My advice is to get to a bike shop and ride as much as you can.
Like you I was looking at those style of bikes, Mountain bike-ish hybrids with a front suspension.
The store that was selling the Crosstrail succeeded in losing my business before I even made it for a test ride. It may have been a good bike but I wasn't going to buy it from them, or drive 85 miles to the next closest dealer.
I went to another store which had Giant and Raleigh bikes, really hoping to ride the Roam 1. They were sold out, but put me on a Misceo 1 (a very similar bike from Raleigh) I discovered I didn't like the front suspension. It had wider tires, and with the weight of the fork, it felt like I was still pedaling a mountain bike. It could lock the fork, but the same mechanism that locked the fork also controlled the resistance, and at my weight (290 lb) I had trouble finding the right resistance. It always felt too springy, unless it was locked.
I ended up looking at straight bar "fitness" hybrids with no suspension, such as the Giant Escape, and the Raleigh Misceo with no numbers (a completely different bike than the Misceo 1 or 2 and causes no end confusion when searching) They were lighter, had more road-ish tires, but built more like mountain bikes and could still go offroad in a pinch.
Anyways long story short, get out and ride. You'll find something that "fits." I went in totally wanting the style you're looking at, and after trying them out found something else I preferred more. Your experience may be different, and totally opposite from mine, but you'll never know unless you get out there and ride them.