Corolla vs. Civic

[JHZR2]

What kind of driving? None of these cars are particularly small these days, and they all work pretty well. Difference is that the Toyota is more of a couch and the civic, a little less. The civic is noisier and while it handles more interestingly/less soft, it gives up some comfort. The corolla was softer all around.

So if there is a long commute or a lot of time spent in the car, the corolla may be a better bet. Otherwise the civic is the better drive.

 

[gregk24]

I would go with the civic, the 2013 has the redesign and all the kinks have been worked out. The 2014 corolla is all new and may have some issues. In the end they are both good so he should test drive both and get the one that he likes best.

 

[bepperb]

It's interesting to see when people make recommendations they apply their own personal preferences to this buyer whom they've never met. And can you blame them?

It would help greatly to know what he's driving now and how he feels about it.

I haven't driven or seen a new Corolla, the reviews would seem it's a lot closer in sportiness to a Civic than before and a bit larger in the back seat if that matters.

 

[Chris B.]

Id have to say the Honda will be the better car with Toyota slipping in overall quality these days. The Corolla being a new design you can bet it will be recalled for different problems which is happening a lot to many different Toyota models and not so much for Honda.

 

[Brybo86]

have him test drive the corolla, civic, then mazda 3.

If it has to be civic or corolla i'd get the civic
corolla is CVT grr

personally i'd spend another 1-2k and get a 2014 mazda 6, check out tbird's car.... beautiful

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: Brybo86
have him test drive the corolla, civic, then mazda 3.

If it has to be civic or corolla i'd get the civic
corolla is CVT grr

personally i'd spend another 1-2k and get a 2014 mazda 6, check out tbird's car.... beautiful


You can still get the 4 speed A/T on the base model.

 

[Bandito440]

2014 Mazda 3
Hyundai Elantra
Honda Civic

 

[andrewg]

In my opinion the Civic, especially in certain colors, is not only a quality, tight, and reliable vehicle with a somewhat sporty feel....it's far better looking than the Corolla. Somebody on here also said both cars 'had no power'? Completely wrong. For what these cars are and what you get out of them performance wise....they have plenty of power. If somebody wants real power....this is the wrong vehicle segment.
Another person....or three....advised (outside the choices outlined) a Mazda 3. Other than being a rather odd looking car (especially the rear), I can't say that I would choose one over a Civic.
Either choice would most likely lead to no remorse as both of these vehicles are great little cars. The former engine sludge issues (Toyota) had nothing to do with the new Corolla of course and as such I wouldn't really factor that in.

 

[rwallac2]

Thanks for the input, guys. I figured I would get a decent split of opinions! My brother has driven my Civic a fair share, so I don't think he'd really need to test drive one.

It looks like Mazda has some great deals on remaining 2013's, but my brother rented one a few months ago and didn't really like it for some reason.

GMBoy, I take offense to your comment!

I love my Civic Coupe. It's fairly sporty looking, has a pretty nice interior and I love the backup cam and bluetooth capability. Those Cruze's are pretty sharp, but my family has a (probably unfair) bias against Fords and GM's.

 

[SatinSilver]

Originally Posted By: Trav
This car took a big hit with lots of sheet metal damage including the welded in radiator support but the sub frame remained in perfect alignment, surprisingly i didn't need to do a pull on it in the lower control arm area which i was sure it would be twisted like a pretzel.


When a deer hit my dad's 07 Camry on the highway going 70 mph the front fender crumpled like tin foil. He was in the middle lane and just passed a semi. Car held the lane fine. The hood and front drivers door were fine. After the fender was peeled away everything under it looked remarkable. New head light, grille, bumper skin and a little pounding on the fender mount to re-shape it. Oh and a front wheel alignment. Seemed good as new afterwards.

 

[SF0059]

Personally, if I'm buying a Japanese car it is a Mazda. Have owned a 3s, 626 and Protege and loved all of them.

That being said, I have driven both the Corolla and Civic. I typically tend to lean toward Honda in these debates (just bought a '14 Odyssey over a Sienna). However, I just can't get over the current Civic's still odd shape and two tier dash. They just drive me bonkers.

So, in this comparison only, I'd swing Corolla. The '14s are sharp looking little cars. However, you can't go terribly wrong with either.

 

[gofast182]

Originally Posted By: rwallac2
So my brother is looking to buy a new fuel efficient car in the next couple of months and has pretty much narrowed it down to getting a 2013 Civic or a 2014 Corolla. I'm trying to help him research vehicles and find what would be the best fit. I bought a new Civic about 6 months ago, so I'm clearly on team Honda , but my first car (many moons ago) was a Corolla, so I have a soft spot for the good old Corollas. Based on what I've priced out on truecar.com and my own personal experience, it looks like the Corolla L automatic model is going to cost about $1500 more than a Civic LX model. So I guess I figure I'd put out the "which would you buy?" scenario to my fellow BITOG posters. I've heard that Toyotas have had engine oil sludge problems in the past, but I'm wondering if that should be a factor in a purchasing decision.

This is an absolute no-brainer in favor of the Honda, especially when comparing Corolla L to Civic LX.
Corolla uses a terribly old 1.8+4AT combo, Honda uses a more powerful 1.8+5AT combo.
Corolla has drum brakes in the rear, Honda uses discs.
Corolla uses a torsion beam rear suspension, Honda uses multilink.
Corolla has no backup camera, Honda has a backup camera standard.
...and I could go on.

