2017 Honda Civic VS 2017 Toyota Corolla. Who Wins The Battle?
The compact car is the perfect vehicle choice for the urban dweller, however, with all the choices available, which model is best suited for those living in Vancouver? Whether going to the Okanagan for a weekend road trip or up to Whistler for a day of skiing, a vehicle needs interior space, power, fuel economy, and the reliability to get you back to Vancouver.
Compared to the Toyota Corolla, the Honda Civic has an edge to meet the needs of those living in Vancouver.
Interior Space
The latest Honda Civic design is lower and wider, while keeping the same compact length for easy parking on Vancouver city streets. This change in design gives the Honda Civic Sedan's interior more space than the comparable Toyota Corolla. The front seats, dash and windshield of the Civic are lower providing both more head room and better visibility. The back seat is large enough for two six foot adults to ride comfortably, especially when it includes the rear heated seat option, which is not an option in the Toyota Corolla.
Suitcases, hockey equipment, and skis, all fit better in a Honda Civic. At 15.1 cubic feet, the Honda Civic's trunk size is two cubic feet larger than the Corolla's and the backseats can be easily lowered from the truck to provide even more cargo room in a snap. Need more space? The hatchback version, available in the 2017 Honda Civic model, has 25.7 cubic feet storage room with the back seats in the seated position, whereas the Toyota Corolla hatchback maxes out at 20.8 cubic feet.
Performance
Driving the Ski to Sky or the Coquihalla needs power for those steep sections and the Honda Civic's engines outperform the Toyota Corolla engines in horsepower and fuel efficiency. The Toyota Corolla's standard 1.8 litre four cylinder engine has 132 horsepower and their eco model yields 140 horsepower. Whereas, the Honda Civic's standard 2.0 litre four-Cylinder engine has 158 horse power and it's turbo 1.5 litre four cylinder engine yields 174 horsepower, making it perfect for BC's mountainous terrain.
Critics generally praise everything about the Civic's driving experience, from the acceleration to the handling. The Corolla, critics say, gets the job done, though there's nothing particularly noteworthy about the driving experience.
Fuel Economy
The Honda Civic has better fuel economy too. The Toyota Corolla standard 1.8 litre engine gets 8.6 litres per 100KM in the city and 6.5 litres per 100KM on the Highway. The Toyota Eco engine in the Corolla consumes 7.8 litres per 100KM and 5.9 litres per 100KM on the Highway. The standard 2.0 litre Honda Civic engine closely matches Toyota's eco engine with 7.8 litres per 100KM in the city and 6.0 litres per 100 KM on the Highway. The Honda Civic's turbo engine mileage is even better at 7.6 litres per 100KM in the city and 5.5KM on the highway.
The Civic outdoes the Corolla for styling, performance, and safety. With a roomier interior, a return to its sportier side, and better fuel economy, it's the better of the two compact sedans in our view.
Exterior
Style is subjective and both of these compact sedan's designs are appealing. The Toyota Corolla will appeal to drivers looking for a traditional compact sedan look, while the Honda Civic with its lower, wider body, and extended tapered roof, will appeal to drivers who want a sportier looking compact car.
Safety
Both vehicles have top overall safety ratings, however, the Civic did perform better on the new small-overlap frontal crash and roll over tests.
Both vehicles have similar available safety features, such as forward sensing collision warning, automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, and rear view cameras.
The Honda Civic: A giant step forward in compact sedan design The Toyota Corolla: Tried, true, and a tad tiring by comparison
Pricing
The Toyota Corolla automatic transmission (CVT) comes in at a lower price point than the Honda Civic with automatic transmission (CVT). The base model Toyota Corolla has a few more interior entertainment features than the same transmission base model, like a CD player, MP3 decoder and larger LCD screen. The Honda Civic does have the entertainment add on options, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone integration systems, which the Toyota Corolla does not.
Both of these popular compact sedans are reliable and perfect for driving in and around the Vancouver area. The Honda Civic's options, power, and interior size give it an overall edge over the Toyota Corolla, however, at the lower price point, with the included features of the base trim, Toyota Corolla has an edge over the baseline Honda Civic's pricing.
Kingsway Honda is a proud Honda dealership serving customer across the Greater Vancouver.