All of the SUVs you listed have got to be feeling pretty small once you start cramming two adults, their stuff, a 50 lb. dog, his/her stuff, and associated survival kits, food, water, etc.

Ditto here on avoiding anything AWD -- that just brings premature wear and tear. I would stick with a 2WD vehicle or one with real 4WD.

I get 20mpg highway and spent a lot less on my 4WD truck than I could have spent on some fancy SUV with GPS navigation, wood trim, heated leather seats, et al.

In the end it's all about what works for you and lots of test drives!