Cars.comparison: Thrifty Compacts
Times are tough, and even if you're looking for a new car you probably don't have as much to spend as you did a few months ago. A sensible, efficient set of wheels looks like a pretty good thing right now, and a compact car is a great way to get there. In this comparison, the strong-selling Honda Civic squares off against the Pontiac G5 and Toyota Corolla for king-of-thrift honors.
= Category winner| The Contenders | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2009 Honda Civic EX-L | 2009 Pontiac G5 XFE | 2009 Toyota Corolla XLE |
| Zoom | Zoom | Zoom |
| Base MSRP | ||
| $20,855 | $16,980 | $17,650 |
| Price as tested | ||
| $24,325 | $18,315 | $19,920 |
| Most stylish | ||
| Sleek and distinctive, this generation of the Civic has a modern, attractive look even though it's been around for a few years. | The G5 is the only model here offered exclusively as a coupe. This body style adds a little extra sportiness, but we wish its styling weren't so similar to the Chevy Cobalt's. | Toyota calls this a redesigned car, but in many ways it's indistinguishable from its bland-looking predecessor. |
| Drivetrain refinement, power | ||
| The Civic's smooth-revving four-cylinder feels quick when driving in city traffic, but it loses some of its gusto when merging on the highway. The engine doesn't make the greatest sounds, either. | Though it pays off in mileage, the XFE treatment makes for modest passing power on the highway, where the manual transmission keeps you busy rowing whenever you want to move fast. The Ecotec engine sounds thrashy but provides the most power at low speeds. | Responsive and peppy, the Corolla's 1.8-liter four-cylinder has enough power to make merging onto the highway a breeze. Its four-speed auto lacks the Civic five-speed's quick passing response, though. |
| Gas mileage (city/highway/combined, mpg) | ||
| 25/36/29 The Civic's fuel economy falls short of the other two, but the difference is minor. These figures are for the automatic, but manual-transmission models get 26/34 mpg. | 25/37/30 The XFE version of the G5, with its special fuel-saving measures, ekes out the best highway gas mileage of this trio, but it's only offered with a stick shift; with an automatic, the G5's mileage is 24/33 mpg. | 27/35/30 Without any special measures, the Corolla matches the G5's combined gas mileage estimate and beats its city rating — all while using a four-speed automatic transmission. |
| Commuting comfort | ||
| The taut suspension communicates every little road imperfection to the cabin. The Civic is easy to drive on the highway, but the shape of the leather bucket seats wasn't easy to get used to. | The G5's seats have questionable comfort — some editors liked 'em, others loathed 'em — and there's considerable wind noise on the highway. A noisy suspension doesn't help Pontiac's case, either. | The Corolla's ride quality is on the firm side, like the Civic's. It's an able cruiser, and the comfortable front bucket seats are a plus — except that they're covered in cheap-looking fabric. |
| Interior quality | ||
| Some of the trim panels don't meet exactly right on the Civic's futuristic dashboard, but otherwise fit and finish are good and the cabin features high-quality materials and some of the segment's best buttons. | Even though the G5 came out after its sister car, the Chevy Cobalt, its interior quality isn't substantially nicer. It's not terrible, but it's not what GM has demonstrated it can do. One exception, though, is the user-friendly radio. | It's hit-and-miss in the Corolla, which features decent dash plastic but sloppy air-conditioning controls. The faux wood trim needs to go. On the flip side, our tester's JBL stereo upgrade easily sounded the best of the bunch. |
| Backseat roominess | ||
| Backseat passengers will find the Civic just right for them, with enough legroom and headroom, plus a flat floor for three pairs of feet. Parents will have no problem sitting next to a center-mounted baby seat. | Considering that it's a two-door, the G5's backseat has good dimensions compared to the other two — but it's a two-door, which is inconvenient for family use. | Getting in and out of the Corolla is easy, as is installing a baby seat. Headroom is adequate, but legroom isn't as generous as the Civic's. The floor is free of a foot-room-robbing hump, but there's no center armrest, which is something Honda provides. |
| Safety features | ||
| Insurance Institute for Highway Safety front, side and rear crash-test scores are exemplary. Antilock brakes, side-impact airbags for the front seats, side curtain airbags and active front head restraints are standard across the Civic lineup. EX models gain rear disc brakes, and the EX-L adds an electronic stability system. | The G5 hasn't been crash-tested by IIHS. Side curtain airbags are standard, but ABS is optional. You have to choose a GT model to get rear disc brakes and a stability system. | Like the Civic, the Corolla has exemplary crash-test scores. All models have ABS, side-impact and side curtain airbags, and active head restraints for the front seats. Stability control is a reasonable $250 option, but rear disc brakes aren't offered until you get up to the high-performance XRS trim. |
| Overall value | ||
| Choosing a lower trim level without leather seats and a navigation system makes the Civic's price more comparable to the Corolla's, but expect discounts to be more prevalent from Toyota. | Though it's the least refined in the group, the G5 is also the least expensive. That said, it still seems too expensive for what you get. | It was a close contest with the G5, but the Corolla's low five-year ownership costs and its better Consumer Reports' projected reliability gave it the edge. |
| Editors' choice | ||
| The Civic remains the champ of the compact-car class, for now. It's amazing to see how well the car has held up over the past few years, but we'll have to revisit it in the near future, as new competitors from Kia and Mazda are on the way. | Impressive as its highway mileage is, the G5 is too unrefined to merit serious consideration here. | Ride quality notwithstanding, the Corolla is rather ordinary overall and doesn't move the bar for compact cars. For a redesigned model, we expected more. |
© Cars.com 3/2/09
Next Step?
- 2009 Honda Civic
- 2009 Pontiac G5
- 2009 Toyota Corolla
