The big small car comparison
November 14, 2007 by Matt Brogan
Mitsubishi Lancer ES .vs. Honda Civic VTi .vs. Toyota Corolla Ascent Sedan .vs. Suzuki SX4 Sedan
One of the most hotly contested segments in the car industry is the small car segment. There was a time when small car meant Japanese car but European, Korean, and even American names are now entering the arena. But Japan is fighting back. The CarAdvice team looked at three newcomers and one slightly older model fighting to bring the small car crown back to the land of the rising sun.
There were a few surprises in the mix and the end result was far from easy to reach.
Vehicles tested:
Honda Civic VTi $21,490* – Metallic Paint $300
Warranty 3 year / 100,000km
CarAdvice rating: 
(4.25)
Mitsubishi Lancer ES $20,990* – Metallic Paint $350
Warranty : 5 year / 130,000km
CarAdvice rating: 
(4.5)
Suzuki SX4 Sedan $19,990*- Metallic Paint $200
Warranty : 3 year / Unlimited
CarAdvice rating: 
(3.75)
Toyota Corolla Ascent : $20,990* – Metallic Paint $300
Warranty : 3 year / 100,000km
CarAdvice rating: (3.25)
* Recommended retail price for base model manual excludes on road costs.
With ten manufacturers all vying for a spot in the circa $20K small sedan category, it can be hard to determine which car best represents value for money. But we found that with pricing this tight, it’s not always a case of getting what you pay for.
Everytime i see someone driving a Daewoo Barina, Viva or Epica i feel like smacking them one and saying…
‘why did you buy that heap of shit for, So much better can be purchased elsewhere’
Rightly so Cam, I think the same way “just a bunch of fools driving basically Daewoo” Holden should be ashamed of themself’s..
Lots of “behind the screens” experts claiming that you can’t get better than 10 l/100km for an e-gas Falcon on highway. Pity none of you actually have any damn idea.
An e-gas Falcon on highway will easily better 10 l/100km. A petrol version will often achieve better than 8 on the highway. I get better than 10 l/100km everday combined driving, varies 9.7 – 9.9 depending on fuel brand.
F-O, either you are trying to misrepresent the situation or you are dumb.
Most informed people know that auctions are dollar sensitive, that is, there is usually a dollar limit that people will pay, regardless of original purchase price of a car (4WD being the usual exception). Most auctions in SA “top out” at early 20’s ($20,000 – $25,000). I’ve heard of auctioneers holdeing back Corollas to the following week to keep prices up, because it’s too hard to sell more than a few at any one auction (once again situation in SA).
bret, 9.7-9.9L/100km maybe, but definitely not 8L/100km in e-gas…
Boys, thanks for your contribution but this blog is about the 4 small cars being evaluated.More importantly the winner is the new MITSUBISHI LANCER.
OK Steven, “winner is the new MITSUBISHI LANCER” …… and the contest was the WORST STYLING COMPETITON. That nose looks great for EVO, but it doesn’t tie in with the rest and on lower spec models looks just plain weird.
Corolla on the other hand looks just plain….period. I like the TV ad for the “Hottest Corolla ever”, gee I’ve seen more exciting coles shoppong trolleys. (Probably has more exciting handling too).
One of the most boring sets of cars ever to be comparoed!
Bret I don’t think the review set out to be exciting, I think it gives a good run down of cars most people commonly buy (or should I say can afford) – boring ones!
I didn’t say the review was boring, just the cars.
Bill,
E-gas falcon can get less than 10 l/100km highway, my petrol only does less than 10 in everyday driving, and 8 highway is easy.
These are all basic small cars so would it be right to think that less than 10% of all buyers in the target market would drive any of these vehicles at anything over 70% of the car’s potential? Assuming responsible drivers, of course. :) If that is the case then sharp handling isn’t really going to be much of an issue because, as someone might have pointed out earlier, these cars would be nothing more than a to b vehicles. I guess what I’m trying to say is that these vehicles should be reviewed from the point of view of the market they are aiming at. Right enough to point out deficiencies in safety gear, build quality, running cost and value though.
Bill and F-O….
so what do you guys get out of your Gas falcons???? i assume you both own one since you are so quick to critisize that a gas falcon wont come anywhere near 10L/100k on Hwy.
gas consumption reduces far greater than petrol on HWY cycle. it still wont quite beat petrol of course but it makes up a hell of a lot of ground in HWY only cycle.
the figure i quoted was an official figure i found.
