Compare the2024 Honda Civic SiVS 2023 Toyota Corolla

Safety
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

© 1999 - 2024Advanta-STAR Automotive Research, all rights reserved. This vehicle comparison and all of the content in it are provided only by license from Advanta-STAR Automotive Research Corporation of America (“Advanta-STAR”). If you are not a legally licensed user of this vehicle comparison, it is against federal law to access it, copy it, forward it, or use it in any manner whatsoever. Any unauthorized use of this vehicle comparison is a violation of U.S. and international law and is punishable criminally and civilly. Removal of this watermark/notification without prior written license and approval received from Advanta-STAR is an agreement, understanding, and/or stipulation by the person(s), entities, agents, attorneys, and any other persons involved in the removal of this watermark/notification (including but not limited to Search Optics, LLC and any and all parent entities, sister entities, and subsidiary entities of Search Optics, LLC and/or any other entity, agent, attorney, and persons related in any manner to Search Optics, LLC) to: 1) an agreed upon amount of liquidated monetary damages of a minimum of $1,250,000.00 US Dollars in favor of Advanta-STAR; 2) the jurisdiction and enforcement of any legal claims associated with this matter asserted by Advanta-STAR in the United States Federal District Court in Portand, Oregon; and 3) service of process of any legal claims asserted by Advanta-STAR associated with this matter may be accomplished by First-Class Postage by the United States Postal Service or comparable service. XPYNN-M34HG 2a06:98c0:3600::103 2024/05/14

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Honda Civic Si 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 its 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 Si 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 Si 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 Si 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 Si’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Corolla’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

The Civic Si has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Corolla’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Civic Si has standard Cross Traffic Monitor, helping the driver avoid collisions. Toyota charges extra for Rear Cross-Traffic Alert on the Corolla.

Both the Civic Si 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 and driver alert monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Honda Civic Si is safer than the Toyota Corolla:

	Civic Si	Corolla
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Stress	241 lbs.	243 lbs.
Neck Compression	23 lbs.	50 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	189/372 lbs.	330/310 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Honda Civic Si is safer than the Toyota Corolla:

	Civic Si	Corolla
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.7 inches	.9 inches
Hip Force	286 lbs.	330 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	12 inches	12 inches

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Reliability

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

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Honda vehicles are better in initial quality than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Honda above average in initial quality. With 4 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is rated below average.

Engine

The Civic Si’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 31 more horsepower (200 vs. 169) and 41 lbs.-ft. more torque (192 vs. 151) than the Corolla’s 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Honda Civic Si is faster than the Toyota Corolla (manual transmissions tested):

	Civic Si	Corolla
Zero to 60 MPH	7.1 sec	7.8 sec
Quarter Mile	15.3 sec	16.1 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	92.8 MPH	87.5 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

The Civic Si 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.

Brakes and Stopping

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

	Civic Si	Corolla
Front Rotors	12.3 inches	10.8 inches
Rear Rotors	11.1 inches	10.2 inches

The Civic Si stops much shorter than the Corolla:

	Civic Si	Corolla
70 to 0 MPH	156 feet	179 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	110 feet	128 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Civic Si has larger tires than the Corolla (235/40R18 vs. 205/55R16). The Civic Si’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Corolla (235/40R18 vs. 225/40R18).

The Civic Si’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Corolla’s standard 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Civic Si has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the Corolla.

Suspension and Handling

The Civic Si 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 Si’s wheelbase is 1.4 inches longer than on the Corolla (107.7 inches vs. 106.3 inches).

The Civic Si handles at .97 G’s, while the Corolla XSE pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Civic Si executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.8 seconds quicker than the Corolla XSE (26.3 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

Chassis

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

Passenger Space

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

The Civic Si has 8 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Corolla (96.6 vs. 88.6).

The Civic Si has .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.

Cargo Capacity

The Civic Si has a much larger trunk than the Corolla (14.4 vs. 13.2 cubic feet).

Ergonomics

The Civic Si’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 Si’s speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Corolla’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Consumer Reports rated the Civic Si’s headlight performance “Good,” a higher rating than the Corolla’s headlights, which were rated “Fair.”

The Civic Si’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Toyota charges extra for heated mirrors on the Corolla.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Honda Civic Si and the Toyota Corolla, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Civic was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2023 and 8 more times in the last 39 years. The Corolla has never been chosen by Car and Driver in their “10Best” issue.