ArcaMax

Another area where both of these competitors trump the Toyota is performance. The manual Yaris is adequate: Zero to 60 in about 9.4 seconds, which is as good or better than the manual-equipped versions of the competition. But the automatic Yaris is one of the slowest new cars on the road: Zero to 60 in about 11 seconds. The automatic versions of the competition are a full second or two quicker, because their six speed transmissions have more favorable gearing than the Toyota's four-speed.

What's sad is the missed opportunity. Even with its less-than-state-of-the-art five-speed manual, the '12 Yaris almost matches the current class leaders, MPG-wise.

Had Toyota fitted the new Yaris with six-speeds - manual and automatic - it probably would have beaten the current class leaders - achieving 40 MPG or better on the highway, which would have made it a best-in-class - instead of still playing catch-up.

The carrying-over of the four-speed automatic is likely to turn into a big liability for Toyota if gas prices sail to $4 or even $5 per gallon. Buyers who need an automatic-equipped car are going to see that they can get 4-5 MPG better in a Hyundai or a Ford for about the same or even less money.

ON THE ROAD

I tested a new Yaris with the five-speed manual transmission. It accelerates about as quickly as the other cars in this class - which isn't quick but is adequate. Ten seconds or less to 60 is the standard. If a car can pull that off, it's got enough guts to deal with today's traffic - to merge efficiently from a side street, to pull itself even with highway traffic from a merge lane without sounding and feeling like it might spit its pistons through the oil pan at any moment. The Yaris is as good as the others when it comes to that.

The chief difference you'll notice between it and the segment-leading Accent is the RPMs - engine speed. Because the Hyundai has six speeds, its legs feel longer. In fifth, the Yaris is already in top gear but in the Accent, you've got one more to go. It pulls lower RPMs in sixth at 50 than the Yaris does in fifth at the same speed. This is also why the Hyundai hits 40 MPG - despite having a larger and significantly more powerful engine. Ditto the Ford, though to a lesser extent.

I've already told you about the automatic Yaris. I didn't get to drive a '12 with this transmission, but I have driven the previous generation Yaris with this transmission - and it's the same transmission (with the same engine) so I feel safe in reporting to you - warning you - that it is over the 10 second bar. And then some. With a passenger, it'll probably take an automatic-equipped Yaris 11 seconds or longer to get to 60, pedal to the floor, all out.

Though not crippled by historic standards (an Old Beetle needed about 20 seconds to get to 60) by current standards, it's about 3 full seconds slower than average. That doesn't sound like much when you think about in in your mind, but out on the road, it means forget about pulling into traffic until there's no other traffic coming. Though ok as an in-city commuter, the automatic Yaris is out of its league on the highway - in particular, trying to merge onto highways.

Handling: I test drive new cars every week and to a great extent they are same-same until you really get going. They're generally firm-sporty riding and can be taken up to a fairly high threshold of speed (usually, well above legal speeds) before you begin to notice their handling differences. Not the Yaris. At least, not the Yaris I tested. It was surprisingly soft-riding, which I liked. Not bouncy, just... soft. It felt like a larger car, very smooth - easy on the back.

...continued