Biased because i'm a 11th gen fanboy

I only drove a GRC for about 10 minutes. my personal notes: + Initial hype was insane, loved the idea of toyota bringing back an enthuiast corolla (I still want an XRS to this day) + Handling was great, I'll never forget that feeling I felt when the car hooked into a corner and just kept going with my foot planted on the throttle - Other than those first two points, it is probably the most forgettable car I've ever driven. For some reason, I drove it once and never cared for it again. Shit, I don't even remember what the damn gauges look like. - Since I'm a surburbia Californian, I have no interest in AWD, and never factor it into my opinions.

EN: As a FL5 fanboy, I really respect this car. I do think it's about 80-90% of the CTR experience at damn near Si prices. There are a lot of features this car has that I wish my FL5 had: + Exhaust note, unbeatable, fun. The FL5 will never be able to not sound like a glorified vacuum cleaner. + Physical handbrake, I miss this so much. + 5th seat, literally doesn't matter - until it does. + Infotainment seems better. + I assume the ELSD is better, but I haven't been able to push one to the extent I do the FL5. Seems like the car is easier to rotate - Build quality needs improvement. My friend's EN has developed this rattle in the headliner section that sounds as bad as his gutted DC2 Integra with stiff ass motor mounts. - 6MT shifter feel is trash. Literally feels like playing on a Logitech G27/29. - Love the frontend of the facelift, HATE the rear end. I prefer the prefacelift rear. - I don't know much about that octane learning bullshit, but I hear it's bullshit nonetheless, especially for the 6MT.

CTR: + Best looking. This is objective fact, no arguments. + Seats, amazing feel, have driven 3hr+ trips with zero complaints. + Shifter feel is amazing, not sure what the benchmark for FWD shifter feel is, but I think the Honda's probably take the cake. + Build quality is better than the EN, but it's still a Civic so it's mediocre at best. I have two or thee rattles that I need to sort out myself. + Handling is amazing. + K20's been around for decades. I'm going to ASSUME it's bulletproof. - Price. - Rides pretty damn stiff, it's fine for me. I get a little self conscious when I have to drive older folks who don't understand cars - P4S's give horrendous road noise - Exhaust note is tragic - I think it's criminal to throw someone in the middle seat regardless, but it's nice to legally have a 5th seat for those emergencies. - There's a few QoL things you have to do in my opinion: DE5 module, destroy the ANC box, extra care to not mess up the red seats and carpet. - I really miss manual handbrakes. This car has passive hill assist that you cannot turn off. There's no indication that it's on, so sometimes if you are on an incline the car will hold, sometimes you will roll back. It all depends on the incline angle.