The folks at Throttle House brought three ‘regular’ cars on a drag strip. These urban commuters are daily drivers that are meant to be economical, practical, and comfortable. No one actually purchases them solely considering how they perform in straight-line races. But, now that they’re here, we are actually curious to know which sedan trumps.

So, the contenders here are the Toyota Corolla, the Mazda 3, and the brand new 2022 Honda Civic. Which Japanese car do you think will win?

The Mazda Has The Best Power Figures and A Better Transmission

The Corolla seen here is in the XSE trim. It is powered by a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine that makes 169 horses and 151 pound-feet of torque. Power is sent exclusively to the front wheels via a Continuously Variable Transmission.

It is available in two drive configurations, but the one seen here is a front-wheel-drive model. The engine is mated to a six-speed automatic gearbox.

Finally, there’s the 2022 Honda Civic in the top-sped Touring guise. The sedan features a turbocharged, four-cylinder mill that displaces at 1.5 liters. It makes 180 horses and 177 pound-feet of twist. Power is sent to the front wheels exclusively. This mill, too, comes with a CVT that’s inclined more towards efficiency than performance.

The Civic’s CVT Didn’t Play A Spoilsport, Surprisingly

CVTs are considered to be lousy and especially famous for their rubber-band effect. Going into this race, the Mazda had the upper hand since it comes with a six-speed automatic gearbox unlike the CVTs on the other two. But, the Honda Civic comes with a turbocharger that helps negate the CVT’s performance to some extent in a straight-line race. The Corolla, on the other hand, didn’t hold any advantage and was certainly not the pick of the race.

The Mazda 3 started the quickest off the line, overtaking both its rivals. The Corolla here was a lost cause, but the Civic managed to slowly gain on the Mazda 3. By the end, the Civic trumped its counterpart to win the race. The rolling race started on the same note, but this time the Civic couldn’t nudge the Mazda. Also, the Corolla performed better here.

If you had to pick one of these three as your daily driver, which one would it be? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section. Also, don’t forget to watch the video below.