
Thanks, again!