Mine is a flat bar, full rigid low-end hybrid. It has seen its share of self supported touring and utility cycling with heavy loads, including towing a kayak trailer. I've enjoyed touring with it very much, but then for me it's more about the tour than it is about the bike. So I'm a bit skeptic on how high in the model range you really need to go to find a suitable tourer. When I bought mine, I didn't worry about the low-end drivetrain components, as much of that will wear out and need replacing in a couple of years anyway. I wanted a frame that fits and has good mounting options for racks etc.
As far as hybrids go, look into either low or high-end models. At least in our market, middle range stuff tends to come with a lot of unnecessary, poor quality and even undesireable bells and whistles. Various el-cheapo suspension arrangements come to mind, for example. Good quality bells and whistles can be found towards the high end of range - or installed to a low end model afterwards, if needed.
--J