Civic 1.6A vs Corolla 1.6A

[Snakeater]

2003 Honda Civic 1.6A Vti Premium Edition = $81288 (3 bids non-guarenteed COE)

 

 

I went with my dad, to Ubi today to look at both cars. Looked at Civic first, the one in the showroom was black in colour, very chiou. Sat inside it and loved the leather interior and driver space. My dad didn't like the back seat because the floorboard behind, was high, in a sense that shen you sat down, your knees would be high up to your tummy level.

 

My dad has a beer belly, so I could imagine the discomfort with this kind of sensation. In addition, taller rear passengers will also be affected. The removal of the middle "bump" is a welcome feature though, all cars should adopt this. The doors close with nice "thud" sound, as expected, but when I tried pressing the sides of the leather-trimmed doors, they moved-in quite a bit, indicating the "hollowness" of the side doors.

I expected wood-trim but it wasn't an option. Damn!

 

Test-Drive : I've not driven a VTEC engine more than 2 times in my life, so I'm quite a newbie to it. Did not hear any VTEC activation sounds, though I can feel the car surging with ease when its activated. Acceleration is very smooth and instant, like a sports car. The engine is very responsive and the throttle is very sensitive to the touch. Depress it a little and the RPM shoots up to 3K already. It's really a joy to drive, and the engine sounds so sporty when reved hard that I'm drooling as I type this.

 

The road noise however, is quite apparent, and so is the engine noise. Those opting for a quiet drive should steer clear of this mean machine. The SE told me that as the car is using Bridgestone performance tyres, the road noise will be more apparent.

 

 

 

2003 Toyota Corolla 1.6A VVTi Deluxe = $80888 (classic plan : 3 months COE bidding)

 

After lunch we headed to Borneo Motors and looked at the corolla. The face-lifted corolla now had a more classy front grill and nicer headlights. The back strip right above the number plate has now been elongated and nice chrome platings nicely adorn it. Because of the nice subtle changes at both the front and back of the car, it doesn't resemble a "Fat Pig" as much as before. However, comparing the exterior to the Honda, the Honda is the clear winner. I think no one will argue that. The corolla comes with 14" alloys(Civic has 15") and I think that's a BIG NoNo.

 

The interior of the corolla is what captivated me and my dad. My dad was like, "No need to think already, get this!". Classy Biege leather and tasteful walnut woodgrain embraced the "continental-looking" interior of the corolla, I felt like a CEO in the car, heehee. The driver space was as good as the civic's, but the rear seats are more spacious and comfortable. I think its because the Corolla's siting position is higher, so your legs are more comfortable, and also, its easier to enter and exit the vehicle. Interior build quality is definately better than the civic, cos everything feels solid. Door closes with a nice thud as well and I prefer the door handles of the corolla(more classy i think). The lever that opens the fuel cap and boot are UGLY and cheapo. I mean did Toyota overlook this part. It's really an eyesore that I think of it. Thankfully that lever is under and beside the driver's seat, so you won't see it while driving. Honda's lever is much better designed. The speedometer is a sporty blue colour similar to civic's, and the aircon is climate-control

 

Test Drive : I braked and the whole car jerked! Realised that it was using front and rear disk brakes, but then the brake pedal is still too sensitive man, maybe need to get used to it. Acceleration was nothing spectacular, now that I've driven the civic, so I now use it to benchmark other cars. I didn't have a good route to test the car as during that time, there was quite a lot of traffic at Ubi already. All I can say is that the corolla is not as REV-friendly as the civic, however the acceleration is also very smooth although slightly slower. Road noise was noticeably lower than the civic and I couldn't feel the road vibrations at all. It's really a very comfortable car to drive. Damn, what if I fall asleep while driving it?!?

 

 

 

OK, that's about it, my personal opinion and nothing more.

[Fulcrum]

hey i thought when driven gently below the 3.5k rpm of the civic engine, it is very quiet and refined? Somehow or rather, i feel the corolla does sound more vocal in the engine department; but anyway it is personal opinion. SOme pple think a pin drop on the floor also noisy.

[Koolaba]

Yup...second your view that the Corolla feels more vocal in the engine department compared to Civic

[Koolaba]

The Civic comes fitted with Bridgestone RE88 tyres. These are semi-performance tyres which are already in the market for quite some time already. If u prefer a quiet ride, u can consider changing to quiet tyres like Yokohama Aspec dB.

