I think, by the sounds of your plans, that either the Escape Hybrid or Highlander Hybrid is your best option. They have good mileage, plenty of storage space and *usually* a trailer hitch to attach a box or bike rack, etc. You have some decent off-roading capabilities too.
If you wanted to get really fancy, you could take a page out of christofoo's playbook and use the hitch rack as a foundation for a more aerodynamic shape on the back end. Maybe use the roof rack and hitch in combination to make a kammback or something.
Oh, and no creepy guy driving in the middle of nowhere look with either of those!
For the record, some opinions I found:
Last Crossover Standing
Offroading Highlander
A good review
Car&Driver Escape Hybrid