2016 Corolla rental review

[andrewg]

Originally Posted By: Chris B.
I wonder how the new civic stacks up against the new Corolla? I'm betting the Honda has a nicer interior an overall better handling? Reliability between the two I'm guessing is a toss up?


My new '16 Civic Coupe with the 2.0 (not direct injection) and CVT is excellent! Very low noise levels inside. Drives like a MUCH higher end car in my opinion. Power is perfect for me and the CVT is far better than the one that is in the FIT.

Honda tremendously improved the Civic over the previous model.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: andrewg
My new '16 Civic Coupe with the 2.0 (not direct injection) and CVT is excellent!

Wait a minute! What happened to the Miata?

 

[SatinSilver]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: andrewg
My new '16 Civic Coupe with the 2.0 (not direct injection) and CVT is excellent!

Wait a minute! What happened to the Miata?


Yes, I thought it was a different guy in WA with a similar username. Good catch. It was throwing me off a little bit.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Was the delayed response at tip-in due to CVT programming, or a dead spot in the first half-inch or so of pedal travel? That is one of the factors that drove me nuts about the 2011 Camry I had, and one of the reasons I traded it. There was no response in the first half-inch or pedal travel.


Weird. My 2011 Camry (manual) and 2010 Tundra (automatic) have just all the throttle in the first half-inch of pedal. Very excessive tip-in.

What gets me, keep doing it every so often, is that I'll be accelerating at half-throttle (pedal half way) (maybe it's three-quarter), then let off the gas (say quarter or half), and then I have a feeling that accelerating more afterwards. What happens is that I expect to feel the drop in power and change my position for that change; but since it doesn't occur, it winds up having the feeling like I'm speeding up. The reality is that there is no difference past half-throttle (quarter throttle?) due to the excessive tip-in.

 

[andrewg]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: andrewg
My new '16 Civic Coupe with the 2.0 (not direct injection) and CVT is excellent!

Wait a minute! What happened to the Miata?



Ahhhh.....you were paying attention...lol.

Well, while I had fun enough driving the Miata for 7 months, I had some issues with being comfortable in the car.

Having a very bad lower back (degeneration, herniation, severe pain a few times a month), getting in and out of the car was causing me some real problems. It was so low to the ground that I practically had to ROLL out onto the pavement to avoid injury. And getting into (with the top up) was more of the same type of squirming action and hoping I didn't hurt my back.

The other thing was the ergonomics of the seat/steering wheel, and clutch/manual shifter. I tried every combination of adjustments possible to get it to fit like a glove. It never did. The seat-back angle is extremely limited and the steering wheel does not telescope. My previous generation was far better fitting for me seat wise. So....after taking a long drive with my lady, we pulled into a place to eat and I told her I was not enjoying anymore. So...next day to the dealer I went.

 

[Andrew1972]

i see little reason to purchase small economy cars vs the midsize counterpart. The price differential is small and ride and comfort level is significantly better with typically a small fuel penalty.

 

[dlayman]

Originally Posted By: andrewg
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: andrewg
My new '16 Civic Coupe with the 2.0 (not direct injection) and CVT is excellent!

Wait a minute! What happened to the Miata?



Ahhhh.....you were paying attention...lol.

Well, while I had fun enough driving the Miata for 7 months, I had some issues with being comfortable in the car.

Having a very bad lower back (degeneration, herniation, severe pain a few times a month), getting in and out of the car was causing me some real problems. It was so low to the ground that I practically had to ROLL out onto the pavement to avoid injury. And getting into (with the top up) was more of the same type of squirming action and hoping I didn't hurt my back.

The other thing was the ergonomics of the seat/steering wheel, and clutch/manual shifter. I tried every combination of adjustments possible to get it to fit like a glove. It never did. The seat-back angle is extremely limited and the steering wheel does not telescope. My previous generation was far better fitting for me seat wise. So....after taking a long drive with my lady, we pulled into a place to eat and I told her I was not enjoying anymore. So...next day to the dealer I went.


That 16 Civic is pretty darn low to the ground too. I'm surprised it isn't giving you problems. Sucks when a car turns out not to fit you. Everybody thinks you can find that out on the test drive(s). You really don't know it until you've driven it daily for at least a few weeks or more. I have to be very careful with driving position, too low and I have hip/back problems, too high and I have knee problems. Multiple major orthopedic problems really stinks.

 

[andrewg]

Originally Posted By: dlayman
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: andrewg
My new '16 Civic Coupe with the 2.0 (not direct injection) and CVT is excellent!

Wait a minute! What happened to the Miata?



Ahhhh.....you were paying attention...lol.

Well, while I had fun enough driving the Miata for 7 months, I had some issues with being comfortable in the car.

Having a very bad lower back (degeneration, herniation, severe pain a few times a month), getting in and out of the car was causing me some real problems. It was so low to the ground that I practically had to ROLL out onto the pavement to avoid injury. And getting into (with the top up) was more of the same type of squirming action and hoping I didn't hurt my back.

The other thing was the ergonomics of the seat/steering wheel, and clutch/manual shifter. I tried every combination of adjustments possible to get it to fit like a glove. It never did. The seat-back angle is extremely limited and the steering wheel does not telescope. My previous generation was far better fitting for me seat wise. So....after taking a long drive with my lady, we pulled into a place to eat and I told her I was not enjoying anymore. So...next day to the dealer I went.


That 16 Civic is pretty darn low to the ground too. I'm surprised it isn't giving you problems. Sucks when a car turns out not to fit you. Everybody thinks you can find that out on the test drive(s). You really don't know it until you've driven it daily for at least a few weeks or more. I have to be very careful with driving position, too low and I have hip/back problems, too high and I have knee problems. Multiple major orthopedic problems really stinks.


