Ride comfort: The Forester's formerly excellent ride has sadly deteriorated with this redesign. While the suspension absorbs single bumps and ruts fairly well, the ride is never settled. Even on smooth roads, passengers experience incessant little bounces that some may find tiresome and annoying. If you put a special premium on ride comfort, consider a Honda CR-V instead.
RAV4: The RAV4's ride is taut and well controlled. That tight body control brings some underlying firmness, which is quite a departure for Toyota. Impacts from pavement flaws are noticeable and tend to be overly firm and sometimes abrupt. On the highway, the ride stays mostly composed but some firm jiggle persists.
CX-5: The CX-5's ride is taut yet compliant, but that doesn't mean it's always settled and smooth. The suspension takes the edge off most bumps and the body doesn't move much, but ride motions tend to be short and quick, making the car feel a bit nervous. Further, the ride maintains some underlying mild choppiness even on a highway cruise. It's barely noticeable at first but over time gets a bit wearing.