 

Abt the flat rear floor of the Civic, I suspect that Honda merely flushed the floor level in order to conceal the transmission hump. I've sat in the rear seat of ES Civic before...the knees are positioned much higher than normal cars.

 

IMO the build quality of the current Toyotas lose out to the previous generation due to extensive cost cutting. Some of the SDX Corollas already have rusty brake rotors at the edges. No offence to G9 Corolla owners...but I feel that the car still looks like a pregnant puffer fish.

 

So what car are u getting?

[Snakeater]

You are correct. Both cars get noisier as you ram the accelerator(but all cars do I guess, maybe except those big cc luxury cars?).

The civic's engine noise is very sweet. The corolla's engine noise is normal, no big deal.

 

When driven gently, and cruising, both cars are very quiet, can't hear the engine. But road noise for Civic will still be there. I wonder if changing the tires to AspecDB will help much?

[Koolaba]

Sound proof the floor plan of the Civic to get rid of the road noise

[Snakeater]

I'm really split between both cars.

I know I will enjoy driving the civic, because of its responsive and sweet engine. But on the other hand I love the comfort and prestigeous interior offered by the Corolla.

 

Comfort/Class or Pure Driving pleasure ?

 

Hmmmmmmmmmmm.........aiyah.......dilemma

[Fulcrum]

honestly.. making either choice just won't b wrong with reliability and resale values at the top of the class.. jus draw lots lor.

[Koolaba]

It really boils down to what u want.

 

Given a choice, I'll get e Civic due to its higher OMV. The price diff between Corolla and Civic is abt $1k. But OMV diff between e 2 cars is abt $2k.

 

Honda's interior is quite minimalist compared to Corolla. But I find the design more balanced in the Civic. The Corolla doesn't look good to me

[King]

the choice is between a passager car or a Driver car.

Make your choice!

[Snakeater]

Why can't we have the best of both worlds? Arrghh....

 

Anyway, I'm leaning more towards Corolla at the moment.

[Civic_vti]

I perfer Civic .... at least until the outcome of next COE bidding.

Exterior more agressive than Corolla. QC seems better also. My friend bought a Corolla recently (SDY), complained about rusty disc brakes and exhaust pipe.

 

May probably change nick after 2 weeks ....

[Snakeater]

How could you tell the exterior of Corolla feels more robust than civic's? Did you bang on the door? I thought of doing that, but wait they thought I crazy.

 

The head unit on the corolla looks damn ugly and out of place. Should have provided a 2 din head unit like the civic's

[Accenture]

Between the 2 my vote will be the Civic. So many G9 on the roads liao.

[S2P2]

dun hit it...just use you thumb to press can liao

[Caaa]

Hehehe...I am driving a Civic now and my vote is of course Civic! No regret! For the rear seat, do you actually notice because of the higher seating position, there are much less head room for corolla even though the car seems higher? Performance wise I think Civic is better in term of overall aspect for an average driver. Handling again I like civic, but i heard fuel consumption corolla is better. Noise level I feel ES Civic is better than G9 (dun talk about VTEC). For $1k diff, I think civic is better due to higher OMV and better build quality (see the interior plastic, you will know what I mean!). Do not be attract too much by those woody thing coz is no more "in", the metal look is more youngful looking. My 2 Cts worth. Cheer!

[Snakeater]

If I'm staying alone, and using the car solely myself, Civic would be the choice.

But my parents choice really prefer the Corolla. I cannot be so selfish mah.

 

Personally, I feel that the Corolla would be a more "boring" car to drive, compared to civic. The corolla is more luxurious to drive though, and the interior is more impressive and classy, I don't think anyone can deny that. I do not mind sacrificing a little Luxury over Driving pleasure(where the civic is concerned), and vice versa as well, where the corolla is concerned.

 

Anyway, Corolla will be my car, unless something changes my parents' minds. Like what many brudders(and sisters) here say, both cars are good, so no worries.

[Sandpiper]

Had my fair share of dilemma in deciding between a Corolla or a Civic and finally decided on a corolla 1.6(A). The price of both cars (comparing 1.6A) is about the same and the delivery of order is about 2 months wait.

 

The main deciding factor of getting a corolla is budget and comfort. In terms of budget, cheaper insurance and better fuel consumption. Driving a corolla is more comfortable as the ride is smoother and quieter.