My own thoughts:
The Chidushei HaRim and the Sfas Emes do not contradict. The Chidushe HaRim is explaining what Moshe wanted to find out and the Sfas Emes explains what he ended up finding. I think Pshat in the Chidushei HaRim is that Moshe wanted to know if all of the effort that Avraham Avinu put into teaching all the inhabitants of the land about HKBH was passed down to future generations (which would make a war against such righteous people difficult to win since they had the zchus of Avraham Avinu’s teaching) or if they had abandoned what Avraham Avinu spread in that land all those centuries ago.
As for the Kedushas Levi, I do not think he is saying the same thing. He is saying that although the Jews wanted to explore Israel for its physical beauty and resources, Moshe wanted the spies (and eventually all of the Yiddin) to feel spiritually connected to the land that Hashem promised them and hoped that the spies will feel the Mitzvah of Kum Vehithalech Baartez when they got to Israel thereby trying to convert the spies’ physical desire into a spiritual one.