I looked at Subaru but the Forester was 4cyl. It'll tow driftboat but it would be hard on the motor going over mountains or on rough ramp takeouts.
Forester comes in 4 cyl or a turbo 4 cyl. Outback comes in 4 cyl or 6 cyl. Outback has better towing capacity by a long shot, and more interior space.
We have both a Forester and an Outback. I've been a Subaru convert. Outback's are better in virtually every category when compared to Forester (2010+). But also cost more. And if you're buying used, they have a great resale value so they're gonna be more $$$$ for the mileage than the others you're considering.
It's not a truck and won't do everything a truck does, but if you have to have 1 vehicle to do a little bit of everything, they make a lot of sense.
Most people compare them to Honda CRV's and Yota Rav4's. But functionally, they're not at all the same, and much more comparable to a Jeep Cherokee.
Clearance better than any CUV you'll find. It comes in at 8.7". That's exactly the same as a Jeep Cherokee, FWIW. It achieves the high clearance and low center of gravity by having a flat engine (horizontally opposed). That said, on a Subie, if you do go 8.7" deep into something, EVERYTHING bottoms out, not just a diff hanging low or something. And despite the clearance the take-off angle isn't the best on Outback, it is better on Forester.
Many AWD's are glorified FWD's that can send a small amount of power to the rear only after slip is detected, or below a certain speed, etc. Subaru's are not. This system is functionally the same as many so called 4x4's these days, with a hydraulic center diff. Fancy programming varies the front/rear torque constantly. On acceleration more goes to the rear, on deceleration more to the front, and it adjusts for hills and speed and so forth. Default (steady speed down a level highway at 40 mph) is 60/40 on mine, and it never goes 100/0 or 0/100. Never. It's not capable of full disconnection. That's why if you tow it has to be a flatbed. There are also some tricks you can pull to have manual control. For instance, manually put it in 1st or second gear and it defaults to 50/50 and allows it to vary less from that point. The newer ones have "x-mode" which does much the same thing.
The bugaboo is the left to right torque split (I.e. front and rear diffs), which are not mechanically locking or limited slip. On trucks, most all have an open front diff, but in the rear, some come open with an LSD or locking as an option, and some have it standard. The Subaru's use the brakes to "fake" a limited slip diff both front and back. Keep torque on an axle, while braking the spinning side, and torque gets forced to the other side. It works, but no, it's not as good as a fully mechanical system because you have to spin a bit before it kicks in, thus losing momentum.
Functionally, it'll run circles around a traditional 4x4 on snow, ice, dirt, or gravel. It ain't close. In truly deep snow or mud (approaching the clearance), the Subie's don't got the torque of a truck, though, and you also should have no thoughts of pulling stumps out and such. And they struggle in boulder crawling type situations too, where you may lift a wheel. In those cases, a mechanical locking or LSD is necessary. They do great on sand thanks to the light weight. Nothing beats a Wrangler or an FJ, but they'll sure do better than the Silverado's and F150's out there on the beach! FWIW, the Jeep Cherokee/Grand Cherokee line has a similar performing system, and Compass/Patriot/Liberty come nowhere close in capability. Wrangler, of course, beats em all handily.
The Achilles hill is probably towing. I don't know how big your boat is. I think the tow capacity on the Outback is 2700 lbs for the 4 banger and 3000 lbs for the 6, and it's less on the Forester. Limitation is the car based frame, not the engine or tranny or hitch. I would get the 6 cylinder, though, as aside from towing, the 4 banger is pretty sluggish to start off with. Double it's weight and I'd guess it to be pretty anemic!
Gas mileage is better than a truck and worse than other crossovers, on account of the better clearance and AWD system, of course. Reliability is good. Ride is good. Space is good. Interior is so-so, Subaru generally lags behind it's competitors in creature comforts and sometimes you have to hunt down an annoying rattle or two. Paint sucks. These things scratch if you breath on them.
If I need true truck capability (more serious towing, outside bed, etc.), I'd probably go Tacoma for what it's worth.
