Price
Winner: 2020 Toyota Corolla
The 2020 Honda Civic and 2020 Toyota Corolla start at nearly identical prices. It’s $20,650 for the base Civic LX sedan with a manual transmission and $19,600 for a Corolla L with a gearless continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). The Civic LX costs $800 more with a CVT.
The Corolla tops out at $25,550 for the top XSE sedan, but that’s without options. The Civic Sport Touring hatchback sits atop the conventional portion of the Civic line at $28,150 for a fully loaded model. The racetrack-ready Civic Type R hatchback commands a much-higher MSRP, at $36,995, but it’s meant only for hard-core enthusiasts with deeper pockets.
Reliability
Winner: 2020 Toyota Corolla
Both the Civic and Corolla are reasonably safe bets when it comes to reliability, and score closely overall, though the Toyota is rated just higher by J.D. Power. The Corolla received an above-average score in this regard, compared to a just-average score for the Civic.
Seat Comfort
Winner: Tie
Both the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla seat five people in reasonable comfort, with cloth upholstery standard and leather optional. Both can be equipped with heated front seats and a power driver’s seat, but the Civic further offers a heated rear seat and power adjustments on the passenger’s side.
The Corolla, on the other hand, can be equipped with upgraded sport seats up front that provide added support. There’s sufficient room in the front and rear seating positions with both models, though rear headroom in the Civic and Corolla Hatchback can get a bit tight.
The Civic Type R comes with sport seats that most motorists would find lacking in comfort, but they’re designed more with lateral support in mind for high-speed maneuvering.
Cargo Space
Winner: 2020 Honda Civic
The Honda Civic sedan provides a generous 14.7 or 15.1 cubic feet of cargo room, depending on the trim level. Civic hatchback models have either 22.6 or 25.7 cubic feet, which expands to a spacious 46.2 cubic feet with the rear seats folded flat. Cargo space is a bit tighter in the coupes with either 11.9 or 12.1 cubic feet, depending on the trim.
The Toyota Corolla sedans provide about 13 cubic feet of cargo space, while hatchback models have 17.8 cubic feet, and can expand to 23.3 cubic feet with the rear seats folded down.
Interior Quality
Winner: 2020 Honda Civic
The Honda Civic’s cabin earns a U.S. News interior score of 7.8, compared to 7.0 for the Toyota Corolla.
The Civic’s interior is the more attractively designed of the two, and is trimmed in premium materials and soft-touch surfaces for an upscale look and feel, especially in higher trims.
By comparison, the Corolla’s minimalist interior design comes off as being rather bland, though it is trimmed in good-quality materials.
Interior Features
Winner: 2020 Toyota Corolla
This is a tight race, but the Toyota Corolla comes out on top by virtue of its more-generous standard tech set. It includes a six-speaker stereo, a 7-inch touch screen, Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay smartphone integration, voice recognition, and a built-in Wi-Fi hot spot on all models. Options include automatic climate control, an 8-inch touch screen, HD and satellite radio, a moonroof, proximity keyless entry, push-button start, a 7-inch digital driver information display, navigation, wireless device charging, and a nine-speaker JBL premium stereo.
The Honda Civic comes with a standard 5-inch display screen, Bluetooth, a four-speaker stereo, and automatic climate control. However you’ll need to upgrade to higher trims (there are no standalone factory options) to obtain a 7-inch touch screen, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, HD and satellite radio, navigation, wireless device charging, and upgraded audio systems with 8-, 10-, or 12-speakers. Also available are a moonroof, dual-zone climate control, remote start, proximity keyless entry, and push-button start.
Acceleration
Winner: 2020 Honda Civic
The Honda Civic wins the power wars with an assortment of lively engines. Sedans and coupes pack a 158-horsepower 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, with a 174-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder also available. Hatchback models get the 174-horsepower version as standard, which is bumped up to 180 in the Sport trim. The Si trims come powered by a 205-horsepower turbo-four. The Civic Type R is the quickest of all, with a 306-horsepower turbo-four under the hood for weekend racers. A six-speed manual transmission comes standard with certain trims, with a CVT automatic otherwise available. The Type R only comes with a manual.
The Toyota Corolla, on the other hand, comes standard with a 1.8-liter four cylinder that generates a weaker 139 horsepower. It does better, however, with the available 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 169 horsepower.
Fuel Economy
Winner: Tie
The Toyota Corolla is the more fuel-frugal choice overall, with the base engine EPA-rated at 30 mpg in the city and 38 mpg on the highway. It’s actually a bit better with the quicker 2.0-liter engine and the CVT, at 31 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway (it gets 29 city / 36 highway with the manual).
At that the Honda Civic is no slouch when it comes to fuel economy. The base engine gets an EPA-estimated 30 mpg in the city and 38 on the highway with the CVT, though it drops to 26 mpg in the city and 36 on the highway with the manual gearbox. The hatchback tops out at 31 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway.
