NORETURN
VTEC. All. The. Way.
Better car, better handling, better mileage, better reliability. Am I forgetting something?
The Altis has a better interior, but that's about it. The Honda is a better car that will last you longer and sell higher. It's a plain better investment, even if it does cost more.
Oh, and the Altis doesn't hold a candle power-wise to a manual Civic with VTEC.
*Sigh* Add to this the fact that you can trick out your Civic later on because it has so much more potential.
I can't believe you had to ask.