I dont quite get that out of my E-Gas Falcon but i have never had it on say an interstate run either. best ive had is 10L/100k but ive never run it from full to empty on HWY. The most ive prob run is say 2/3 tank on HWY.
i can positively say though that gas economy improves a hell of a lot and obviously will surprise all of you as you dont seem to know anything about it. oh and if ford ran a better system (which they will from 08) like holden recomend then consumption should buy back a couple of L/100k too
one thing you said though F-O is that $ per K you cant beat the gas is totally correct.
Well Bret, I’m not sure what they do at auctions, but either way you look at it, the Corolla does have good residual values.
small cars in general have better residual. they have less value to lose. its silly to compare the auction price of a small car corolla to a large car falcon. of course the small car will hold better value cause it has less to lose
how about a small car corolla to a small car focus?
or a falcon to a camry? i tell you the camry’s resale isnt that great either
i see what bret is saying though. people will generally pay only say $20k for a used car full stop…
no matter what it is or what they were worth new
Your right about small cars have less to lose! More money most of the time more loss!
No, I’m not talking about outright $ lost in depreciation, I’m talking about % retained value after a certain number of years.
The small cars, such as the Corolla etc. are better than the Camry, Aurion, or any other large locally made car in terms of % retained value.
Doesn’t matter what you compare a corolla too it will always finish last. Jenome,..Mixmaster you name it.
So where was the Ford focus & Mazda 3?
I’m surprised the SX4 beat the Corolla, let alone being in this test in the first place. True enough, its tall, dorky body translated to tippy handling. Space may be amazing, but the Corolla’s boot is very good as well. I know the Corolla’s drive isn’t as inspiring as the others, but it does everything an economy car should. It’s efficient, comfortable and will likely hold up better in the long run than the other three cars here. I agree, it’s not as good as it could have been, but losing out to the Suzuki is just plain ridiculous.
i dont know i have had two lancers and i have to say have lasted the test of time! i had one as a delivery vehicle for a family business and we couldnt kill it!!
Trackdaze, personally, I don’t think a Holden Viva is better than a Corolla.
I have to admit, i am surprised by the sx4’s result. having changed down from a 80’s v6camry (now smaller than a corolla) to a suzuki swift the sx4 just “seems” too small to me. even visually in the group photo its styling makes it look much too compact and considering sedan buyers nowadays want a big car feel it will seem small. i mean look at it. how the hell does it have more boot capacity than a large car???
and any car make can die with age if you drive it with enthusiasm. i had 6 breakdowns of different problems in the 17yo toyota in the past 2 years. its just that the past era toyota buyers demographic were likely to be “nicer” to their cars by comparison.
———
oh and thanks for this site! i found it by accident and its quite helpful.
I now know how to do this. Build an inferior quality car, make it pretty, hide its chassis deficiencies with “Standard ESC!” and thats all you need to win.
Whilst not a fan of the Corolla or the Civic myself. I know that these are cars you can buy that will still be on the road in 20 years.
I’ll say it again, the sales figures show it all.
Talk about timing! I’ve been looking to buy a new car for the past 2 months and just found this review yesterday :D. My money is on the Civic atm, don’t know much about the SX4, was told to stay away from Mitsubishi and as for the Corolla, it’s just plain boring to look at. Believe it or not I counted at least 20 Corollas in my company car park recently!
What I have in mind is to get the base model VTi with alloy wheels and rear spoiler, wil be in Black or Ruby Red. This will be my first time buying a new car so any tips are welcomed :)
Bill the new Lancer is a great car. I wouldn’t rule it out so quickly. Take it for a drive, and I’m sure you will be impressed. Mitsubishi offer great warranties across the range, better than its class opposition.
Hi Bill,
The Civic is a great car, you will be more than happy with it. It will also hold up very well long term and offer good re-sale when the time comes.
Don’t rule out the Mitsubishi though. They’ve come a long way in recent years. It’s a great car to drive and as Jbot said offers an excellent warranty.
But that said, do yourself a huge favour and go drive as many cars in the category as you can. Then find something that suits YOU and what you want from a car. Other people can only guide your decision, but you have to live with it.
Hope this helps, if you have any questions, email us.
Happy shopping. Matt.