Ride and Handling
Winner: Honda Civic
This is another close call. The Honda Civic is the more fun-to-drive of the two compacts, with agile handling and crisp steering abilities, all while maintaining a reasonably smooth ride. It gets an added edge here for the sporty Si trims which ratchet up the car’s handling qualities, and especially for the Civic Type R, which is virtually a street-legal racer. The Toyota Corolla comes close with a more comfort-oriented suspension that delivers a well-balanced ride and handling nature. Hatchback models and some sedan trims include a somewhat sportier suspension for crisper cornering, but it comes at the expense of a stiffer ride.
Safety
Winner: Honda Civic
This section is almost too close to call. Both the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla sedans and hatchbacks get top marks for occupant protection in crash tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
Each offers a generous number of standard safety features. The Corolla comes standard with the Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 suite of active safety features, which includes pre-collision pedestrian detection, lane departure warning, automatic emergency braking, automatic high beams, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, lane tracing assist, forward collision warning, and traffic sign recognition. Blind spot monitoring and adaptive headlights are optional.
The Civic includes forward collision warning, a collision mitigation braking system, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, road departure mitigation, and automatic high-beam headlights. Honda’s LaneWatch blind spot monitoring is also available, but it only works on the passenger’s side via a camera that displays what’s alongside when the turn signal is engaged.
The Winner Is …
2020 Honda Civic
The Honda Civic came out ahead in five of our head-to-head battles, with two ties.
The Civic gets top honors for its ample cargo space, safety, and refined interior quality. It also took honors for its acceleration and ride and handling qualities across the model line, and especially in the higher-performance Si trim, and the track-ready Type R. The Corolla won the wars for reliability, interior features, and price. Both were deemed equivalent in terms of seat comfort and fuel economy.
The bottom line here is that the 2020 Toyota Corolla comes out looking like the pragmatist’s choice, for someone who wants a feature-packed small car that’s safe, reliable, and gets great fuel economy. The Honda Civic should be treated as more of a driver’s car, coming in expressive coupe versions in addition to sedans and hatchbacks, all with well-cast interiors and peppy performance. The Si and Type R are particularly aggressive for those who want a sporty car, but not necessarily a sports car.
Other highly rated models in this expansive segment to consider include the Volkswagen Golf/GTI, Mazda3, Kia Forte, and Hyundai Elantra.
More Shopping Tools From U.S. News & World Report
For more information, including full reviews, specs and pricing information regarding either the 2020 Honda Civic or 2020 Toyota Corolla, or to see how they fare against other compact cars, be sure to check out our comprehensive new-car rankings. Be sure to take a look at our best car deals page to see what automakers are currently offering on select models in the way of cash rebates, cut-rate financing and leasing promotions.
If you’re looking for a used vehicle instead of a new one, you can instead consult our used vehicle rankings and our extensive used car listings.
And be sure to head over to the U.S. News Best Price Program before setting foot on a showroom floor to obtain unbeatable price quotes from dealers in your area. Whether you’re buying or leasing, shoppers who use the program save an average of more than $3,000 off their new vehicle.
2020 Honda Civic vs. 2020 Toyota Corolla
- Price: 2020 Toyota Corolla
- Reliability: 2020 Toyota Corolla
- Seat Comfort: Tie
- Cargo Space: 2020 Honda Civic
- Interior Quality: 2020 Honda Civic
- Interior Features:2020 Toyota Corolla
- Acceleration: 2020 Honda Civic
- Fuel Economy: Tie
- Ride and Handling: 2020 Honda Civic
- Safety: 2020 Honda Civic
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Civic vs. Corolla: Which Small Car Is Better?
Despite consumers and some automakers abandoning passenger cars for SUVs with, well, reckless abandon, the compact front-wheel-drive Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla continue to survive and thrive. Both are among the 10 best-selling models over the first half of 2020, and for good reason. They’re reasonably affordable at a time when the average new-vehicle transaction price exceeds $38,000. They’re also nicely styled, passenger-friendly, and offer a full range of features, including coming standard with many of the latest accident-avoiding driver-assist systems.
The current generation Honda Civic debuted for the 2016 model year in sedan and coupe body styles. A hatchback was added for 2017, as were high performance Civic Si and Civic Type R trims. The Civic Hatchback receives some modest styling tweaks for 2020, otherwise the line sees no major changes.
The sedan version of the Toyota Corolla is redesigned for 2020 with updated exterior and interior styling and added smartphone connectivity features and safety systems. The hatchback version was added to the line for 2019 and continues without major alterations.
We’ll make a point-by-point evaluation of the most important buying considerations among these automotive heavy hitters in this slide show to determine which compact model comes out on top. All information cited comes from U.S. News & World Report’s comprehensive reviews, which are culled from the opinions of some of the most-respected automotive journalists in the nation.
Be aware, however, that U.S. News scores are updated constantly as new data comes in, so the numbers mentioned in this article may not match those in our rankings and reviews.