Compare the2022 Honda CivicVS 2022 Toyota Corolla

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Honda Civic have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Toyota Corolla doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Civic are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Corolla doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Honda Civic has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Corolla doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the Civic deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The Civic’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Corolla’s airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Civic Touring/Sport Touring has standard Low Speed Braking Control that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Corolla doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

Both the Civic and the Corolla have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Civic its highest rating: “Top Pick Plus” for 2021, a rating granted to only 72 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Corolla is only a standard “Top Pick” for 2021.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Civic has a standard 500-amp battery. The Corolla’s standard 295-amp battery and largest (SE/XSE) 360 amp battery aren’t as powerful.

The Civic LX/Sport’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 19 more horsepower (158 vs. 139) and 12 lbs.-ft. more torque (138 vs. 126) than the Corolla’s standard 1.8 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Civic EX/EX-L/Touring’s standard 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 11 more horsepower (180 vs. 169) and 26 lbs.-ft. more torque (177 vs. 151) than the Corolla SE/XSE’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Civic EX/EX-L/Touring 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Corolla SE/XSE 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder:

On the EPA test cycle the Civic Sedan gets better mileage than the Corolla:

On the EPA test cycle the Civic Hatchback gets better mileage than the Corolla:

In heavy traffic or at stop lights the Civic’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. The Corolla doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The Civic has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Corolla doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

For better stopping power the Civic’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Corolla:

The Civic stops shorter than the Corolla:

For better traction, the Civic has larger standard tires than the Corolla (215/55R16 vs. 195/65R15). The Civic Sport/Touring’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Corolla (235/40R18 vs. 225/40R18).

The Civic LX’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Corolla L’s standard 65 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Civic LX has standard 16-inch wheels. Smaller 15-inch wheels are standard on the Corolla L.

The Civic has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Corolla doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Civic’s wheelbase is 1.4 inches longer than on the Corolla (107.7 inches vs. 106.3 inches).

The Civic Touring Sedan handles at .88 G’s, while the Corolla XSE pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Civic Touring Sedan executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.4 seconds quicker than the Corolla XSE (26.7 seconds @ .64 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

The Civic Sedan is 3.3 inches shorter than the Corolla, making the Civic easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

To almost totally eliminate engine vibration in the passenger area, the Civic has a liquid-filled front engine mount. The liquid helps further dampen engine harshness. The Corolla uses conventional solid rubber engine mounts.

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the Civic a Mid-size car, while the Corolla is rated a Compact.

The Civic has 10.4 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Corolla (99 vs. 88.6).

The Civic Hatchback has 1 inch more front headroom, .3 inches more front legroom, .4 inches more front hip room, 3 inches more front shoulder room, 2.6 inches more rear legroom and 4.3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Corolla.

The Civic Hatchback has a much larger trunk than the Corolla (24.5 vs. 13.1 cubic feet).

The Civic’s driver power window, power lock and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Corolla’s power window (except driver window) and power lock switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The Civic EX/EX-L’s standard wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers and the Civic Touring/Sport Touring’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Corolla LE/SE/XLE/XLS’ manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Civic’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Corolla’s headlights are rated “Acceptable” to “Marginal.”

The Civic’s optional rear view mirror has an automatic dimming feature. This mirror can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on it, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Corolla doesn’t offer the luxury of an automatic dimming rear view mirror.

The Civic EX/EX-L/Touring/Sport Touring’s standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. The Corolla doesn’t offer dual zone air conditioning.

Car and Driver performed a comparison test in its September 2021 issue and they ranked the Honda Civic Touring Sedan first. They ranked the Toyota Corolla Apex sixth.

The Civic Sport was chosen as one of Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2 of the last 4 years. The Corolla has never been a Car and Driver “Top Ten” pick.

The Civic was chosen as one of Automobile Magazine’s “All Stars” for 2 of the last 25 years. The Corolla has never been an “All Star.”

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Civic as the 2016 North American Car of the Year. The Corolla has never been chosen.