Crossover/SUV with the best ride comfort - CRV, RAV4, Forester, CX-5?

**nitrogen** · April 19th, 2015 09:28 PM

Many thanks, 17sphynx17 and beeftapa, for sharing your experiences.
At this point, looks like RAV4 and CRV are the leading options...

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Many thanks, 17sphynx17 and beeftapa, for sharing your experiences.
At this point, looks like RAV4 and CRV are the leading options...

**minicarph** · April 19th, 2015 09:32 PM

Honestly wala naman difference Yan apart na yan because they are gasoline crossovers. Ride and comfort quality are good because they are gasoline and crossover. And they're all Jap quality so you will never go wrong at any of those cars

You had the 2007 CRV so Pareho Lang yan, I've driven the 1st gen 2nd gen CRV, 1st gen escape, the American boxy escape, the RAV4 in U.S., the Mazda Tribute, pare-Pareho Lang feel and ride

It will always be mcpherson strut suspension or maybe double wishbone with other equipped with self-leveling proprietary technology . Suspension systems didn't go evolutionary naman as it's always the same,

Some people mistake the ride quality of older cuvs pero they have to know Kung old na ang tires. New tires dapat if to compare. So with those cars mentioned above. Kung ano na Lang preference mo na brand ..

I'd choose RAV4 because it's more SUV looking with wider road hugging body, Pareho ng CX5.
The CRV for me is just plain ugly and the forester minus all those airplane. LookingTechnology in the bumpers , exterior wise not appealing but that's just me

**Walter** · April 20th, 2015 09:06 AM

There is no 4x2 Subaru Forester. Subaru is the only company that offers 4-wheel drive across their entire line (until the Subaru BRZ came along).

+1 on the new Nissan X-Trail with it's zero gravity seats (are these for driver's seats only).

Also +1 on the old tires on old cars. Changing to new tires (from 5+ year old ones) will improve ride quality.

**minicarph** · April 20th, 2015 02:29 PM

The best SUV ride are the stock configuration tires specs. Before, CUvs (like the escapes, crvs, and rav4s) had only 15 to 16 rims with bigger spec tire walls. The 17s are in the mid SUVs dept like the sta Fe , sorento

I've heard of complaints of 3rd gen CRV being too bumpy. That's also the time Honda put in 17" rims on a CUV. So to fit it, they had to partner it with lower profile tires.

Personally, I don't agree with 17" rims on compact SUVs if you are to bitch in ride quality pero if form over function ang Habol eh di tiis hehe

But this is the trend now, almost all CUvs are sporting 17" rims as standard. With greater power comes greater responsibility, so expect a more expensive tire purchase because low profile 17s are just expensive . In fact all 17 tires are expensive, starting 7k up per tire, while the older 15" tires makakuha ka ng 2500 per tire Lang For the old crvs, escapes, rav4, jimny.

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Natawa nga ako sa classmate ko, na bragging about his new Montero. Sobrang Sulit daw coz everyone's buying it, he uses it panghatid sa school and work.

That's good but a word of advice be careful with the tires. It may seem that it can handle every pothole, pero grabe ang mahal ng gulong Nyan. Sabi ko 12k. Kala Nya 12k apat, nanghina sya when he learned the Bridgestone duellers are 12k each. From a vios to a Montero user, I think I've given him the biggest shock of his life lol

Yan ang problema kasi when people try to differentiate ride qualities of SUVs, most of the Time SUVs pinaabot ng 7 years kasi mahal and then they'd bitch about ride quality is inferior pero wala pala pambili ng tires every 3 years. 3 years dapat ang replacement ng tires if used daily

**17Sphynx17** · April 20th, 2015 03:03 PM

Originally Posted by minicarph

The best SUV ride are the stock configuration tires specs. Before, CUvs (like the escapes, crvs, and rav4s) had only 15 to 16 rims with bigger spec tire walls. The 17s are in the mid SUVs dept like the sta Fe , sorento

I've heard of complaints of 3rd gen CRV being too bumpy. That's also the time Honda put in 17" rims on a CUV. So to fit it, they had to partner it with lower profile tires.

Personally, I don't agree with 17" rims on compact SUVs if you are to bitch in ride quality pero if form over function ang Habol eh di tiis hehe

But this is the trend now, almost all CUvs are sporting 17" rims as standard. With greater power comes greater responsibility, so expect a more expensive tire purchase because low profile 17s are just expensive . In fact all 17 tires are expensive, starting 7k up per tire, while the older 15" tires makakuha ka ng 2500 per tire Lang For the old crvs, escapes, rav4, jimny.

---

Natawa nga ako sa classmate ko, na bragging about his new Montero. Sobrang Sulit daw coz everyone's buying it, he uses it panghatid sa school and work.

That's good but a word of advice be careful with the tires. It may seem that it can handle every pothole, pero grabe ang mahal ng gulong Nyan. Sabi ko 12k. Kala Nya 12k apat, nanghina sya when he learned the Bridgestone duellers are 12k each. From a vios to a Montero user, I think I've given him the biggest shock of his life lol

Yan ang problema kasi when people try to differentiate ride qualities of SUVs, most of the Time SUVs pinaabot ng 7 years kasi mahal and then they'd bitch about ride quality is inferior pero wala pala pambili ng tires every 3 years. 3 years dapat ang replacement ng tires if used daily

Yeah, I agree with you. I'm personally not a fan of low profile tires although I get what they are for. But the cost expense when replacing are just impractical for me for something that I don't really throw around the corners. hehe! But that's me.

