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My college aged son drives an '07 Matrix (Corolla platform) and he loves it and so do I. Toyota's are extraordinarily reliable and '16 models have all the safety bells and whistles.
I already own 2 Toyotas so I was seriously considering purchasing a new ~$17,000 Corolla or Scion iM this summer for my twin 19-year old sons to use. However, my wife wanted them to be in something a bit bigger and with AWD so we narrowed it down to a 2010 or newer RAV4 or Outback. I ended up purchasing a 2013 Subaru Outback for $14,000 and everyone is happy.
The Toyota Corolla is definitely a good car for a college student. But I would also consider the Honda Civic, which is even better than the Corolla in the areas of safety, available safety features, acceleration and fuel economy. The cars are virtually identical in size and weight.
The greatest difference in crash test results is the IIHS Small Overlap test. The Corolla rated as ‘Marginal’ (which is better than ‘Poor’) while the Civic got the highest rating of ‘Good’. The Civic also offers a package called ‘Honda Sensing’ for $1,000 that includes advanced safety features that are uncommon to most compact cars. These features include-
Forward Collision Warning System- alerts driver if it detects a possible collision with vehicle ahead of it. Collision Mitigation Braking System – automatic braking to reduce speed of impact when an unavoidable collision is detected ahead of the vehicle. Lane Keeping Assist- if the car begins to stray from the lane of travel without signaling, the steering will auto-correct to avoid crossing into an adjacent lane. The driver can easily override this with steering input. Road Departure Mitigation System- If vehicle is moving between 45-90mph and drifts too close to the side of the road without a turn signal activated, the driver is alerted by rapid vibrations of the steering wheel. If the vehicle continues to leave the roadway, auto-braking will attempt to reduce speed or stop vehicle. Adaptive Cruise Control with Low-Speed Follow- adjusts cruise control speed to maintain safe following distance behind the car immediately in front of it.
The Civic also has some performance advantages. Acceleration, handling (especially emergency handling) and braking distances are all substantially better. Fuel economy is also 2-3mpg higher in the Civic.
The Corolla does have some advantages over the Civic. Rear seat comfort, transmission performance and ride quality are all rated a bit better than the Civic. The Corolla also has standard LED low-beam headlights (which improve visibility substantially) while the Civic has conventional halogen projector beams. Depending on trim level, the Corolla may also be less expensive than the Civic. The Corolla LE stickers for about $650 less than the Civic LX, but discounts are much more readily available on the Corolla that can increase the difference by $1000+. Toyota is also offering 0% APR financing for up to 72 months currently. Honda isn’t offering any special financing on the Civic because the 2016 is a new model.
Regardless of my personal preference, I would have no problem sending my kid to college in either vehicle.
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