| Income Bracket | Monthly Financing Cost Range | Cash Purchase Price Range | Nissan Altima Years | Honda Civic Years | Best Model Year: | Why? |
| < $5k | $42 – $83 | $1,500 – $3,000 | N/A | N/A | N/A | Only “worst of” models fall in this price range |
| $5k – $10k | $83 – $125 | $3,000 – $4,500 | N/A | 2006 | 2006 Honda Civic | The Altima offers no “best of” model years in this range |
| $10k – $15k | $125 – $187 | $4,500 – $6,750 | 2010, 2012-2014 | 2010 | 2014 Nissan Altima | Higher FIXD Reliability Score |
| $15k – $25k | $187 – $312 | $6,750 – $11,250 | 2015, 2016 | 2013-2015, 2017 | 2017 Honda Civic | Matching reliability scores, but Honda is safer |
| $25k – $35k | $312 – $437 | $11,250 – $15,750 | 2017, 2018 | 2016, 2018 | 2016 Honda Civic | Objectively more reliable |
| $35k – $50k | $437 – $625 | $15,750 – $22,500 | 2019, 2020 | 2019-2021 | 2019 Nissan Altima | Perfect 10/10 reliability score |
| $50k – $74k | $625 – $925 | $22,500 – $33,300 | 2021 | N/A | 2021 Nissan Altima | Only option in this price bracket |
See the methodology for the table above.
At a glance, the Nissan Altima and Honda Civic may not seem like obvious competitors given their slightly different market segments – midsize versus compact. However, there is enough overlap between the two that you may find yourself cross-shopping these long-running sedans, which is where this comparison comes in.
Though these sedans have been around for quite a long time – the Altima since 1992 and the Civic since 1972 – we’re going to focus on the 2001 through 2021 model years. That gives us a solid pool of used options to choose from across a wide range of price points.
As a starting point, the table above focuses on those price points. Each row is segmented by income range, financing costs, and average purchase prices so you can identify the one that best suits your needs. Then, we select model years that both fit that range and have already been recommended on our best and worst model year series for the Nissan Altima and Honda Civic.
These data-heavy analyses are based on objective reliability according to FIXD device data as well as owner-reported subjective reliability. We also factor in National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) safety scores, current market values according to Kelley Blue Book (KBB), fuel economy figures published on FuelEconomy.gov, and annual maintenance bills according to owners.
Our goal is to offer a comprehensive guide to choosing a used Altima or Civic that both fits your needs and is a solid all-around car. Another part of that process is running through a great used car buying checklist so that you are as educated as possible.
You can also check out model year rankings of competitors like the Honda Accord, Ford Fusion, Toyota Corolla, and Nissan Sentra if you want to look beyond the Altima and Civic.
Price History Comparison | Nissan Altima vs. Honda Civic
Average Market Value – Based on Owners’ Self-Reported Mileages | Nissan Altima vs. Honda Civic
Given the fact that the Nissan Altima has historically been more expensive than the Honda Civic, you might think it would command higher prices on the used market. Back in 2001, the Altima had a base price of $5,000 higher than the Civic and as of 2021, the Nissan was still several thousand dollars more expensive.
But, as you can see on the market value chart above, between 2001 and 2014, KBB used values are closely matched. Since then, the variances have been larger, but not always in favor of the Altima. This is mainly due to depreciation hitting the Altima harder, as we’ll look at more closely below.
This can also sometimes be explained by large mileage differences, like in 2016 when owners reported their Altimas averaged 90,000 miles versus just 74,000 according to Civic owners. All of this matters because as a buyer, you can take advantage of depreciation, but you still want to have an idea of what you’ll have to pay for a given model year.
Depreciation vs Maintenance Expenses
As mentioned above, depreciation is important to understand when buying any used car, mainly because you can use it to your advantage. Most new cars lose 10 to 15% of their value in the first year of ownership, a figure that jumps to between 40 and 50% by year five. Knowing this helps with securing a good deal on the used market.
When it’s a Nissan Altima or Honda Civic you’re after, the two above charts take that insight a bit deeper. For starters, looking at the Altima’s depreciation curve (gray line) on the left, we can see that it reached the 50% residual value mark by 2018 and the 25% mark in 2015.
But the Civic depreciation curve on the right shows it didn’t reach those milestones until 2016 and 2012, respectively. This means deprecation is a slower process on the Civic, which ties back to the prior section regarding market values. Another aspect of this depreciation conversation has to do with the black box on both charts above.