If that's not enough, look at this to seal the deal:
http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/04/2014-toyota-corolla-gets-marginal-iihs-small-overlap-crash-test/

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/honda/civic-4-door/2013

Especially after that last bit, I don't see why anyone who doesn't have some unbreakable predisposition to Corolla would buy one.

 

[Rolla07]

Originally Posted By: gofast182
Originally Posted By: rwallac2
So my brother is looking to buy a new fuel efficient car in the next couple of months and has pretty much narrowed it down to getting a 2013 Civic or a 2014 Corolla. I'm trying to help him research vehicles and find what would be the best fit. I bought a new Civic about 6 months ago, so I'm clearly on team Honda , but my first car (many moons ago) was a Corolla, so I have a soft spot for the good old Corollas. Based on what I've priced out on truecar.com and my own personal experience, it looks like the Corolla L automatic model is going to cost about $1500 more than a Civic LX model. So I guess I figure I'd put out the "which would you buy?" scenario to my fellow BITOG posters. I've heard that Toyotas have had engine oil sludge problems in the past, but I'm wondering if that should be a factor in a purchasing decision.

This is an absolute no-brainer in favor of the Honda, especially when comparing Corolla L to Civic LX.
Corolla uses a terribly old 1.8+4AT combo, Honda uses a more powerful 1.8+5AT combo.
Corolla has drum brakes in the rear, Honda uses discs.
Corolla uses a torsion beam rear suspension, Honda uses multilink.
Corolla has no backup camera, Honda has a backup camera standard.
...and I could go on.

If that's not enough, look at this to seal the deal:
http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/04/2014-toyota-corolla-gets-marginal-iihs-small-overlap-crash-test/

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/honda/civic-4-door/2013

Especially after that last bit, I don't see why anyone who doesn't have some unbreakable predisposition to Corolla would buy one.



Has rear drums? whats ur point? Mine are original with 110k miles and still good..older technology doesnt make it not a good choice...test drive both-decide and drive happy. The 4 spd auto is smooth and works well too..reliable as heck.

 

[gofast182]

No doubt it's reliable as heck and I'm certain the new one is, too, but so is the drivetrain in the other. For my money I want to know I'm getting the best combination of performance, comfort, and technology I can. If can spend a hypothetical $1,500 less (based on the OP) and get more of everything, why not? And not for nothing but there's no excuse for a 2014 model to perform like that in a crash test that they knew it would be subjected to early on in the design process.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: gofast182

This is an absolute no-brainer in favor of the Honda, especially when comparing Corolla L to Civic LX.
Corolla uses a terribly old 1.8+4AT combo, Honda uses a more powerful 1.8+5AT combo.
Corolla has drum brakes in the rear, Honda uses discs.
Corolla uses a torsion beam rear suspension, Honda uses multilink.
Corolla has no backup camera, Honda has a backup camera standard.
...and I could go on.

If that's not enough, look at this to seal the deal:
http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/04/2014-toyota-corolla-gets-marginal-iihs-small-overlap-crash-test/

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/honda/civic-4-door/2013

Especially after that last bit, I don't see why anyone who doesn't have some unbreakable predisposition to Corolla would buy one.




It's an absolute no-brainer for me too. I'd pick the Toyota in an instant.

- Toyota's 4AT is indestructible, compared to marginal Honda AT reliability
- Significantly less stuff to go wrong with the Toyota with less gizmos
- No fighting rear camber after years, also won't have a struggle getting the rear aligned on the twist beam suspension after 10 salt filled NY Winters.

 

[Smokescreen]

Depending on which trim level you get 2014 Corolla offers 6sp manual as well as the backup camera.

Having owned one I can say that they are pretty good, but the current market has a lot of good choices that can suit your individual needs, many makes which are rated very good, some rivaling Toyota and Honda according to certain criteria.

 

[gofast182]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
Originally Posted By: gofast182

This is an absolute no-brainer in favor of the Honda, especially when comparing Corolla L to Civic LX.
Corolla uses a terribly old 1.8+4AT combo, Honda uses a more powerful 1.8+5AT combo.
Corolla has drum brakes in the rear, Honda uses discs.
Corolla uses a torsion beam rear suspension, Honda uses multilink.
Corolla has no backup camera, Honda has a backup camera standard.
...and I could go on.

If that's not enough, look at this to seal the deal:
http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/04/2014-toyota-corolla-gets-marginal-iihs-small-overlap-crash-test/

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/honda/civic-4-door/2013

Especially after that last bit, I don't see why anyone who doesn't have some unbreakable predisposition to Corolla would buy one.




It's an absolute no-brainer for me too. I'd pick the Toyota in an instant.

- Toyota's 4AT is indestructible, compared to marginal Honda AT reliability
- Significantly less stuff to go wrong with the Toyota with less gizmos
- No fighting rear camber after years, also won't have a struggle getting the rear aligned on the twist beam suspension after 10 salt filled NY Winters.

Not so fast, while I'll agree that 4AT is about as reliable as they come, there's nothing marginal about the reliability of that 5AT for the better part of a decade.

 

[Mykl]

If it were my money I'd get a Civic Si, if told I had to choose between the two models.

 

[SatinSilver]

Of course you can get a LX Accord for the same price of a Civic SI. I know kind of apples/oranges but you get the picture.

There's a terrific Sales dept at the local Toyo dealer so I'd probably get the Corolla. So nice to deal with there. Much better than all the other Honda/toyo dealers around. Night and day difference.

 

[surfstar]

2013 Mazda3 - can be had dirt cheap if any are left around. 40mpg and fun to drive. Reviews on the skyactiv ATX are about as good as an econobox auto can get.