There is a big misconception that 7th Generation Civic's suspension is inferior to corolla's when it comes to rough roads. I have an acquaintance at bilal gunj who has told me that 7th gen civic's suspension also contains 4 main bushes which don't wear out easily plus the axles are really tough. The only difference is that corolla is a bit higher so upon jumps and bumps, it doesn't get much shock to the shock absorbers due to larger springs as well as lesser jerk to the body but if one gets springs traded in a 7th gen civic, it will look at bit weird but still work better than corolla because its shock absorbers are stiffer than corolla's. I live in Muridke and its a rural area and people have started buying civic since this misconception has been taken away and honestly all of them say that civic is a better choice. Its braking and handling is superior to that of corolla and while speeding on rough roads (which is sometimes required), one has a chance to get out of balance if brakes and handling are of xli (any shape) or gli(old shape). 2.0D SE had way better handling than xli or gli though yet you wouldn't be buying it so it is out of question. I am not a civic fan boy and would prefer 2007 or later premio over 1.8 civic yet when it comes to locally assembled cars, civic has no match whatsoever. A bit harder on brakes and that XLI or GLI would start slipping, especially leftwards and you will regret not getting a better braking civic.
I have given you a technical overview from a person who deals in suspension works at Bilal Gunj and who has a customer coming every 10-20 minutes with a different issue so he knows about the reliability and frequency of suspension issues in civic and corolla. Of course, you will lose a slight bit of handling if civic is higher than usual yet way better than that of a corolla.