JazakAllah my dear sir for the appreciation! Means a lot.
Starting with the discouraging thingy you've mentioned, well sir, they aren't negligible differences, IMHO at least. A Honda Civic having soft and comfy suspension isn't quite something to be expected, since its been known for the stiffness and stability since ages. Fuel economy is also a major improvement I'd say, over the 8th gen civic.
But as you mentioned, you've never owned Honda before, your decision is more likely to be based on a Toyota vs Honda comparison rather than a 8th gen vs 9th gen one. 
Okay for your actual queries now:
One- Well public opinions haven't quite yet been formed here regarding the 9th gen since its still the "new" civic. As far as altis vs civic is concerned regarding fuel consumption, there isn't gonna be much difference. We have instances of Corolla Altis 6 speed manual achieving as high as 18 km/L with AC on highway. I think the 9th gen is capable of achieving upto 16 km/L, that too coupled with the luxury of a Prosmatec transmission. Altis in automatic tranny sucks at fuel consumption.
Dual VVTi and i-VTEC technologies are essentially the same-both aim to vary valve timing via different mechanisms and improving fuel economy. Just for a little addition here, valve overlap is the thing which matters, more over lap means good performance at idle but bad performance at higher engine speeds. The case is vice versa with Less valve overlap.
To achieve the best of both worlds, i.e good torque at high revs and smooth idling+fuel economy at lower revs, these two technologies vary the valve timing. ECU adjusts it via oil pressure - according to engine speeds.
As for the reviews available over the internet from all over the world, I would suggest NOT to rely on them too much since driving conditions, your driving style, your maintenance, know-how regarding your vehicle, EVERY single thing counts! The reviews will only give you an idea.
Two- I disagree! As I personally own an inferior honda than the 9th gen, city idsi 2004 which has clocked over 215k kms by now. We take it to our village regularly, nothing feels like being "not tough enough". I own a corolla 2008 as well, which has 170k kms on the ODO, has been somewhat kept with more care than the city but still, I consider the city is in a much much better shape.
Even having a nearly dead suspension, the interior is DAMN silent: not a single chooo choo or chikk chikk sound from anywhere. Not saying corolla has problems but the notion that Honda won't go to a village is utterly false! People lie!
Take a Honda wherever you want; just drive it the way its meant to be driven. Take care of the machine, keep it maintained, it will keep you happy for a pretty long time. Here on Pakwheels, we have an instance of a 8th gen civic which has been driven more than 440k km! Just because the owner kept it with care.
If one starts off-roading and drifts on mud or bashes in sand, unfortunately, no car was ever built to withstand torture beyond its limits.
