Brother I have 9th gen civic as well and I have few JDMs. I am not comparing local vs imported but the comfort and drive of Toyota vs Honda, because local Toyota drives the same as imported ones.
I can assure you this k you won't be disappointed by Grande, it has the Cvt gearbox which is a beauty, you will enjoy it more then the 5 speed auto of civic, plus Toyota is always more comfortable then civic, due to the soft suspension. And the aggressive look of grande will be more appealing to you.
And grande with Cvt will give mileage of atleast 11-12, which is better then civic, which mine does 10.
So don't worry. InshAllah you will love every bit of corolla.
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