The only problem with the Lancer, if ever, will be its resale value. I’ve considered one too but the depreciation, like many Mitsubishis, is likely faster than the Honda or Toyota.
The SX4, while decent, is out-of-place in this comparison test, and beating the Corolla is plain economy car sacrilege. The Toyota is more economical and actually quicker then the Suzuki that has a bigger engine. I’d consider the Corolla as decaf, not exciting as espresso but you get to sleep at night with the same coffee goodness.
Here in Kiwi land the Civic DOES have electronic stability control (VSA – Honda speak). Maybe if you had our spec Civic it would have taken 1st place. This is one person who after 21 months of ownership has nothing but praise for the machine.
yes JW,
but most other small cars have high retained value just like the rolla. the rolla ISNT the only small car to hold good value. most small cars do
Toyota continue to strip their cars like the COROLLA to the bones and they still sell to a Toyota worshiping public.
They could probably get away with charging for any colour other than white. You know like other whitegoods manufacturers.
I think the Honda is the classiest looker. The snout on the Lancer is a bit abrupt and the cutsie nose on the Corolla may appeal to young women but to me nominates it as the perfect Noddy and Big ears mobile. Really does look ordinary in washing machine white.Definitely not a car for enthusiasts.
Maybe they could add some swirly bits on the hubcabs to spruce it up a bit.
Resale argument compares apples and oranges. Ex gov/rental/ company Falcons are generally high mileage vehicles hence the lower resale. Most Corollas etc generally have low to very low mileage hence higher resale value.It goes to their use by these customers.
Also large cars will depreciate more as a percentage of initial cost as they cost more in the first place and are sold by fleets in far greater volumes and competition from new medium and small car pricing.
Egas economy well my AU egas ute does around 500 klm to 80 litre tank suburban and city driving and about 650 klms to the tank highway. Would use more than a BA I would imagine especially with 270,000klms on the odometer.
Real cars,
oh forgot to mention my egas falcon ute is a manual too so that would account for a bit better economy than the 4sp.
id love to see tham offer it in the 6sp auto i cant for the life of me think why they havent……….
you cant even get it in the manual now either. its 4sp auto or nothing.
i get 500ks a tank towing a trailer (around 1 tonne) and thats mixed cycle
Yes, I reckon Ford would be on a winner if it promoted Egas across the Falcon range. Sure they drop a few horses but with such a big lazy engine it doesn’t really make much difference.
With the manual gearbox there is virtually nothing to wear out in your falcon ute.6 auto speed should also be more durable given the high output applications of this box.
Yes about E-Gas! Ford Australia, LISTEN! Make sure the whole Orion range will have an optional E-Gas.
It’s likey that will anyway.
Real cars,
and since the orion will have a proper injected gas system i prob wont lose much if any power. the reccomended duel fuel system for the commys only drops 5kw i think. so a dedicated system with injection should break even in power with petrol.
i still would love to see a gas turbo
Gas turbo and gas V8! Ford should do that and most likley too.
nah just the 6 gas turbo would be fine. it would smack the 8 for performance anyway. the I6 is a top engine and it already handles it with out any dramas both in turbo and gas. now all they need to do is marry them together.
i want to see it so you can get a car that can whip a HSV, be cheaper to run than a corolla and not cost more than $50K like most green cars
We recently returned from a quick return trip to Newcastle from the Sunshine Coast in my wife’s new Corolla Ascent auto sedan. It certainly didn’t struggle with a family of four + luggage, & delivered an average of 6.3 l/100. I have driven this route many times before in Commodores (V6 , V8) and couldn’t believe how effortlessly the 4 cylinder Corolla handled the trip. I have owned 2 new Toyotas now and believe that the billions of $ Toyota spends on R&D does make a difference.
The new lancer deserves to win the small car segment but one thing that i don’t like with the lancer is that dash are split and all different areas and should be in one piece.
There are two new Factors Putting me off a New Subaru.
The first is when you see what they’re selling them for in the USA, 34,990RRP for an STi! They will slap a 55K+ price tag on it here. That is plain rude when an Aussie Dollar is buying 90 cents. The range there starts at 17,495, thats 30% less than where our range starts.
The other thing bugging me is Japanese Whaling Policy. I am so infuriated by their arrogance on this issue, I feel the need to protest in some way. The most effective way I can do this, I think, is by not buying Japanese Brands.