Trust me, after getting in and out of the Miata....the Civic is a dream. I also raised the Civic seat up to a higher level, making it even better to get in/out of.

Yes, people that don't have serious physical issues don't always understand the time it can take to learn if a vehicle is right for you. Hopefully, this car will stay comfortable.

You would have thought that coming from the Miata to the Civic that I would think the Civic handles like a slug....not so, however. Great car so far.

 

[JHZR2]

I was not impressed with the corolla rental we had.

There's like five different LCDs, trying to look "cool" and "techy". Each one has a different coloration/resolution, and it looks terrible if you have any attention to detail.

The passenger side dash goes straight up, and even for someone very tell like me, looks like a wall in your face.

Stereo and lights were poor.

Ride didn't bother me, nor did CVT, but its nothing to write home for.

Its all about good MPGs... Not much else. The corolla is trying too hard to appeal, and in doing so, is coming across as stupid, IMO.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Both of our current vehicles take an interesting approach to the throttle. The throttle pedal is a mechanical pedal, attached to a real throttle cable. The cable goes through the firewall and into the engine bay, just like any other older vehicle, but it runs over to a throttle position sensor over on the passenger side fenderwell. There, the cable position is converted into an electronic signal that is sent to the electronic throttle body.


Daimler was doing this in the mid 90s, if not before. We had a diesel set up this way...

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: andrewg
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: andrewg
My new '16 Civic Coupe with the 2.0 (not direct injection) and CVT is excellent!

Wait a minute! What happened to the Miata?



Ahhhh.....you were paying attention...lol.


Thanks for the update. Glad you found something you like to replace it with.

 

[andrewg]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: andrewg
My new '16 Civic Coupe with the 2.0 (not direct injection) and CVT is excellent!

Wait a minute! What happened to the Miata?



Ahhhh.....you were paying attention...lol.


Thanks for the update. Glad you found something you like to replace it with.


Thanks Pete....nice of you to say that.

 

[Silverado12]

Originally Posted By: andrewg
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: andrewg
My new '16 Civic Coupe with the 2.0 (not direct injection) and CVT is excellent!

Wait a minute! What happened to the Miata?



Ahhhh.....you were paying attention...lol.

Well, while I had fun enough driving the Miata for 7 months, I had some issues with being comfortable in the car.

Having a very bad lower back (degeneration, herniation, severe pain a few times a month), getting in and out of the car was causing me some real problems. It was so low to the ground that I practically had to ROLL out onto the pavement to avoid injury. And getting into (with the top up) was more of the same type of squirming action and hoping I didn't hurt my back.

The other thing was the ergonomics of the seat/steering wheel, and clutch/manual shifter. I tried every combination of adjustments possible to get it to fit like a glove. It never did. The seat-back angle is extremely limited and the steering wheel does not telescope. My previous generation was far better fitting for me seat wise. So....after taking a long drive with my lady, we pulled into a place to eat and I told her I was not enjoying anymore. So...next day to the dealer I went.


I know how you feel with a bad back. I got a Mustang GT for my ongoing "midlife" crisis and although the seats are really nice, it rides rough. It's mainly my wife's car, though. It's very hard to grasp the whole concept of the car in a 15 minute test drive, which is all the dealers seem to allow you anymore. None of them let you take the car home nowadays.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: andrewg
Having a very bad lower back (degeneration, herniation, severe pain a few times a month), getting in and out of the car was causing me some real problems. It was so low to the ground that I practically had to ROLL out onto the pavement to avoid injury. And getting into (with the top up) was more of the same type of squirming action and hoping I didn't hurt my back.

The other thing was the ergonomics of the seat/steering wheel, and clutch/manual shifter. I tried every combination of adjustments possible to get it to fit like a glove. It never did. The seat-back angle is extremely limited and the steering wheel does not telescope. My previous generation was far better fitting for me seat wise. So....after taking a long drive with my lady, we pulled into a place to eat and I told her I was not enjoying anymore. So...next day to the dealer I went.

My S2000 has fixed steering wheel and only 2 manual adjustments for the seat: fore&aft and limited seat back recline. Somehow I can drive the car for 3-4 hours at a time without tired.

The only problem is noise, the engine is turning at 4500 RM at 85 MPH and almost no noise insulation.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
My S2000 has fixed steering wheel and only 2 manual adjustments for the seat: fore&aft and limited seat back recline. Somehow I can drive the car for 3-4 hours at a time without tired.

But do you suffer from the same back issues that he does?

 

[HTSS_TR]

I do have slight lower back problem, I couldn't seat on a chair for more than 30-45 minutes without standing up and stretch, but somehow I have no problem in the S2000.

 

[Cujet]

I'm renting a '16 Corolla right now. It's only a good good around town. But that's where it really shines. I really like it. It's slightly sluggish off the line, but then is very responsive. Especially in sport mode. Mpg is 31 lifetime, and 29 with me driving around town.

 

[Jim K]

I`m averaging 39 mpg on my 2014 Corolla LE plus. The only minor issue I have with it is it could be less road noise. Over all ,I love it.At 70 mph the cvt transmission turns 1900 rpm.

 

[wemay]

I'm really loving mine too. 31 mpg mostly city driving. Sportier than i thought it would be.

 

[Dave Hess]

I have a new 2017 Honda Civic LX rental that I will post a review.

So far pretty decent car, very quick on highway from 50 mph roll to 100, quiet cabin, comfortable seats. Steering wheel very comfortable and radio / volume buttons in right place.

CVT is smooth, car has a nice front end, the rear is very ugly. I was at a Chick-fil-a drive thru and girl commented how ugly the rear looked. LOL

I told her it's a rental.

Pictures and review later this week.