I agree, the oil burning is starting to get old... I think it was more the lines of poor workmanship and poor quality assurance by the people who are in charge of making things within specification that were causing problems.. as far as I know the recent Subaru are less problematic or the engine have been redesign.
Lets first get things set... going from a FWD sedan to a AWD Suv will tank your fuel economy. They sit higher and have more wind resistance so it isn't going to be like a sedan.. The trade off is more room and more storage space. Towing will hurt it even more.
I say, you can't go wrong with either one, CRV or Outback.. although I drove the forester instead of the outback here is my impression on the Subaru:
1. It is extremely easy to drive, there is a lot of open glass for people to look outside and around when driving.. Downside is you looking out, people can look back in
2. The handling was very good. There isn't to much body roll vs the CRV, but I don't think the AWD system has anything to do with it rather it was just the way the suspension setup as well as weight distribution.
3. It was quieter in the Forester vs the CRV
The outback will have very similar dimensions to the CRV interior wise, although I think the Outback is longer then the CRV, I don't think you live in NY or San Fransisco which every inch of space saved is important.
I think what is important when it comes down to what you need are tires... Everyone brags how good a system they have, but they never disclose "tested with winter tires, or tested with off road tires".
We all know what all season tires can do to any car:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_gseK09_pU
The thing the outback wins at is ground clearance. It has a higher ground clearance if you need to go through some very deep stuff.. although I doubt you will do it while towing a boat... The boat will probably bottom out while towing in deep stuff anyways.
As for boat ramps, how are the places you are going to launch and retrieve your boat? Are they going to be slippery on the sand or does it actually have a concrete ramp?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMDKU7NFAu8 - RWD 4Runner failing...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc5rF54lEZ8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RsRhw2O2FI
... Prius can do it.... on cemented docks
By the way, Subaru and Honda CRV are now power split 50/50.. Subaru full time vs Honda on demand. Traction control and tires make up the rest of it.. Jeep Cherokee can do 40/60 as far as I know.. but its a Jeep.. expensive and .. (end sentence)
Just test drive both, remember tires are your best friend and if you plan to tow your boat.. make sure your boat can make it to its location without having your vehicle dragging and scrapping something.
Here is someone with the CRV in snow. It did bottom out a few times and on really steep slope in the snow it did take a few attempts to get up it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6O85Bm62Cw