Comparison Test: 2015 Honda Civic vs. 2015 Toyota Corolla
Story by John LeBlanc
Small cars are still big news in Canada. Whereas our friends in the U.S. tend to go for midsize offerings, compacts continue to be the largest new passenger car segment in this country. Two of the longest-serving and best-selling compact nameplates are the Honda Civic, on sale since 1973, and its arch nemesis, the Toyota Corolla, first seen in Canada eight years earlier.
Both of these Canadian-made, front-wheel-drive compact sedans are renowned for their reliability and resale value. More often than not, buyers rely on them as their sole mode of transportation, so we asked: if you’re looking for a compact car, would it be the Civic or Corolla?
SECOND PLACE: 2015 Honda Civic
More ubiquitous on Canadian highways than a strewn Tim Hortons cup, the 2015 Honda Civic remains the number-one choice for buyers not looking for a crossover, SUV or truck. Although an all-new Civic family is due for 2016, the current ninth-generation still holds a lot of appeal for small car buyers.
A base, 2015 Civic Sedan DX with a five-speed manual gearbox starts at $17,219 (all prices include freight and pre-delivery inspection fees). Our topline $27,119 Civic Sedan Touring tester came with a continuously variable automatic transmission as standard fare, plus a raft of luxury car goodies including heated leather seats, an upgraded sound system and a touchscreen infotainment system with GPS navigation.
Despite its top-dog status, the Civic Touring is still powered by the same 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine all non-Si Civics come with. Rated at 143 horsepower and 129 lb.-ft. of torque, the Honda compact sedan offers 11 more horsepower and one more pound-foot of torque than the Toyota Corolla S with a CVT we tested. With the CVT that replaced the Civic’s ageing five-speed automatic, the Honda manages to go from rest to 100 km/h in 9.3 seconds — 0.7 quicker than the Toyota.
Although we still struggle with Honda’s sometimes clunky interior ergonomics with multiple screens displaying multiple information and data, the Honda’s fit-and-finish feels of a higher quality than in the Toyota – nicer than a Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class, for example. On the road, the Civic’s steering is less communicative than what longtime Honda owners would come to expect, but at least the four-door sedan’s ride is well-controlled with little harshness over bad pavement. The Civic also allows less road and engine noise into its cabin than the Corolla.
If you’re looking for a semi-luxury compact that is quiet and refined, the 2015 Honda Civic Sedan is an easy choice whether in base DX or loaded Touring trim. However, the Honda’s still-quirky interior design and smaller cabin means we think there’s another Japanese-brand small sedan you should consider if you have only the budget to run one car.
FIRST PLACE: 2015 Toyota Corolla
Even without a coupe body style or high-performance equivalent to the Civic Si, the 2015 Toyota Corolla is the second-best selling compact car in Canada through the first half of this year. Put up against the Honda directly, we think the Toyota is the better overall small sedan.
Pricing in this segment is ultra-competitive, so it’s no surprise the Honda and Toyota stickers mimic each other, with a base Corolla CE (with a six-speed manual) starting at $17,515 and a top-line Corolla LE ECO CVT at $26,955. We tested a $23,270 Corolla S with a 50th Anniversary package that added a moonroof, rear disc brakes, 17-inch black alloys and some red interior trim that gives the interior a sporty Scion FR-S flavour.
Our photography vehicle was a six-speed manual version, but we also drove a Corolla S with a CVT. Using the Corolla’s lone 1.8-litre four-cylinder gas engine, there’s 132 horsepower and 128 lb.-ft. of torque on tap, while the LE ECO pumps out 140 horsepower and 126 lb.-ft. of torque. Its 7.9 L/100 km city and 6.1 highway fuel economy estimates match the Civic’s numbers, but we preferred the Corolla CVT over the Civic. It delivered quicker response when you pressed on the gas pedal and the fake gear ratios make it feel more like a “normal” automatic transmission.
Car Review: 2015 Toyota Corolla S
We’ll also take the Corolla’s simpler two-dial, speedometer/tachometer driver instrumentation and large centre-dash touchscreen over the Civic’s shotgun interior design approach. The Toyota gets a thumbs up for offering more user-friendly audio control knobs over the Honda’s fiddly buttons.
Where we think the Toyota compact sedan makes its biggest move ahead of the Honda is in its roomy back seat. Being one of the top 10 small cars with the biggest interiors, the Corolla offers a whopping 132 millimetres more rear legroom than the Civic — more so than the Camry and Avalon sedans. The Corolla even offers more trunk space than the Camry.
If you don’t mind giving up a bit in driving refinement, we think that with its user-friendly cockpit and roomy backseat and trunk, the 2015 Toyota Corolla is the better buy if you’re looking to take home one of Canada’s best-selling compact cars.