I spent the last three days riding all over the eastern US in three
different vehicles - 1) 2007 Toyota RAV4, 4 cylinder, Automatic, FWD; 2)
2007 Ford Fusion, V-6, AWD; 3) 2007 Honda CR-V 4 cylinder automatic FWD. I
own the Fusion, my SO owns the RAV4, and a good friend owns the CR-V. I
regularly drive the Fusion and RAV4. This past weekend I drove the RAV4 to
Annapolis Md and back (350 miles or so one way). Next day I drove the Fusion
300+ miles and on the same day rode around 120 miles in the CR-V. I did not
actually drive the CR-V, so my impression of it are from the passengers
seat. The RAV4 is about 1 year old and has around 15k miles. The Fusion is
10 months old and has around 15k miles as well. The CR-V is only a couple of
months old and has less than 3K miles. Here is how I see the pluses and
minuses of the three vehicles (I understand the Fusion is not actually a
competitive vehicle, but it is my primary frame of reference) -

Looks - The Fusion is a car and looks ok if you like cars, but you cannot
compare it to the two small SUVs. Of the two SUVs I prefer the exterior
appearance of the CR-V. It is just a little cleaner looking to me. However,
there is not a great deal of difference in the looks of any of these small
Crossover SUVs. Interestingly while we were in Annapolis, we had the chance
to look over a 2008 Highlander. My SO thought it was a RAV4 until she sat in
it and realized it was a lot bigger.

Interior - This is definitely a question of taste. I prefer my Fusion - more
"German" looking - simple, clean, functional. The CR-V was also very good. I
especially liked the CR-V's radio. The CR-V was greatly improved compared to
my son's 2003 Accord. The RAV4 looked like they tossed the controls in the
car and nailed them down where ever they fell. It has the worst controls
layout of any car I have ever driven, but I have gotten used to it. The
design of the gear shift alone should have gotten a department of engineers
fired. The idiot that designed the cruise control thingy should hide in
shame. If you like simple white on black instruments arranged in logical
manner, you'll like the Fusion dash. If you like overlapping chrome ringed
instrument with weird colored lights, then the Honda and Toyota instrument
panels will be appealing. Of those two, the Honda gauges are the easier to
read.

Engine - If you want a quiet smooth 4 cylinder, the CR-V is awesome. You
couldn't even tell it was running when it was idling. It never sounded
harsh, even under hard acceleration. By comparison, the RAV4 4 cylinder was
a tractor engine. It was definitely noticeable at idle, and was harsh when
pushed. At a cruise, it was as silent as the Honda 4 cylinder. Since I
didn't actually drive the CR-V I cannot comment on how well it performed
relative to the RAV4. The Toyota 4 cylinder is very powerful. We had four
people and luggage in the RAV4 for our trip to Annapolis. I had no trouble
keeping up with traffic on I-95 either up hill or on the level. The only
problem was the horrid cruise control. Usually I engage the cruise control
on the Interstate. It was not possible to do so with this RAV4. On the
slightest incline the car would violently down shift, then upshift, and
generally jerk us all over the place. My SO says this is only a problem with
the A/C on and when you try to cruise at 60 to 65 mph. To me the
performance of the RAV4 cruise control was totally unacceptable. I want my
SO to take it in and get it fixed (it has to be broken - no way any company
could sell something that horrid). The Fusion has a V-6 so it is not
directly comparable. In terms of power, it is clearly stronger than either
of the 4 cylinders (as you would expect). It runs very smoothly, but is
nosier than the CR-V but quieter than the RAV4. I give the edge in
transmissions to the CR-V with the RAV4 and Fusion not far behind in that
order. They all shift smoothly, but the Fusion transmission shifts too
frequently for my tastes.

The rides are a matter of taste. The RAV4 has the "softest" ride. The CR-V
has the stiffest ride. The Fusion is somewhere in between. My Fusion has AWD
and definitely handles far batter than the RAV4. However, it is not fair to
compare the handling of a car to an SUV - even a small crossover SUV. I did
not actually drive the CR-V but it "felt" nervous compared to the RAV4. It
also had less body lean.

At a cruise, there was not much difference in the noise. It is my impression
that the Fusion was the quietest and the RAV4 the noisiest. Both the RAV4
and CR-V suffered from more wind noise than the Fusion, but I suppose that
is normal when comparing an SUV to a car. The RAV4 definitely had more road
noise than the other two, but that is likely related to the tires installed
on the vehicles. Under hard acceleration the RAV4 was far noisier than the
CR-V or Fusion, but at a cruise the engine noise disappeared. None were
objectionable.

All three vehicles got similar gas mileage. The one tank average for the
RAV4 on the trip to Annapolis was around 27 mpg (give or take 0.5 mpg - I
really packed the tank full at the beginning and probably didn't get in
quite as much in Annapolis). According to their trip computers, both the
CR-V and Fusion were getting around 26.5 mpg on the highway. I'd guess
individual driving styles and traffic conditions overwhelmed any inherent
gas mileage differences between the three vehicles. It should be pointed out
that the Fusion was AWD, and the other two were front wheel drive only
vehicles. The AWD option hurts the Fusion's fuel economy (1 to 2 mpg). Last
year we drove a Grand Marquis to Annapolis, and it actually got better gas
mileage than the RAV4 (despite being bigger and faster).

I can't say anything meaningful about the relative reliability of the three
vehicles. None have been back to the dealer. The RAV4 needs for something to
be done to the cruise control , but otherwise it has been perfect. The
Fusion has a similar number of miles (compared to the RAV4) and has been
perfect so far. The CR-V is virtually brand new. All three were well
assembled. No squeaks, no rattles.

I am a large guy. Of the three, I find the seating position in the Fusion
the best. It also has the best seats. The CR-V was a close second. The seats
in the RAV4 were the least comfortable, but it is a base model, while the
other two are higher line models. Two things bug me about the RAV4 - the
travel on the driver's seat seems unnecessarily restricted (i.e., it doesn't
go back as far as it could) and the console jams the side of my leg. The
console in the Fusion also jams my leg if I move the seat forward, but since
the seat goes back much further, I can move the seat back and stretch out my
leg and reduce the interference. The console in the CR-V is of a superior
design. However, I hated the locks on the CR-V. They automatically lock the
doors, and unlike the Fusion, they don't automatically unlock when you pull
the front door release.

I do oil changes on both the RAV4 and the Fusion, and although the Fusion is
not bad, it is not nearly as easy as the RAV4. The RAV4 is one of the three
easiest cars I've ever performed an oil change on. The RAV4 is starting to
wear the front tires in an uneven manner. It may need an alignment, but at
least part of the problem is the lack of routine tire rotation (my SO
doesn't want to have them rotated).

Of the two small SUVs, I'd give the edge to the CR-V, but the differences
are small. Individual preferences would overwhelm the small differences. My
opinion might change if I drove a higher line version of the RAV4. The RAV4
and the Fusion were very close in cost, the CR-V was slightly more
expensive.

All three of us are happy with our choices. I am well satisfied with the
Fusion. My SO loves her RAV4. My good friend is sure his CR-V is perfect (it
is really his wife's car and she likes it - so he likes it).

Ed White