Piggybacking off our earlier match between the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, this week’s throw-down will be between the 2024 Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla.
While neither model sells quite like it used to, due to the popularity of their crossover equivalents, there are few mass-market rivalries as long lived as the Civic and Corolla. Be you someone in the market for basic transportation on a budget or an individual that wants something more sporting than the character-free CUVs that currently dominate the market, Japanese automakers still have your back.
But we’re here to decide which company is selling the better car, which will be hard considering just how many different trims these vehicles have. Both can be bought as either sedans or hatchbacks and come with an array of powertrains that take the vehicles from ho-hum commuters to serious performance vehicles.
On the Hondas you start with a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine boasting 158 horsepower and 138 lb-ft of torque. However, neither number really comes on line until you’ve breezed past 4,000 rpm, making it fairly peaky. While the base 2.0-liter found in the Toyota does offer a tad more power at 169 horsepower and 151 lb-ft of torque, the Corolla needs to be even higher in the rev range to tap into it and it feels less polished.
Climbing the trim ladder at Honda will yield a 1.5-liter turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve inline-4 offering 180 hp and 177 lb-ft of torque. Here, torque comes in very early at just 1,700 rpm making for more immediate acceleration that will continue building horsepower to the redline. Toyota takes a different approach by hybridizing its VVT-i, offering better overall fuel efficiency and perhaps longevity. But the Honda still ends up being faster on paper unless the hybrid Corolla happens to be an XSE trim.
In all cases the above vehicles used continuously variable transmissions. However, those opting for the top-trimmed performance models will find six-speed manual transmissions at the ready from both brands. In the case of the Honda Civic Si, it’s been paired with a limited slip differential and mated to a 1.5-liter turbo offering 200 horsepower and 192 lb-ft of torque. However, the 2.0-liter turbo in the Type R sets the performance benchmark with 315 hp at 6,500 rpm and a whopping 310 pound-feet of torque between 2,600 and 4,000 rpm.
Toyota’s performance behemoth is the GR Corolla, which utilizes a bespoke, rally-derived three cylinder that’s only 1.6 liters in displacement and has a turbocharger pushing a wild amount of boost. The manufacturer claims it pushes out 300 hp at 6,500 rpm and 273 lb-ft starting at 3,000 rpm. It’s also the only vehicle in this article that comes with all-wheel drive, making it quicker off the line than the Honda Civic Type R.
But testing has shown that the Honda makes the better track-day option and faster once it gets rolling, as the car seems to have been exclusively set up for that purpose. By contrast, the GR seems oriented toward remaining fast in inclement weather and on less-than-perfect roads.
Pricing reflects what you’re getting in most cases. A base Toyota Corolla sedan in the LE trim comes with a starting MSRP of $22,050. Interestingly, the hybrid version of the LE isn’t much more at $23,500. The only exception is the more sporting XSE hybrid, which starts at $27,150 and offers more grunt at the expense of fuel economy. Outside of the GR Corolla, which is supposed to start around $36,500 if the dealer hasn’t affixed any markups, the most expensive trim is the feature-rich hybrid XLE at $27,250.
Honda’s offerings start at $23,950 for the base sedan, making them a tad more expensive than the Toyota in general. More ample trims that bring in the stronger engine (like the EX-L or Sport Touring) tend to retail on either side of $30,000. This is likewise true of the sporting Si model, which is supposed to start at $29,100. Meanwhile the Civic Type R costs $44,795 and you’ll still find dealers marking them up despite the fact that the vehicle has been around a few years.
Regardless of what you’re taking home, the fuel economy on all models is quite good. Though the clear winner are the efficiency focused hybrids from Toyota. While the Corolla was already trending toward having slightly better fuel economy than the Civic in comparable trims, the hybrid models absolutely blow everything Honda has away.
That said, your author would suggest the difference between the other trims is narrow enough not to matter and could be easily offset by someone having a heavier than average right foot. Though anecdotal evidence would seem to indicate that the turbocharged Hondas are the most prone to bleeding off the miles per gallon when under sustained load and Corollas tend to come with slightly larger fuel tanks — improving their maximum range between refueling.
But this is where the Toyota advantage starts to evaporate, as it’s the Honda Civic that’s the nicer vehicle to occupy. While perfectly suitable for all your commuting needs, the Toyota has a much more rudimentary cabin. The Honda Civic boasts more supportive seats, a better driving position, and rear space that’s actually fairly well suited for adults. It likewise feels like the more responsive vehicle in most trims and boasts a better suspension.
The Honda is noticeably more comfortable and frankly looks like the more expensive vehicle from the inside in literally every trim. Cargo space is also a little better in the Civic and it houses nicer materials/features, especially if you’re willing to spend a little extra. It’s close. But it’s not so close that we cannot give the Civic the edge here. Even in their most-expensive trims, the Honda is the comfier place to park your bottom. But you do end up with a larger vehicle, with the difference being most obvious when comparing the hatchbacks.
Technology is a little more complicated. While displays are prettier in the Honda and it comes with more standard hardware, Toyota is offering just as many standard driving aids and your author has found its infotainment system nicer to use. Honda has likewise been caught (along with General Motors, Kia, Subaru, Mitsubishi, and Hyundai) sharing user information with data brokers. That in itself, would be enough for me to give the technological victory to Toyota on principle.
Reliability is likewise debatable. The Corolla has been with us since 2018, while the Civic landed on our shores in 2022. Data would suggest that both vehicles should boast above-average reliability. But anecdotally, you’re generally going to find more people praising Toyota products. Whether or not that’s warranted in an era when most manufacturers seem to have fallen off slightly is another matter. Regardless, both models see identical warranties from the factory and should outlive a majority of the competition under proper maintenance schedules.
However, those inclined to nitpick will want to know that annual repair costs reported on the Corolla is typically about $5 less than the Civic. That seems too narrow of a difference to make any financial purchasing decisions upon. But it’s another data point to have and you’ll need all you can get when deciding between the two models.
Deciding which is best likely comes down to what you’re hoping to get out of a vehicle. Were your author asked to select between them as a rental, he’d invariably select the Honda Civic. It’s simply the nicer space to occupy and this circumvents much of the data harvesting I’m so adamantly against. But those hoping to maximize their dollar over a lifetime of ownership might be better served by purchasing one of the cheaper Corolla Hybrids, which boast truly excellent fuel economy at an exceptionally low price.
As of now, Honda has nothing to counter this particular corner of the market with. But there will be a hybrid variant of the Civic coming next year that may undermine Toyota’s efficiency advantage.
The performance trims are an entirely different ball game. The Honda Civic Si offers excellent value for money against the Type R, which has received a staggering amount of praise from anyone who has taken it on a track. But the GR Corolla costs less and seems better suited to variable road conditions and winter weather by nature of its all-wheel drive system — even if it feels less refined than the Hondas.