IMHO, only the 2014 and newer corollas are aesthetically pleasing. The civic is definitely better looking up to that point. That said, owning my 2003 corolla has been stupid cheap. $240 for a set of tires. $26 for a tank of gas. Bad wheel-bearing has been the only un-scheduled expense, but at 115,000 miles, I expect those sort of things to start wearing out. My dad has 220,000 on his 'rolla. I average 33.7 mpg, and rising. That's probably 85% highway, but i sit in traffic every day on my way home, so it's not a horrible "real world" sample.