Ford Explorers are dirt cheap and actually quite reliable (at least based on my experience). Here is a 2001 with 68,000 miles for only $5500. I would avoid pre-1997 since they did not have a 4wheel Hi mode, just a 4wheel auto mode which does not work well in snow
Cheers
Mark
on edit: I just noticed that you wanted an import, a similar age and mileage 4 Runner would be $10-12,000. So I would still consider the Explorer.
M