They highlight the “sweet spot” where depreciation has taken a relatively huge bit out of residual values, but where costs per mile to keep the Altima and Civic on the road are still reasonable.
Worth noting is that the 2010 and 2012-2014 Atlimas are both in their respective sweet spots and on the right side of the model year rankings. For the Civic, that criteria applies to the 2006 and 2010 model years.
Reliability Comparison | Nissan Altima vs. Honda Civic
No comparison of a used Nissan Altima vs. Honda Civic is complete without a discussion around reliability. We go in-depth on this topic with our best and worst model year rankings of these cars, but the two above charts give a nice snapshot of the data.
On the left is the comparison of FIXD Reliability Scores, an objective metric calculated using owner-installed devices. Though the consensus on Reddit, which we’ll talk about below, is that the Civic is generally more reliable than the Altima – it’s not necessarily the case.
Between 2001 and 2021, the Altima has a higher FIXD score than the Civic 4 times and the reverse is true 7 times. Across that period, these cars have identical reliability scores nearly half the time. That being said, just because one of these cars may have a better FIXD Reliability Score for a given model year doesn’t automatically mean you should buy one.
For example, the 2005 Altima has a 3-point advantage over the 2005 Civic, while the 2009 Civic has a 2-point advantage over the Altima that year. But all of those cars get a thumbs-down on the model year rankings of the Nissan Altima and Honda Civic, so are best avoided anyway.
It’s a similar story for the chart on the right that compares owner’s feelings on how reliable they think their Altima or Civic is and as you can see, it’s a mixed bag year over year. But the same cautionary tale applies here as well. Owners of the 2002 Altima and 2012 Civic think their cars are quite reliable, but both are picks for the “worst of” model years according to our rankings.
Longevity Comparison | Nissan Altima vs. Honda Civic
The above chart shows the average owner-reported mileage for the Nissan Altima and Honda Civic. It’s useful for getting an idea of what kind of mileage to expect based on the model year you’re considering. Some might not think twice about buying a used car with 100,000 miles, while others might balk at anything over 50,000.
Fortunately, if you’re in the former camp, this chart proves that the Altima and Civic have no issue hitting this milestone and beyond as recently as the 2015 model year. The trend of mileage increasing as a car ages generally continues with a couple of notable areas of concern.
Between 2004 and 2002, the Altima (green bars) posted a decline in mileage that goes against the trend. These model years also happen to get a thumbs down on our model year rankings. You can see a similar pattern happening between 2005 and 2004 with the Civic, both of which are also model years that we don’t recommend on the Civic model year rankings.
Who Should Buy These Cars: The Legacy of The Nissan Altima & Honda Civic
| Frequent Use Categories: | Nissan Altima | How Useful? (Out of 5 Stars) | Honda Civic | How Useful? (Out of 5 Stars) |
| Family Vehicle | * * * * * | **** |
| Lots of Driving (travel/long commute) | * * * * * | ***** |
| Hauling/Towing | * | * |
| Office on Wheels | * | * |
| Sport/Fast Driving | * | * |
| Luxurious Driving | * | * |
| Outdoor/Off-Road | * | * |
The table above shows us that the Nissan Altima is primarily used as a family vehicle, while the Honda Civic earns the most stars for Lots of Driving. In both instances, safety is a likely priority for these types of owners and, as we’ll dive into below, both the Altima and Civic earn high marks in safety testing.
Though neither car has more than one star for any other usage category, which comes from owner survey responses, be aware that the Civic has a higher tendency to be driven aggressively given its long-time use of a manual transmission and greater variety of performance-oriented models versus the Altima.
So, be sure to get a handle on how the previous owner drove their Civic as stoplight racing and canyon carving naturally incur a higher degree of wear and tear than typical daily driving.
Driver Experience | A Summary of The Top 10 Nissan Altima vs. Honda Civic Reddit Posts:
Another great source of vehicle insights is the What Car Should I Buy Reddit. On it, you’re unlikely to find much data, but you will surely find unfiltered opinions from fellow Redditors about which car is better, the Nissan Altima or the Honda Civic.
To save you some down-the-rabbit-hole time, we’ve analyzed the top 10 posts for common themes as they relate to these two cars. Almost universally, whether someone is looking at a lightly-used 2020 model or a high-mileage 2005 model, folks feel the Civic is more fun to drive and more reliable.
