We bought the Honda CR-V touring which has all wheel drive on the afternoon of Dec 31, 2015. We shopped aggressively for the weeks preceding and got a good deal. We tried the subuaru forester and outback but they lacked the interior finishes that we wanted, like rear seat a/c and heat vents--important with kids. We were coming from an Acura and a BMW and just liked the CRV best. We have been really pleased. We looked at the Acura RDX and it was more expensive and had fewer safety features than the Honda CRV. I have friends who have the Fords and family who own the RAV4. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rav4 ! Eliminate the Ford right out of the gate. Honda or Toyota - crv is ugly. Sorry I'm a lifelong Honda consumer but blech. Ugly... rav4 wins hands down.

The CRV has been redesigned for 2017 and it looks so much better. I ended up buying a Forester because I also hated the way the CRV looked.

OP needs to test drive all of them [crv, rav, escape] but expand it to include subaru forester & outback, VW tiguan. Where would I test drive?
Tysons dealers have let us take them on beltway and curvy hilly 2 lane roads. Ideally test drive when there's some snow and ice. Yes- 2 years or so ago I again test drove through slop. There was a difference in performance.

In addition to looking at dealerships, I'm a big fan of going and looking at a CarMax. Looking at a handful of used versions of the cars you're interested in gives a good idea of how different interiors wear, issues that come up (like the Rav4 headrest catching on the seat issue), and general insights that are helpful. You can't compare too closely, especially if the model has significantly changed (the CRV underwent a big redesign with 2015 model year), but for materials & wear it can be really informative.

Both Toyota and Honda are reliable, but to me Hondas always have an edge in material quality, design, and engineering/craftsmanship.

I've owned my share of both brands.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rav4 ! Eliminate the Ford right out of the gate. Honda or Toyota - crv is ugly. Sorry I'm a lifelong Honda consumer but blech. Ugly... rav4 wins hands down.

The CRV has been redesigned for 2017 and it looks so much better. I ended up buying a Forester because I also hated the way the CRV looked.

OP needs to test drive all of them [crv, rav, escape] but expand it to include subaru forester & outback, VW tiguan. Where would I test drive?
Tysons dealers have let us take them on beltway and curvy hilly 2 lane roads. Ideally test drive when there's some snow and ice. Yes- 2 years or so ago I again test drove through slop. There was a difference in performance.

CRV and RAV are basically the same damn car. that being said I love my RAV

My Ford Escape hybrid from 2005 (it's a 2006 model year) is still running fine and other than one factory recall has never needed anything other than oil changes and tire changes. I just topped 140K miles on it and it's in fine working condition. Plus, I get 29-31 MPG regularly and it's saved me a ton of money over the almost 11+ years I've owned it. The car is no longer produced, but my BIL/SIL just bought a Ford C-Max (the replacement model for the Escape hybrid) 2 years ago and have had no problems and love it. On the flip side, I have friends who have younger RAV-4's who have had a small handful of issues with their cars. So, it isn't universal that the qualify of Toyota is necessarily better than Ford. Ford is a lot better now than it has been historically.

Several of the current lineup of Ford vehicles are earning top awards and reviews, so it's still worth considering.

I bought a Rav 4 earlier this year and love it. I have friends wtih CRVs and they seem to have more trunk space. I enjoyed driving the Rav4 more though. I didn't test drive the Ford Escape.

We bought the Rav-4 and I like it. Downsides are that the navigation system stinks and the sound system isn't great (and no CD player).

We currently have a Prius that is 9 years old and 150k and still on its first battery and has been very reliable -so are partial to Toyota over Honda. As a result, learning to drive the Rav-4 is different. It is huge comparatively and I have had to get use to that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard really good things about the CRV - so, that one.

OP needs AWD so the CR-V is out. Also saves on the clunky CVT transmission.

My CRV has AWD.

. It's not full time AWD - it just uses all 4 wheels when required.

Uh, AWD is really only important when it's required. Are you dense?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard really good things about the CRV - so, that one.

OP needs AWD so the CR-V is out. Also saves on the clunky CVT transmission.

My CRV has AWD.

. It's not full time AWD - it just uses all 4 wheels when required.

Anonymous wrote:Rav4 ! Eliminate the Ford right out of the gate. Honda or Toyota - crv is ugly. Sorry I'm a lifelong Honda consumer but blech. Ugly... rav4 wins hands down.

The CRV has been redesigned for 2017 and it looks so much better. I ended up buying a Forester because I also hated the way the CRV looked.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard really good things about the CRV - so, that one.

OP needs AWD so the CR-V is out. Also saves on the clunky CVT transmission.

My CRV has AWD.

I just bought a 2016 CRV. Love it.

A lot of dealerships are trying to unload those last year's models.

I got an EX-L with Nav and AWD for about $25,600, I think.

Anonymous wrote:I've heard really good things about the CRV - so, that one.

OP needs AWD so the CR-V is out. Also saves on the clunky CVT transmission.

I love, love, love my CRV!