I'm in the process of looking for vector software that is able to work with many large, complex paths without slowing right down.

Currently I'm using Inkscape (got to love free stuff). Whilst working on my latest map (Wanenjo) for the Jul/August Lite Challenge I started running into issues when I imported my contours. OMCC, did it slow down or what. Considering I needed to see the contours to lay the rivers I needed to find a work around. That involved exporting a png file of all the contours and then using the png file as a guide. Still chuggy, but better.

I've been considering purchasing Illustrator or Corel Draw but I would first need to know if they are any better than Inkscape at such a task. I've had a bit of a play on a friend's machine that has Corel Draw installed and it seems a little faster. Also there is the fact that I pretty much despise Photoshop's interface and I assume Illustartor's interface is very similar.

So if anyone has used all three for working with large, complex paths, which is better?