While the fun-to-drive factor may be true given Honda’s stated mission of building enthusiast-friendly vehicles, the reliability comments are not quite so easy to back up as we looked at earlier. However, the consensus of more room inside the Altima and better fuel economy from the Civic is grounded in fact.
One Redditor smartly pointed out that just because the Altima is bigger doesn’t mean it has more cargo space than a Civic in hatchback form. And an issue that seems to plague all Nissans – Altima included – is the sense that the automaker’s CVTs were major reliability problems until 2017, so be sure to look into that before making a purchase.
Year-by-Year Comparison | Nissan Altima vs. Honda Civic
Best & Worst Years | Nissan Altima vs. Honda Civic | 2001-2024
The above timeline graphic is like Cliffs Notes for our best and worst model year rankings for the Nissan Altima and Honda Civic. Any model years that fall in the red are from the “worst of” side of these rankings, while those in the green are on the “best of” side. The yellow section at the end covers model years that we do not yet have enough data on.
You’ll also notice blue-circled model years. These indicate the beginning of a new generation, an occasion often accompanied by reliability headaches as production problems are ironed out. That theme is true with the 2002 and 2007 Altima and the 2001 and 2012 Civic.
If you overlaid the depreciation sweet spot charts with this timeline, you would see that the 2010 and 2012 through 2014 Altimas fall in the sweet spot and the green zone on the timeline above. For the Honda Civic, this is true of the 2006 and 2010 model years.
Important Features Timeline | Nissan Altima vs. Honda Civic
We include the graphic above so you can see when preferred amenities first arrived on the Altima and Civic. Fan-favorite heated front seats, for example, have been available on the Nissan for over 20 years, but only since 2008 on the Honda. And ventilated front seats require an Altima as the Civic has never offered this feature.
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto have become modern car must-have technology, but Honda has been fitting it to the Civic since 2016 versus 2018 in the Altima. Both automakers have a robust lineup of advanced safety systems on their 2023 lineups, but blind-spot monitoring goes back more than 10 years on the Altima and Civic with lane-departure warning right behind it.
It’s also worth noting that the Nissan Altima has offered AWD since 2018, but the Civic has only ever been a FWD car. That being said, the Honda has come with an optional hybrid powertrain on and off since 2003, while the Nissan only made this an option from 2008 to 2011.
Enthusiasts likely know the Honda Civic has offered a manual transmission since day one with no interruption. What some may not know is that you could get a stick in the Nissan Altima until 2012. Though not quite as crisp a shifter as Honda’s unit, it still offers the kind of driver engagement only found with three pedals.
Maintenance Costs (Year-by-Year Average) | Nissan Altima vs. Honda Civic
Looking over the chart above of owner-reported annual maintenance bills, you might get the sense that the Altima (green bars) is generally more expensive in this respect than the Civic (green bars). And you would be right as the Nissan averages $705 per year in upkeep versus $555 for the Honda, a significant $150 difference.
Outliers like the 2001 and 2004 Nissan Altima and 2001 and 2012 Honda Civic unsurprisingly earned a thumbs down on their respective model year rankings, so are best avoided anyway. But be sure to dig into the previous owner’s service history as high maintenance bills do not necessarily equate to an unreliable car.
For example, an owner who takes meticulous care of their car will naturally rack up more service costs than someone who runs their car into the ground with little to no upkeep. So, do your homework here and beware of spotty maintenance records.
Safety Rating Comparison | Nissan Altima vs. Honda Civic
As mentioned earlier, both the Nissan Altima and Honda Civic have historically been safe cars making them ideal vehicles for family use and lots of driving. The chart above, which displays average NHTSA crash-test scores, supports this. It also illustrates that the Civic often fares better in this category, besting the Altima more than half the time.
Early Altimas from before 2005 are notably poor safety performers, which is part of the reason why none of them get a recommendation on the best and worst model year rankings. And in 2011, the NHTSA instituted a new, more strict testing regimen that caused industry-wide safety score declines.
The Altima and Civic were not immune from this with both posting significant declines that year. It’s one reason the 2011 Civic gets a “worst of” rating on the Honda’s model year rankings. Something else to watch for is the unexplained, but troubling, decline in safety ratings the Nissan Altima saw from 2013 to 2017.
Fuel Efficiency Comparison | Nissan Altima vs. Honda Civic
One more factor to consider in this used Nissan Altima vs. Honda Civic comparison is fuel economy. Both of these cars have typically been powered by small displacement motors, but the Honda consistently outperforms the Nissan when it comes to fuel efficiency.
