Hello, I have a 2002 Toyota Solara (V6, 3.0L) and a 1998 Honda Civic (4 Cylinder, 1.4L standard trans.). The Solara has about 178k miles and the civic has 149k miles. I bought the Toyota Solara recently with the plan to fix the passenger door, clean up the faded paint and sell it. I have driven it a few times since then and it feels very smooth and it has some pick-up compared to the civic. I mostly care about reliability, and I know Toyota is known for that.
QUESTION: Which is more reliable (last longer)? The Toyota Solara or the Honda Civic? I want to be a pilot and I am saving as much money for aviation college, so whitch will last the longest? The Toyota has more miles, but I've heard they can last forever. I've also heard the standard transmission on the Honda is bullet proof, and the 4 Cylinder Honda will go forever too.
I would keep the solara. I owned one with over 250k miles and it still ran smooth. The civic will last just as long as the solara. What do you prefer? The solara will be more sporty than the civic but the civic will get much better gas mileage.
Thanks for replying. I used to have a chevy Avalanche 2500. Burned $75 of gas every 1 1/2 weeks - 2 weeks. Went extreme by selling it and getting a civic that costs $25 of gas a month. How much do you think the Solara would be in the long run? A significant amount like and extra $20 a tank, or somewhere around $10? I don't mind if it's only like 5 MPG worse, but if its like 10 MPG, that might be more than I would prefer. I don't drive rough, I usually drive very smooth and highways.
It would be quite a big difference. The solara is designed more for performance. The civic is designed more for fuel economy. That’s why it has such a small engine. It’s probably a 10-15mpg difference.