2021 Toyota Corolla vs. 2021 Honda Civic: Which Car is Right for Me?

As two compact four-door vehicles that have stood near the top of rankings for years, the 2021 Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic are solid choices for car buyers. The Corolla sedan comes in five trim levels (L, LE, SE, XLE, and XSE), while the hatchback is only available in the SE and XSE trims. The Civic sedan also comes in five trims (LX, Sport, EX, EX-L, and Touring), while the hatchback comes in four trims (LX, Sport, EX, and Sport Touring). Use Kings Toyota's guide to compare the Corolla vs. Civic here.

Seating and Storage

After undergoing a complete redesign in 2020, the 2021 Corolla still gives riders a comfortable ride, thanks to a spacious front row and accommodating rear seats. Cloth upholstery comes standard, but available upgrades include synthetic leather upholstery, an eight-way power-adjustable driver's seat, and heated front seats. The SE and XSE trims include front sport seats with extra side and thigh support.

For the 2021 model year, Honda eliminated the Civic's coupe options, so you're left with either a sedan or hatchback style. Most Civics seat five people, but the Civic Type R only has room for four. Both rows have roomy seats, although the sloped roofline reduces the rear headroom. The seats are slightly flat, but you still have excellent outward visibility from the driver's seat.

With the Corolla sedan, you get 13.1 cubic feet of space in the trunk. The rear seats fold down, so you can have additional storage space. The hatchback provides you with 17.8 cubic feet of space, and folding down the rear seats increases the cargo capacity to 23.3 cubic feet.

On the other hand, the Civic sedan gives you 15.1 cubic feet of space in its trunk. The hatchback expands this space to 25.7 cubic feet behind the rear seats, and folding the seats down gives you an impressive 46.2 cubic feet. These numbers are some of the highest in the class.

Performance

Two four-cylinder engine options power the 2021 Corolla. The sedan has a 1.8-liter engine that produces 139 horsepower and 126 pound-feet of torque. The hatchback comes standard with a 2.0-liter engine that produces 168 horsepower and 151 pound-feet of torque. Toyota also offers the 2.0-liter engine in the SE and XSE sedan trims, where it produces 169 horsepower.

The 2021 Civic offers three engine options, with the base 2.0-liter engine producing 158 horsepower and 138 pound-feet of torque. A 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine that gives you 174 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque is standard in the EX, EX-L, and Touring sedans as well as the LX and EX hatchback. You can also get this engine on the Sport and Sport Touring hatchback trims, where it produces 180 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. The Type R hatchback gets its power from a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that produces 306 horsepower.

The Corolla's smaller engine comes with a continuously variable transmission (CVT), while the larger option has either a CVT or six-speed manual transmission. Unlike many other vehicles that offer a CVT, the Corolla's operates quietly and smoothly. Most trims for the Civic come standard with a CVT, though a six-speed manual transmission is available.

The 2021 Corolla attains some of the best gas mileage numbers in its class. The base engine gets an EPA-estimated 30 mpg in the city and 38 mpg on the highway. Unlike other vehicles, the Corolla's larger engine gets better gas mileage than the smaller one. The 2.0-liter engine gets an estimated 31 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway.

The 2021 Civic achieves similar numbers, with the sedan and the base engine getting an estimated 32 mpg in the city and 42 mpg on the highway. The hatchback with the same engine gets 31 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway. 

Technology

The Corolla's Entune infotainment system is one of the easiest to use on the market, mainly due to its responsive touch-screen display and well-organized physical controls sitting on the center stack. This system comes standard with a 7-inch touch-screen display, two USB ports, a Wi-Fi hot spot, Bluetooth, satellite radio, and a six-speaker stereo. It also pairs with Amazon Alexa, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto. You can upgrade to receive an 8-inch touch-screen display, wireless device charging, an additional USB port, HD radio, a nine-speaker stereo, and a navigation system.

The Civic's infotainment system is basic, but its physical knobs make it easy to operate. It comes standard with a 5-inch display, four speakers, a single USB port, and Bluetooth. Available upgrades include a 7-inch touch screen, an additional USB port, HD radio, navigation, an upgraded stereo with extra speakers, and voice recognition. Unlike the Corolla, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are optional on the Civic.

Safety Features

To keep you and your passengers safe, the 2021 Corolla comes standard with almost a dozen safety features. Some of these features include:

• Forward collision warning.
• Automatic emergency braking.
• Automatic high-beam headlights.
• Traffic sign recognition.
• Pedestrian detection.

Additional optional features include blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and adaptive headlights.

The Civic comes with almost as many standard safety features but only one optional feature: blind-spot monitoring. Some of its standard safety feature include:

• Road departure mitigation.
• Adaptive cruise control.
• Collision mitigation braking.
• Lane departure warning.
• Automatic high-beam headlights.

When it comes to the LATCH system, the Corolla's is one of the easiest to use. Both vehicles have two complete sets of connectors for the rear outboard seats and a tether anchor for the rear middle seat. For the Corolla, you can easily borrow an anchor from either side. The Civic's system is somewhat easy to use, but the lower anchors sit deeply in the seats, making them difficult to reach.

Sometimes the best way to figure out which vehicle works best for your needs is to get behind the wheel yourself. At Kings Toyota, we have a huge selection of new and pre-owned Toyota vehicles and offer no-nonsense upfront pricing to save you time and money. To schedule a test drive at our Cincinnati dealership, contact us directly, and we can help you drive home in your dream vehicle today.