ArcaMax

But, there's a flip side - body roll. If you run the Yaris at a fast pace - say 10 over the limit on a curvy road with dips and bends - you'll notice this immediately. The body leans and pitches; push it some more and the stability control system will chime in to say ease off, man. As an economy-minded car (vs. a performance-minded car) this is probably of zero relevance to the typical buyer prospect. If anything, the softer handling and ride will be a plus.

AT THE CURB

Skin-wise, there's no doubt the '12 Yaris is an improvement over the old Yaris. A huge improvement. The old Yaris was one of the last economy cars that still looked like an economy car - cringing posture, lemon-sucking face, downmarket interior with that swivel left (for the U.S. market) or swivel right (for the Euro-export market) central mount IP - etc.

This could not stand in a market flush with cars like the new Accent and Fiesta - which look like real cars, cars that people might want to buy rather than buy because that's all they can afford.

The updated Yaris has a nice widetrack squat (this probably ties into the soft, smooth, bigger car ride) and a not-ashamed-of-itself front end, with a deep set, squared-off chin and similarly themed wide skirt rear end. It looks like a proper car now.

Same on the inside - only more so. The dash layout is complex, with different geometric shapes and angles, fused into a single whole. The dash is now where it should be - ahead of the steering wheel, in front of the driver - not up on top of the dash, canted toward the driver. Functionally, it's well-conceived and executed - including the three large rotary knobs for the AC/heat/fan control and the change tray mounted just above the glovebox on the passenger's side.

Space-wise, too - it's all good. Just not quite as good as the new segment leaders. I'm six feet three and over 200 pounds and I had plenty of head and legroom in the driver's seat and adequate room in the back seat (my knees didn't hit the front seat backs and my head wasn't rubbing up against the roof). However, you get an inch or so more front seat legroom in the Fiesta and the Accent.

The Yaris has 40.6 inches of front-seat legroom - vs. 42.2 inches in the Fiesta and 41.8 in the Accent. Headroom in all three (up front) is about the same: 39.3 for the Toyota, 39.1 for the Ford and 39.9 for the Hyundai.

Rearseat-wise, they're all a little cramped - but usable. 33.3 inches of legroom for the Toyota vs. 31.2 for the Ford and 33.3 for the Hyundai. Rear headroom's also a dead heat: 37.6 for the Yaris vs. 37.1 for the Fiesta and 37.2 for the Accent. Two normal-sized adults can ride in back for short-medium trips without violating the Geneva Conventions.

The hatchback layout (both versions of the Yaris) gives you a decent amount of storage space given the size of the car itself: 15.3-15.6 cubic feet (depending on which version you get). For some perspective on this, I recently reviewed the Hyundai Genesis - a mid-sized luxury sedan - and compared it with other mid-sized luxury sedans, such as the BMW 5 and the Mercedes E. None have larger trunks than the Yaris - and the BMW has a smaller trunk (14 cubic feet).

THE REST

There's one other thing Toyota should have done but didn't that would have made the '12 Yaris the equal of competitors like the Accent: Match the Hyundai's class-best warranty coverage. Instead, you get the same three year /36,000 mile basic warranty that Toyota provided with the '11 Yaris - vs. five years/60,000 for the Accent. Hyundai also backs the Accent's powertrain for ten years and 100,000 miles. With the Yaris, you're on your own after five years and 60,000 miles.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The new Yaris is much better than the previous Yaris - but unfortunately, that's not the standard that matters. Though it's no longer an also-ran, it's not quite as good as the best that's out there - models like the 2012 Hyundai Accent and the 2012 Ford Fiesta.

A six-speed gearbox (and a better warranty package) would fix that. Here's to hoping Toyota gets it done - the sooner the better.

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www.ericpetersautos.com or EPeters952@aol.com for comments.