Honda Pilot/CRV or Subaru Outback/Forester

NormT is right about the leather interior!

Any of these would work. The question is exactly how big are your dogs and will you be transporting 4 people plus two large dogs all at the same time. If so, the best bet to avoid getting slobber on the folks in the back seat would be the Pilot! Or a dog barrier.

If dog slobber is OK with the passengers than the Forester will have more cargo space and higher cargo area than the CRV -- also has a lower load height which would be prime consideration for large dogs as they age. The Outback is probably the least desirable due to lower cargo area height.

We have owned 2013 CRV EX-L and 2016 Outback Limited and now a 2018 CRV EX-L. For overall reliability and fuel economy and performance, the CRV would be our choice. The Outback performance is far less than the CRV. The advertised fuel economy of the Outback and the CRV are about the same but in real world experience in our household, we find the CRV to be considerably better. Interior of Outback was somewhat nicer, premium audio is better than the CRV. However, the best audio is available only in the Limited model which is more costly than the CRV. The outside appearance of the Outback was also a bit more stylish, but for overall usage, we much prefer the CRV. We carry one dog on lmany long trips and find virtually no difference with either vehicle for this purpose. With two large dogs, it may be better to choose a larger vehicle, and the pilot would be our choice in that case.

Focusing on the four cars you are considering:

Reliabilty/Durabiilty: Honda Pilot/CRV and Subaru Outback/Forrester are fairly solid cars if you are buying new. Pilots have transimssion issues every time they redeisgn them but they do fix them a couple of years after launch. Subarus burn oil (about 10% of them) but if you maintain your car and check your oil every 1000 miles they are even more durable than Hondas by a small margin.

Powertrain/performance: Optional engines in Subarus give them the advantage when adopting a turbo 4 or H6 engine. Hondas are solid in performance but the larger engine option in Subarus give them faster 0-60 times. If you go with the standard Subaru engine on either model, it is slower than the equivalent Honda.

Quietness: I go by Consumer Reports on this measure. For quietness, both Hondas score a 4 out of 5. Both the 4 and 6 cylinder Outback also score a 4. The Subaru Forrester is the noisest and scores a 3 out of 5. I would have guesed at this but their measures are more accurate.

Note Norm is right, the quietest is Buick. Nearly as reliable as the Honda and Subaru but perhaps not quite as good. I admit I bought the Buick Envision as it is more luxiourous than the cars you chose just recently as it is replacing my 2006 Saab 9-3 that lasted 170,000 miles and 12 years before a tree essentially did it in last week. GM cars can last a long time with few repairs if it is a good design (they are more hit and miss still as Cadillac is a disaster zone especially in electronics while Buick is generally quite good). Note the top of the line Envision has what is called a double clutch transmission. That means that one wheel can be powered in the rear independent of the other, so if you lose traction climbing a snow covered mounatain like I do every day in winter in Connecticut, I won't get stuck. That was important for me.

Also note the 2019 Envision comes out May 2018 so this month they are discounting the Envision by $13,000. That huge discount convinced me to jump in and buy a Buick as it would take a lot of repairs to justify any other car - and I don't expect it to be that bad.

Some details on the Twin-clutch setup and a video comparing it to the Acura RDX.

Buick's New Boo: 2017 Buick Envision First Drive - GM Inside News

Buick's New Boo: 2017 Buick Envision First Drive - GM Inside News

With the Envision, Buick is looking to replicate the Encore and Enclave's smashing success stories

Pilot would be the the much larger of the three and really should be compared to similar models such as the Highlander or other full size SUVs.

My wife drove both the CRV and the Forester and was underwhelmed by the engine/drivetrain on the CRV...just not as responsive as the Forester. Also with the horizontally opposed engine on the Forester, the weight sits lower and it drives more 'car-like' with quite a bit less body roll than in other models.

There is not a significant difference in cargo capacity between the CRV (75 cubic feet) and the Forester (72 cubic feet). As far as AWD systems, the Subaru system is generally much better than most of the 'AWD' offerings from other manufactures and they have had them in vehicles since the late 70's. There are plenty of test videos out there showing comparisons between AWD systems.

Best I can offer is to go out and give them a drive and see which one best appeals to you.