As for the Monty tires, yeah, the Bridgestones I asked were around 11k php per tire a year ago. Although to be fair, it last about 70-80k kms before you really need to replace them or when they are already cracked. Although since I only needed to replaced a spare tire which someone cut (deliberate) when I was out of town, I opted to use Federal Tire. Cost (Back then) was 8500php for that specific tire, same size. Although now I think it's hovering close to 10k php already but I haven't needed to change it so I didn't ask now.

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Originally Posted by minicarph

The best SUV ride are the stock configuration tires specs. Before, CUvs (like the escapes, crvs, and rav4s) had only 15 to 16 rims with bigger spec tire walls. The 17s are in the mid SUVs dept like the sta Fe , sorento

I've heard of complaints of 3rd gen CRV being too bumpy. That's also the time Honda put in 17" rims on a CUV. So to fit it, they had to partner it with lower profile tires.

Personally, I don't agree with 17" rims on compact SUVs if you are to bitch in ride quality pero if form over function ang Habol eh di tiis hehe

But this is the trend now, almost all CUvs are sporting 17" rims as standard. With greater power comes greater responsibility, so expect a more expensive tire purchase because low profile 17s are just expensive . In fact all 17 tires are expensive, starting 7k up per tire, while the older 15" tires makakuha ka ng 2500 per tire Lang For the old crvs, escapes, rav4, jimny.

---

Natawa nga ako sa classmate ko, na bragging about his new Montero. Sobrang Sulit daw coz everyone's buying it, he uses it panghatid sa school and work.

That's good but a word of advice be careful with the tires. It may seem that it can handle every pothole, pero grabe ang mahal ng gulong Nyan. Sabi ko 12k. Kala Nya 12k apat, nanghina sya when he learned the Bridgestone duellers are 12k each. From a vios to a Montero user, I think I've given him the biggest shock of his life lol

Yan ang problema kasi when people try to differentiate ride qualities of SUVs, most of the Time SUVs pinaabot ng 7 years kasi mahal and then they'd bitch about ride quality is inferior pero wala pala pambili ng tires every 3 years. 3 years dapat ang replacement ng tires if used daily

Yeah, I agree with you. I'm personally not a fan of low profile tires although I get what they are for. But the cost expense when replacing are just impractical for me for something that I don't really throw around the corners. hehe! But that's me.

As for the Monty tires, yeah, the Bridgestones I asked were around 11k php per tire a year ago. Although to be fair, it last about 70-80k kms before you really need to replace them or when they are already cracked. Although since I only needed to replaced a spare tire which someone cut (deliberate) when I was out of town, I opted to use Federal Tire. Cost (Back then) was 8500php for that specific tire, same size. Although now I think it's hovering close to 10k php already but I haven't needed to change it so I didn't ask now.

**nitrogen** · April 20th, 2015 11:25 PM

Good points about the smaller vs bigger tires... That's why I liked the 1st gen CRV's ride...
Anyway, I'll also check out the x-trail but right now the RAV4 seems most promising.
Thanks for all the inputs.

**mda_** · April 20th, 2015 11:38 PM

Originally Posted by nitrogen

Good points about the smaller vs bigger tires... That's why I liked the 1st gen CRV's ride...
Anyway, I'll also check out the x-trail but right now the RAV4 seems most promising.
Thanks for all the inputs.

i wouldn't say new cuvs with 17s use low profile tires. they have bigger rims but also bigger tires as well so i think the thickness of the sidewalls should be proportional to older cuvs with 15s. tires are just one factor of ride comfort. a lot has to do with thr suspension setup and tuning of the car. if you want a comfy cuv, i think the koreans would be your best bet since they really are softer and comfort oriented vs the japs. best bang of the buck korean will be the sorento (not the 2.3M new model). most space, quiet diesel economy and power to outrun any cuv in the group (excrpt maybe the forester xt)

**Walter** · April 21st, 2015 08:25 AM

You might want to consider the new JDM Honda Odyssey.

**Egan101** · April 21st, 2015 10:49 AM

You may want to consider another option - a wagon. It has the driving characteristics of a car but with the extra space. Two new wagons will be introduced in the local market before the end of the year. Subaru will be bringing over the Levorg AWD wagon which comes with a 1.6L 4-cylinder turbo engine rated at around 175hp and 250 Nm. No price yet on this wagon version of the Impreza. Mazda will be bringing the wagon version of the multi-awarded Mazda6 SkyActiv. Price of the Mazda6 wagon is slated at 1.8M.

**sachiel** · April 22nd, 2015 08:20 PM

There are many factors for ride comfort, here are my criteria for choosing:

1. Legroom
2. Suspension
3. Seat comfort/softness

From your choices, CRV, RAV4, Forester and Xtrail have the best legroom

Suspension is trickier as you need to test drive all of them. I can vouch for Xtrail and Forester as I have ridden it, it is soft and pliant with no hard "thud" on potholes. Rav4 is the only one I heard that have stiffer suspension compared to the previous gen but to what extent is a mystery until someone testifies for it.

Seat comfort for Forester and Xtrail are both good. You can try the leather seats if which is softer. You should also check the seat level if it is flat or bolstered.

Bottomline is either of the 4 cars are safe choices. You can ask your family for inputs as well since they will also be riding it.