My wife and I just bought our first boat, a 2020 Tahoe 2150. We pulled it about 3 hours with our Subaru Ascent Limited and it did great. I bet you've seen the video of the red/burgundy colored Ascent lowering a 5k lb boat and pulling it back up but only that one and the YouTube says they didn't use X-mode. We took ours down the ramp and put the boat in using X-mode and we had no problems. We also chocked the back tires at the bottom. We're keeping our boat in the marina so we haven't pulled it back out yet but I wanted to share how it performed so far.

Not sure how well an Ascent would do with your boat but it has gone great so far with our Tahoe 2150. Just wanted to share.

You've shared the "when nothing went wrong" version of the story. You did not say what the towed rig weighs, nor what the tow vehicle weighs. While you can pull it (around Waco, at least), you can't always STOP it so easily. That's the real kicker. You may tell me that you have brakes on the trailer. If you do, have you tried a panic stop somewhere (such as a very large empty parking lot)? Trailer brakes aren't that effective, and you really need to experience that special "I'm being pushed and I can't stop" feeling. It's not good.

While you're towing, other people tend to do stupid things in traffic that put a towing vehicle in a bad situation, such as pulling out in front of you. These are the things that cause the greatest cocern.

I've been towing for over 40 years, and I've learned to look at comparative tower/towee weights. I want the tow vehicle to have as big a percentage of the total weight as possible. Think of it like asking which decides where you are going and when you will stop - the tow vehicle, or the trailer?

By no means sayings it’s a great tow vehicle but that’s the first I’ve heard that trailer brakes don’t make much difference. Tow a 5k lb boat often and have towed it with no brakes it absolutely makes a difference a big one during rusher stops. And I’m towing with a full size crew cab pickup.

I’ve been looking for a new SUV for wifey. I really like the Subaru Ascent, but I’m not comfortable with any vehicle that has a CVT transmission. That’s just me. Good to hear it’s working for you.

I wouldn't have one for towing anything.

We test drove a Nissan Pathfinder and it drove good and rode extremely well but the CVT was a no go.

We bought a Honda Pilot AWD and loved it.

My wife wanted to get a travel trailer so we traded it in on our F150 that we currently have.

Probably not apples to apples comparison, but cost to replace a CVT in Nissan Altima is approximately $6,000.
Pretty steep considering the cost new of the car is like low $20's.
A bit skeptical of CVT transmissions in general. Perhaps they have gotten better in last few years?