05 Honda Civic VTI-S 1.6 -or- 06 Toyota Corolla Altis 1.6E?

[MusCorleone]

Can't decide which to buy between this two. Help me decide guys!

Which is the better choice in terms of fuel efficiency, durability, performance, resale value (planning to buy SUV in a couple of years), and maintenance? Sa porma obvious naman (civic) kaya wag na yun. hehe.

TIA!

[mda]

Fuel efficiency will probably go to the Corolla.

Pero yung Altis 1.6 na yan may known issue with engine sludging.

The VTI-S naman however has saftey features that the Corolla may not have (passenger airbag for one).

Durability for a 2nd hand vehicle between T & H will just probably go down to as to which car has been maintained better.

I think in terms of resale, halos papareho lang din yan come time to sell the car...

[blitz122805]

Civic for me

[MusCorleone]

Fuel efficiency will probably go to the Corolla.

Pero yung Altis 1.6 na yan may known issue with engine sludging.

The VTI-S naman however has saftey features that the Corolla may not have (passenger airbag for one).

Durability for a 2nd hand vehicle between T & H will just probably go down to as to which car has been maintained better.

I think in terms of resale, halos papareho lang din yan come time to sell the car...

Thanks sa reply sir. I've just read about the engine sludging problem of toyota. I learned that this can be prevented by decreasing the time interval of changing the oil (say, every 4000m instread of the recommended 5000m by toyota). Granted I do this, would that make the Altis the better pick for you?

Overall, which do you prefer?

Thanks!

[GTi]

Are you getting the M/T or A/T? I will still be getting the Civic. As both have 1.6 engines, the Civic is significantly more powerful (130ps versus 116ps of the Altis). In fact that figure is still a very respectable figure among 1.6L cars of today. In fact only few have been able to reach this mark (like the new Elantra 1.6DCVVT). I also prefer the looks of the Civic. And since, you're getting the VTi-S variant (top of the line 1.6 variant of the Civic) as compared to the 1.6E variant (midrange 1.6L variant of the Altis), there is definitely more features in the Civic.

[MusCorleone]

Are you getting the M/T or A/T? I will still be getting the Civic. As both have 1.6 engines, the Civic is significantly more powerful (130ps versus 116ps of the Altis). In fact that figure is still a very respectable figure among 1.6L cars of today. In fact only few have been able to reach this mark (like the new Elantra 1.6DCVVT). I also prefer the looks of the Civic. And since, you're getting the VTi-S variant (top of the line 1.6 variant of the Civic) as compared to the 1.6E variant (midrange 1.6L variant of the Altis), there is definitely more features in the Civic.

Absolutely agree with you, sir. Guess I just needed validations for my choice. hehe. I'm getting the M/T variant btw, sacrificing comfort for speed and economy. I was able to test drive an Altis yesterday and a Civic this morning. Altis was pretty decent and smooth -- satisfying enough. But the feeling of driving a Civic was more than satisfying; it was exhilarating!

Ergo, I'm getting a CIVIC!


Unless may violent reaction jan..haha

[ans_lim168]

Absolutely agree with you, sir. Guess I just needed validations for my choice. hehe. I'm getting the M/T variant btw, sacrificing comfort for speed and economy. I was able to test drive an Altis yesterday and a Civic this morning. Altis was pretty decent and smooth -- satisfying enough. But the feeling of driving a Civic was more than satisfying; it was exhilarating!

Ergo, I'm getting a CIVIC!


Unless may violent reaction jan..haha

In terms of the 2 cars that came out during that time ..... Comfort and style the Civic is the better choice ..... Good luck with your new car.

[renzo_d10]

Civic. The Altis is pretty cramped for me, talking about the rear legroom here.

[rafmac]

I has an Altis 1.8G and here were my issues

1. Really difficult to close the rear trunk. Brought it back to the dealer and they couldnt solve it
2. Shocks wala pang 1 year had to replace it via warranty
3. Space medyo nasisikipan ako, i find my jazz to be more spacious

Wha i like is that its really cheap to maintain

[MusCorleone]

thanks sirs for the input! any other opinions?

