Should I switch?

I've had a 93 Corolla since 95 but it's having problems at 168k mi and we
need a reliable car for work.

I'm thinking of a newer Corolla but someone also mentioned that Hondas
have gotten pretty reliable since 1990, especially the Civic?

But do they have as much leg room inside as Corollas?

I'm 6' tall and heavy.

I remember the old Datsuns where the seat would bend back on one side from
so much getting in and out, like they were made for little Japanese
people, not big Americans.

But then when we got the Corolla, the seats have been sturdy.

Is the Civic built as sturdily?

 

Honda's have a much firmer ride than Toyota's in general. Seating is also
firmer.

 

I went from a Civic to a Fit, but tested the Corolla. It just didn't
feel right. The Civics have plenty of leg room, although the seats
can be kind of tight if you're much over, say, a 48" waistline.

I liked the trim and fit of the Civics better. The real problem is, I
think, that the Corolla and Civic are supposedly positioned against
each other, but the top end Corolla is more like a low end Civic.

If you can find one at a decent price, a 2000 or 2001 Civic EX would
probably fit your bill nicely. The problem, as has been pointed out,
is that Civics are in real high demand right now.

 

Depends on the year of each. I greatly prefer the late 90's Corolla to
the late 90's Civic, but the later Civics are much improved lately.

The Corolla is now approaching the earlier generations Camry in size,
while the Civic is quite a bit smaller than the Corolla in many key
dimensions. The newest Corolla is 9 cubic feet bigger than the current
Civic, (92.0 versus 83.7 cubic feet).

Are you going to be carrying rear seat adult passengers? The Civic
headroom for the latest generation leaves something to be desired.

2009 Civic
----------
Internal dimensions: front headroom (inches): 38.0, rear headroom
(inches): 35.1, front hip room (inches): 53.0, rear hip room (inches):
49.2, front leg room (inches): 42.6, rear leg room (inches): 30.3, front
shoulder room (inches): 53.9, rear shoulder room (inches): 52.1 and
interior volume (cu ft): 83.7

2009 Corolla
------------
Internal dimensions: front headroom (inches): 38.8, rear headroom
(inches): 37.2, front hip room (inches): 53.0, rear hip room (inches):
43.9, front leg room (inches): 41.7, rear leg room (inches): 36.3, front
shoulder room (inches): 54.8, rear shoulder room (inches): 54.6 and
interior volume (cu ft): 92.0.


Honda has always had paint issues, as far back as I can remember. They
don't seem to have adapted to the U.S. market where people keep their
cars a lot longer than they do in Japan.

 

2000 and 2001 civics are very different beasts. the 2000 is double
wishbone front suspension, the 2001 only has macphersons and doesn't
handle quite as well.

 

From Honda's website:
DX/DX-VP LX/LX-S
Headroom (in, front/rear) 39.4 / 37.4
Legroom (in, front/rear) 42.2 / 34.6
Shoulder Room (in, front/rear) 53.7 / 52.4
Hiproom (in, front/rear) 51.9 / 51.0
Passenger Volume (cu ft) 90.9
Seating Capacity 5
http://automobiles.honda.com/civic-sedan/specifications.aspx?group=dimensions

From Toyota's web site:
Corolla
Interior Dimensions front/rear (in.):
Head room 38.8/37.2
Shoulder room 54.8/54.6
Hip room 53.0/43.9
Leg room 41.7/36.3
Seating capacity 5
http://www.toyota.com/corolla/specs.html

Since I am tall, headroom & legroom are very important to me, as you see,
the Civic is the clear winner in these two dimensions.... I don't know why
you would post FUD when the truth is so easily verifiable.

 

Justbob30 wrote:

<snip>

Yes, my mistake, I must have been looking at a model other than the
sedan for the Civic. The Corolla has more headroom than the Civic, but
not by as much as I posted eariler, it's 38.1, not 38.0 on the Civic.

The actual numbers are:
Civic Corolla
----- -------
front headroom (inches): 38.1 38.8
rear headroom (inches): 36.7 37.2
front hip room (inches): 51.9 53.0
rear hip room (inches): 51.0 43.9
front leg room (inches): 42.2 41.7
rear leg room (inches): 34.6 36.3
front shoulder room (inches): 53.6 54.8
rear shoulder room (inches): 52.3 54.6
interior volume (cu ft): 88.4 92.0


All figures are from http://www.automotive.com.

 

What about MPG on the Civics?

 

Try looking at the MFG web sites, probably more accurate than a 3rd party
web site...not to mention, the corolla has such an odd seating position it
is downright uncomfortable for me. The Civic is a far nicer car than the
corolla, less hard plastic, more headroom, legroom and a more modern &
stylish interior.

The REAL gas mileage as I understand it in a gas civic is about 25 city, I
have a hybrid and get about 45 city....I don't consider highway mileage as I
do about 98% of my driving city.....I have had my hybrid up to 68 mpg on the
highway....don't know if that is sustainable as I said, I don't drive the
highway much.

 

It looks like you are comparing the Civic EX with moonroof to a
Corolla without moonroof. The headroom for a Corolla with moonroof
would change to 37.9 / 37.1 (front/rear).

I'm about 6-ft tall with normal BMI and I can fit into either car
comfortably, moonroof included. I like the Civic and Corolla equally.

 

Hi Sarah,
The Civic has much more leg room than corolla, however, it sits lower to
ground. Entry/ exit for driver is easier on corolla - but the tilt column
on civic helps compensate. Once seated - comfort, leg and headroom are
great.

 

What exactly do you mean? Price?
List of features? What are you comparing?