Video: 2017 Toyota Corolla vs. 2017 Honda Civic

So, both of these cars are $23,000 with destination. So, let's take a look at what you get in one and not in the other, but most importantly, which one you should buy. Let's start here with the styling. And I don't know about you, Joe, but the front end of this Corolla, which was just refreshed for the 2017 model year is just really bizarre looking. Just a very big, kind of almost dash of an open bumper here. Just a lot going on. It's a really aggressive look, but what I like upfront are the standard LED headlights and also the LED daytime running lights. It has a very distinctive face, but it's kinda like putting lipstick on a pig because while from here forward looks great, from the front fender back, it's just your regular old Corolla. I mean, this thing is in need of a big redesign to get the kind of styling cohesiveness that you find in the Civic. Yeah, and that takes us over to the Civic, which with this new design here, the current generation Civic is actually just a really interesting looking car to look at in terms of its profile. A lot of kinda body back here, over and around the rear fender. I don't know about you, but this kind of looks like a hatchback more than a sedan, Which is strange, because they also offer a hatchback of this now and it looks very similar. Upfront, what I really like is this low hood, it's low and wide, it has almost sports car like proportions to it. So, we're in the Corolla right now. Like the Civic, it's got a four cylinder engine a little bit smaller than the Civic's engine though. And I'd say power is adequate. <v Joe>Yeah, you know, it has 132 horsepower and it feels like 132 horsepower. There's nothing exciting here, but at the same time, almost more importantly, it doesn't feel underpowered. Yeah. It feels adequate. I mean, there's a continuously variable automatic transmission here as well as in the Civic. And this kind of tries to mimic a traditional automatic transmission sometimes, with kinda upshifts and downshifts it just kinda winds around trying to make you feel like you're zooming around, even though you aren't. Yeah. The car can be deceiving, because it has that very aggressive front styling and these very aggressively bolstered seats, but there's also not really a shred of sportiness in how it handles. <v Kelsey>Let's talk about these seats for a second though. These are really, really heavily bolstered seats. I think you mentioned that, they're sort of confining and they kind of curve in, don't they? Yeah. I mean, I'm a skinny guy, look at me, but they feel like they are just really hugging me, like a real sports seat. And they also have these sort of leatherette or vinyl bolsters here with actual cloth down the center. So you didn't actually get a real leather seat, but your passengers might think you did. Because these bolsters, which stick out a ton, they're obviously clad of some kind of premium material here. Now, in contrast to kind of the wild seats, a very normal multimedia system. You've got your volume knob, you've got your tuning knob. You've got some buttons around here. Great large display here, reasonably responsive. Physical controls nailed it. Right? You've got volume knob, you've got a tuning knob. That's what we ask for, because you do have those capacitive controls where they do away with traditional knobs and dials. So, while this gets a pass on just the tactile function of what we want, the software, the digital portion, it's just really not up to the Civic. Yeah. Pretty much a lot of small cars these days even offer Apple CarPlay, Android Auto too, smartphone integration systems. You plug in your either Android or your Apple, iPhone into, and they work immediately. A Toyota wants you to download their Scout navigation system. And I don't know, just give me CarPlay, let me plug in, nothing I have to download. It works right away. <v Joe>Yeah. I agree. You know, CarPlay and Android Auto, they're using the native navigation apps on your phone. I mean, you can buy a car without navigation and with those have navigation. Now, the way Toyota does with a Scout GPS, you have to download the Scout app. And then you're using that app, which I've used and it's fine, but I don't think it's as smart or sleek as Google maps or even Apple maps. (car engine running) All right. So we're in the Civic now and it has a whopping 115 horsepower, but of course it's not all about horsepower. That transmission makes a huge impact. Yeah, it's also a CVT like in the Corolla, but not all CVTs are the same. And I got to say, the Civic's really does a lot with the power that it has. It just kind of makes you feel like you're actually doing something with your right foot in terms of getting the revs to change. And it's just more fun to drive. This is the base engine. So it's a 2.0 liter. You also have the option of a turbocharge 1.5 liter. That's the engine you want. <v Joe>I mean, there's no question there. If you can swing the 1.5 liter, get that. It's a reasonably fun car to really kind of throw around, actually, the steering for one is excellent. I mean, it's just a superbly quick steering ratio. You just get into the corner, and what that means is, you know, even just a few degrees of turning immediately kind of re points the nose, and it just makes it a lot of fun to toss around on winding roads. Yeah. It is planted, it rotates really nicely in the corners, and the greatest part is, I mean, I love driving this car. I think it's a blast to drive. You've got the CVT and the base engine, this thing just handles so well. It really just kind of dials up a higher degree of ride quality. You know, we talked about comfort versus quality and ride quality, and it's really, really good. One thing, not so good, this thing right here, the center stack, the multimedia system, it's a touch screen here in our test car, reasonably responsive in terms of just getting around the menus and stuff, but there aren't actually any physical buttons next to the screen. Instead you get all this capacitive touch junk right here, like a volume slider, there's capacitive touch buttons for a bunch of other shortcuts. There's no tuning up. No. Now there is a workaround. You have the volume thumb wheel on the steering wheel. And that very quickly, you swipe it fast, and then you swipe it again and the volume raises. So, not a big fan of the need for them. Functionally, I think it works fine, but the fact that you need to work around, just to mute the stereo, I mean, I'm just not a fan of that. A very cool visual part of the Civic's interior is this instrument panel here. It's got a very cool animation at startup, it shows a lot of useful information from the big old digital speedometer, tells you how fast you're going, to kind of a sweeping needle for the tach and a lot of reconfigurable screens, very rare that you get this outside of the luxury realm and that it's this well done in a car as inexpensive as the Civic. <v Joe>Yeah, the Civic's interior as a whole, it's just a lot more stylistically impressive, and that visual dashboard is the highlight. Now, the Corolla has a traditional analog tachometer and speedometer. This is not only digital, but it's digital done right. (car engine running) And the Corolla certainly has some value things going for it. First of all, all those safety features, a forward collision warning, the lane sensing, all of that stuff is actually standard now in the 2017 Corolla and you get two free years of maintenance. All right, but for $23,000, it's your money. What are you going to spend it on? I don't know, I got to say, I think the Civic still has more utility, better quality and it just drives better. So, for my money, I think I'm going for the Civic. What about you, Joe? If we're talking just these two, it's going to be the Civic, hands down. I mean, this thing's a right to drive and I mean, for 23 grand, you're getting a lot, and you add in the style. Yeah, it's subjective, but it's just interesting, that digital dashboard, and then you put the CVT in sport mode and it doesn't really feel like a CVT. Civic. No question. not even a close call here. Pretty much Civic in agreement.