I've driven just about everything in this class, none are great, but most are good.
I had already purchased a 2017 civic, the ride was a little stiff until I set the tire pressure correctly. The 1.5 turbo was a joy to drive and the mileage was great.
When I started doing research on small crossovers I had already driven most of them, they each had good and not so good characteristics. I was looking for the best price on a reliable good-enough vehicle.
I drove several RAV4s and CRVs, each one drove different, some were much quieter and smoother than others, tires had a great deal to do with it.
I decided on a 2016 CRV AWD Touring with extremely low miles. I went older to get away from the 1.5 turbo in the CRV, although now I'm not as worried about oil dilution as I once was.
The 16 CRV we got is rather smooth and quite for a vehicle in this class.
I had driven a turbo Escape as a company car, very quick, powerful and sporty, it pulled my small boat well. This wasn't what I looking for though, boring and practical was what we needed this time. We were getting rid of an Outback turbo, no way was I getting a newer Subaru, even the older ones were very costly to keep for a long time.
So far it's been a good choice.