Japanese Brands Sell more Cars in this country than any other Importer.
I was after a small car for the last 2mths and had driven ; lancer,focus,impreza,corolla,i30,307,C4. I believe the Focus has the best handling,ride quality,look nice too,nearly buy the Zetec after one test drive but then came across a website and found out the Focus has a lot problems with built quality, what a shame.I really don’t like the Lancer look, and the auto is terrible to drive but I think it’s a realiable car.Impreza is the worst looking car in my opinion,it doesn’t really handling that good,eg..body roll (my brother has a liberty rx 03 and it’s way better).The Corolla was on my top list because it has resale value and realability,but it doesn’t have ESP and the central console in the hatch look aweful.307 & C4 drive ok but too expensive to run and buy but they look smart.Soo…ending up with a i30 SR (initially the slx but didn’t want to wait so upgrade to the SR) $28.5 for and auto is not a bad deal i guess. The i30 drive as good at any other car in my list,better than some in my opinion. Plus it looks very nice both inside and outside and backed up by 5yrs unlimited km warranty.
Took delivery of my new 2007 corolla sedan in June, 1st thing I noticed the low noise level in interior while the car until a friend pointed out the car was more noisy that my previous model.
Has any other owner noticed high noise at 70ks and above ?
Is it the japanese tyres ?
Our family’s in the process of getting a new small car in ‘08. We are looking at the usual suspects in the class with the Corolla, 3, Civic and Lancer but the Corolla’s interior felt cheap and the 3’s due for a facelift next year (so I’ve heard). We already have a jazz so we’re leaning towards the lancer. any other opinions?
well next year is ‘08. im surprised the facelifted 3 isnt out yet.
the hyundai is getting great reviews and has won an award for its new small car i30. the biggest thing people find hard to swallow about it is it is a hyundai. but dont be fooled they have stepped up well and truely.
also the focus might be worth a look. for mine it is the best handler and looker. it also topped the safety in its class. ive seen tellie ads showing them selling them for 19K drive out.
but if you are keen for the Mazda3 it might be worth a wait (if it isnt too far away). prob ask your dealer when they expect it
@Andrew M:
the i30 does have that feeling about it which is why we probably won’t buy one. don’t get me wrong though, the car is definately a step up on previous hyundais.
focus, i dunno. i think, for me, it’s the whole ford thing…! :D! hehe!
we were looking at the 3, but some articles floating around are pointing to a facelift in 08. i should probably check with dealers, but i’ll bet you it’s in the second half of the year. and although i know you get a good deal with runout models (like the 6 even), i’d prefer to have a new NEW car, if you know what i mean.
has anyone noticed that all the honda’s in major tests (eg COTY and oz’s best cars) have bonnet protectors! except civic type r they all have them! also in the honda tv ads too
Phil, how was your Jazz?
Ess-001:
This december will be 5 years we\’ve had it and it is truly an amazing small car. It\’s big on space (exterior is very deceiving!), pretty frugal, good in tight parking spots, the list goes on! hehe! i would fully recommend it to anyone thinking about purchasing a small car. I\’m eyeing the new jazz as well, which seems to build on the 1st gen.
Ess-001:
This december will be 5 years we’ve had it and it is truly an amazing small car. It’s big on space (exterior is very deceiving!), pretty frugal, good in tight parking spots, the list goes on! hehe! i would fully recommend it to anyone thinking about purchasing a small car. I’m eyeing the new jazz out this year as well, which seems to build on the 1st gen.
firstly congrats to lancer
secondly…toyota as far as corolla goes is just awful…i’ve had toyotas for many years,..and they are just cheap cars(excluding the sport imports and the 4wds)…they are boring, they do break down heaps (cause in many departments the cheapest soloution has been chosen eg: the cheapest glue for the door cushions, cheapest wiring for the internal electronics with the minimal protection)
and ofcourse absoloutely lazy when it comes to performance…and the looks dont help what so ever ..since they do LOOK SLOW as well..so even if ur breakin the speed limit at 120 kms in hiway..cars will flash their lights for u to get out of the “fast lane”
and now that i ve got the new lancer….driving from A to B is actually a pleasure.
Oh yeah get mine this week! Love the new lancer. Love the exterior love the dash. Million times better than last gen. And eight cupholders! Who has that many drinks in their car honestly. lol.