Next commuter appliance: CX30 vs HRV vs ???

Over my protests, the wife wants an upgrade over the 150K mile '08 Honda Fit she's been commuting in. It does nothing wrong, needs nothing, but she wants something with AWD and modern doodads. I've managed to talk her out of something brand new, and the focus is on gently used 3-4 year old stuff. Mazda CX30 seems to have the early lead over Honda HRV. They seem to run about the same price for age and miles around here. We haven't driven anything yet.

My mother got a new CX30 a year and a half ago and likes it, but she's 86 and has put a whopping 4000 miles on it so far. Dad said he tried a HRV while shopping and found it to be too slooooooow for his liking. I hope to try each of these in the coming days as the local Carmax has both on its lot.

We're looking for something nice enough to spend 45 minutes in commuting in the DC area, but not too nice that I won't feel bad sticking a bunch of wheels and tires to get mounted in the back.

I saw a Toyota CHR (or something like that) in a parking lot today, and it looks small enough, but they hadn't been on the radar before so I know nothing about it.

I just went through something similar, and wound up with the HR-V.  Sat in a bunch of different CUVs. Just couldn't like the Mazda; not clear why, but something about the interior didn't work for us. RAV4 felt cheap. I hate Nissans and Mitsubishis. Subarus got too ugly. Had a Jeep before, not excited to go back now that they are Franco-Italian. GM and Korean reliability did not impress. It left us with the Honda, Escape and VW-with-the-stupid-name. 

I'll confess I really wanted a Bronco Sport but they are still too new to be what I call affordable.

We didn't need the size of the CR-V, plus they are kind of ugly where the HR-V manages to cling to 'cute'. The CVT wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Quality of materials was much higher than the Toyota, it is whisper quiet inside and generally pretty comfortable. No vehicle in this category will ever be 'exciting' and I was merely hoping for 'inoffensive'. So far it seems to be a pretty decent choice.

The Escapes are cheaper and more plentiful and a decent second place. The VW with it's problematic 2.0 turbo didn't make the cut despite being a nice package. 

I also orchestrated a deal on a CX-5 for my father-in-law who cares naught about cars. Again, nice enough vehicle but I just don't care for it. I guess Mazdas just aren't my flavor.