Though the 2001-2005 Civic is significantly more miserly with fuel consumption than the Altima over that stretch, all those Hondas are on the list of model years to avoid according to our best and worst of rankings. But if you stick with model years that we do recommend, you’ll still come out ahead versus the Altima.
And although every Altima from 2012 to 2021 lands on the “best of” side of our model year rankings, it wasn’t until 2019 that Nissan’s midsize sedan consistently hit the 30 mpg mark. So, keep this in mind while shopping the used market.
But for maximum fuel efficiency, look to the chart above on the right. It shows hybrid fuel economy figures and as you can see, the Civic knocks it out of the park here with a rating of more than 40 MPG on average every year it has offered a hybrid model.
If you could pick a perfect used car in this comparison, it might be the 2010 Honda Civic as it earns a “best of” rating on the model year rankings, sits in the depreciation sweet spot, and earns more than 40 mpg with the hybrid powertrain.
Methodology
- Clearly state the purpose of the comparison, which is to compare two vehicles Nissan Altima vs. Honda Civic, and provide a comprehensive analysis.
- Gather relevant information and data on both vehicles from reliable sources, such as manufacturer specifications, expert reviews, customer feedback, industry reports, and data sources like manufacturer websites, FIXD App, Kelley Blue Book, FuelEconomy.gov, and NHTSA.
- Collect data on various aspects, including performance, safety features, fuel efficiency, maintenance costs, reliability, owner satisfaction, and market value.
- Identify the key criteria that will be used to evaluate and compare the two vehicles.
- Ensure the criteria cover both objective factors (such as performance metrics, safety ratings, and fuel efficiency) and subjective factors (such as owner satisfaction, comfort, and features).
- Examine the safety features and ratings of both vehicles.
- Evaluate crash test ratings, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), active and passive safety features, and any notable recalls or known issues related to safety.
- Consider both NHTSA safety ratings and IIHS awards for a comprehensive safety assessment.
- Analyze the fuel economy of both vehicles based on EPA mileage estimates.
- Compare their MPG ratings, average full-tank range, and any significant differences in fuel efficiency.
- Assess the average annual maintenance and repair costs for both vehicles.
- Consider data from surveyed owners and other reliable sources, such as FIXD App owner surveys, to determine the overall cost of ownership over time.
- Evaluate the reliability of both vehicles based on owner reports, FIXD App data, and any known issues or recalls.
- Consider factors such as engine reliability, common problems by model year, long-term durability, and owner reliability scores gathered from surveys.
- Consider owner satisfaction by gathering information from forums, online communities (Reddit: r/whatcarshouldIbuy), customer reviews, and owner reliability scores.
- Summarize key factors that owners appreciate and any common complaints or drawbacks mentioned by owners.
- Compare the features and technologies offered by both vehicles.
- Highlight any notable differences in terms of infotainment systems, connectivity options, driver assistance features, interior quality, and available upgrades.
- Assess the market value and depreciation of both vehicles.
- Compare average prices, resale value, and how the vehicles hold their value over time.
- Consider average private-seller valuations from Kelley Blue Book (KBB) for a comprehensive assessment.
- Summarize the findings of the comparison, highlighting the positives and negatives of each vehicle.
- Provide a fair and balanced recommendation based on the comparison, considering factors such as budget, personal preferences, specific needs of the buyer, and the comprehensive analysis conducted.
Sources:
- KBB Values: Average private-seller valuations as supplied by Kelley Blue Book (KBB), based on a Nissan Altima and Honda Civic with typical mileage for that respective model year.
- Fuel Economy: Mileage-per-gallon estimates according to the EPA MPG on Fueleconomy.gov.
- Annual Maintenance/Repairs: Upkeep expenses as reported by surveyed Nissan Altima and Honda Civic owners.
- Safety Ratings: Crash test data collected and reported by NHTSA. We average all ratings for each year to come up with a simplified, average safety score. This makes it easier to look at on a graph. We also collected IIHS Awards for this article.
- Vehicle Features: Most or all information gathered on vehicle features were from the manufacturer websites, in this case, NissanUSA.com and Automobiles.Honda.com
Niel Stender grew up doing replacement work on his old Cherokee and sweet Mitsubishi Starion, which led to a degree in mechanical engineering and a job at Ford as a vehicle dynamics engineer. His writing infuses that automotive background with sales and marketing experience. Writing about cars for close to a decade now, he enjoys digging into some of the more technical mechanical systems under the hood and throughout a vehicle.