[xtian119]

I would also choose the Civic over the Corolla. The legroom at the back is spacious, suspension is also better since the rear is independent on both wheels compared to the corolla which is a torsion beam setup. And also the optitron gauge on the VTI-S variant is nice.

[Navman101]

I'm assuming that the model of the Civic is the previous generation ES body due to it's variant code and the Altis is the ZZ body.

Civic
Pros:
1. Better looking form
2. More powerful engine
3. More safety features (passenger side airbag, ABS)
4. 15-inch wheels (for the VTi-S variant)
5. Higher resale value

Cons:
1. Weak suspension linkages (thinner than the previous generation models)
2. Hard-to-find surplus parts (I tried to look for a few for a customer's car and what people in Banawe kept on telling me is that "Sir, Dimension model pala hanap nyo, konti lang surplus nyan".)
3. OEM parts are quite expensive when you need to replace

Altis
Pros:
1. Reliable Engine (sludging can be solved by using semi-syn and fully-syn engine oils and shorter intervals as you noted)
2. Solid build (a reputation that Toyota earned over the years)
3. More affordable parts and maintenance
4. Availability of parts
5. Fuel efficient

Cons:
1. Small interior room / short legroom for rear passengers
2. The variant chosen only offers driver's side airbags
3. 14-inch wheels (E variant)
4. No ABS
5. Lower resale value

Given a choice, I'll go for the Altis since I've driven Toyota cars for years now (I used to own 3 Corollas, an AE92, and 2 AE101 models, Innova, and now Vios J and E variants).

The only Honda cars that I've driven were an EK model LXi M/T back in 96-99, and I bought another EK, this time a VTi A/T model in 2007 and was planning to build it as a toy car but never had the chance to until I sold it last year.

HTH.

[MusCorleone]

*xtian119 -- also love the optitron gauge of the Civic. with that design, the Civic seemed ahead of its time.

*Navman101 -- very helpful info sir. thanks for summarizing everything. I was already convinced to buy a Civic, but after giving it a second thought, i'm confused again. my heart's shouting Civic but my wallet's demanding Altis. worse, I can hear Vios echoes too. lol! it it weren't for budget concerns, i would've dealt for a Civic by now. guess I have to reconsider everything again. btw sir, what exactly is the 'dimension body' Civic? also, how is your experience with your Vioses? I'm now (painfully) considering a 2007 Vios 1.3e and 1.5g... TIA!

[Navman101]

Hello sir.

My Vios J (December 07) yields an average of 12kms/L (my wife driving) while the Vios E gives me about 14kms to a liter of petrol (2010 model).

Pros:
1. Fuel efficiency
2. Affordable maintenance
3. Availability of Parts
4. Easy to drive
5. Fits small parking spaces
6. Good resale value
7. Ample legroom and interior space (for a subcompact car)

Cons:
1. Slow response above 175kph (1.3L)

My take on it is if you just need the car for a couple more years prior to buying your SUV, get the latest model so you can avoid costly repair bills while keeping the car, younger cars have less risks of breaking down. You might even get lucky in buying a 2nd hand unit (08-09) still covered by warranty.

Just my 2 cents.

Happy Hunting!

[dragonical]

up ko lang
nice advice navman101
totoo 12km/L yun vios nyo? tipid pala ano

pasingit naman TS
navman my idea kaba kung sino mas matipid sa dalawa vios o starex?

[Navman101]

dragonical, yes sir medyo matipid pa rin sya considering almost 4 years na yung oto.

Sorry di ako makacomment about the Starex since hindi pa ako nagkakaroon nito. Pero sa mga naririnig ko, matipid daw at matulin yung current model na Starex. VGT na yata gamit na turbo.

[GTi]

Hindi matipid ang current gen Starex CRDi VGT. Katamtaman lang for its power nasa mga 7-8km/L lang AFAIK.

[Navman101]

medyo malakas pala yung bagong Starex... pero in fairness, mabilis sya at madami naisasakay.

[MusCorleone]

pahabol lang sirs..

how much is the difference in fuel consumption between a Civic 1.6, Vios 1.5 and Vios 1.3? pahingi po ng figures. ty!

[jhnkvn]

Generally, you get 1.5-2km/L more per 0.2L decrease in displacement.