I am currently looking to buy my wife a 2017 Explorer Sport or XLT with the Sport Appearance Package.

I thought in the past few years the Sports were coming standard with the V6 EcoBoost and the AWD. I had that set-up in my previous Taurus SHO and loved the handling with the AWD.

As I started looking at the 2017's, I realized they have what they are calling Intelligent 4WD. Does Intelligent 4WD work on-road like an AWD, or is it for traditional off-road use 4WD?

 

It is a form of AWD although it does not send power to both axles equally under normal driving conditions. The computer monitors wheel slip, steering angle and vehicle yaw and a number of other factors and portions out the power to the axle that needs it. A true AWD system sends power to both axles all the time with a center differential to prevent binding due to speed differences. A true 4WD splits power 50/50 front to real all the time and can't be used on high traction surfaces.
I had a '14 Sport that was amazing in its ability to find traction in the snow. The only downside was that with that much power, the torque steer could scare the heck out of you on dry roads and put you sideways on wet roads if you nailed it at low speeds.

 

iirc our 13 sport is basically front wheel drive until more needed

 

short answer:

4x4 "auto" lets computer engage 4wd whenever it senses a need, ie: slippery road and intelligent 4wd is a form of traction control.

Long answer:

My '04 Explorer has "auto 4x4".
When making right turn of red on pavement, it is awesome, it auto engages the front axle when it senses the right rear tire (I have limited slip rear diff also) from spinning and really enhances the acceleration.
On our mud/snow dirt roads in the mtns we use 4x4 hi so all wheels are always working. Once on County paved road we go back to "auto"