2012 Toyota Yaris Overview Change Vehicle

This 2012 Toyota Yaris review explains changes for the model year, provides a summary of the 2012 Yaris, and includes Toyota Yaris safety, reliability, and fuel economy ratings.

Available in three- or five-door hatchback format, the Toyota Yaris is a subcompact car that serves as the least expensive model in the automaker’s lineup.

Toyota has redesigned the Yaris for 2012, eliminating the sedan body style in the process. Key changes include greater cargo and passenger space, improved aerodynamics, more standard equipment, better ride and handling, and refined details. A new sport-tuned SE model is also available. Mechanical hardware is mostly carried over from the previous model.

The redesigned 2012 Yaris is sold in L, LE and SE trim levels, the latter only available in the five-door body style.

The Yaris L is basic, but buyers do get air conditioning, power door locks, a trip computer, an outside temperature indicator, and a four-speaker stereo with a CD/MP3 player, an auxiliary audio input jack, a USB port, and an iPod adaptor. Other standard features include a single-arm intermittent front wiper, a rear defogger, a tilt steering wheel, extending sun visors, a cargo cover, and a cargo area light. The Yaris L rolls on 15-inch steel wheel with plastic wheel covers, and is equipped with cloth seats and a folding rear seatback. An automatic transmission is the only option.

The automatic transmission comes standard on the Yaris LE, which is also upgraded with power windows with auto-down operation on the driver’s side, power side mirrors, remote keyless entry, a manual driver’s seat height adjuster, a 60/40-split folding rear seat, and chrome interior accents. Bluetooth hands-free calling and music streaming is also standard on the Yaris LE, along with an upgraded six-speaker sound system, HD radio, satellite radio, and steering wheel audio controls. Cruise control is the only option available on the LE.

The sporty Yaris SE isn’t just about fog lights, smoked headlights, a mesh grille insert, a body kit, a rear spoiler, and 16-inch alloy wheels. It’s actually got a handful of hardware upgrades that should translate into additional fun. There’s a sport-tuned suspension for starters, and the electric steering features a sportier calibration and quicker ratio. The SE also has a standard manual gearbox, four-wheel-disc brakes, and sport-bolstered front seats. Sorry, no extra power in the form of a turbocharger, though we do agree that would be compelling. Other upgrades contained in the Yaris SE include sport fabric for the seats, sport instrumentation, cruise control, and a leather-trimmed sport steering wheel and shift knob. An automatic transmission is optional on the Yaris SE.

To help buyers personalize a Yaris, Toyota dealers can add a variety of accessories to the car when you buy it.

The Yaris is equipped with a 1.5-liter, 106-horsepower, four-cylinder engine. Before you complain too much, remember that the heaviest Yaris weighs just 2,315 pounds. On L and SE models, a five-speed manual gearbox delivers power to the front wheels. The four-speed automatic that comes standard on the Yaris LE can be added to the L and SE.

According to the EPA, fuel economy ratings are 30 mpg in the city regardless of transmission choice. If you stick with the stick shift, you can expect to get 38 mpg on the highway. The automatic will return 35 mpg on the highway.

During our week driving the Yaris, we achieved 30.3 mpg over 220 miles. So we lagged the EPA combined average of 32 mpg.

A free Toyota Care maintenance and roadside assistance program is also included, covering scheduled service visits for the first two years or 25,000 miles of ownership.

Toyota’s Star Safety System is standard on the 2011 Yaris, and includes antilock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist, traction and stability control, and Smart Stop technology that makes it impossible to accelerate if the brake pedal is depressed. Nine airbags are also standard on every Yaris, including a knee airbag for the driver and individual front and rear seat side curtain airbags. A whiplash-lessening front seat design also debuts this year.

As this review is published, neither the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) nor the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has performed crash tests on the redesigned 2012 Yaris.

Likewise, Consumer Reports and J.D. Power and Associates remain uncommitted with regard to reliability predictions. It is, however, instructive to point out that the Yaris’s reliability history shows that the previous model was basically bulletproof.

Toyota says that hatchbacks account for 70 percent of subcompact sales, which is why the sedan body style is dropped for 2012. Unfortunately, the company doesn’t quote a cargo volume measurement for the Yaris with the rear seat folded down. With the rear seat raised, the three-door model has 15.3 cubic-feet of space, while the five-door model boasts 15.6 cubes.

The 2012 Yaris is equipped with a single front wet-arm wiper design, rather than a dual-wiper arrangement. A soft-touch dashboard is also standard, uncommon in this class of vehicle.

The Yaris’s engine is rated as an Ultra Low Emission Vehicle, not a Partial Zero Emission Vehicle. Really? For a redesigned subcompact? In 2012?

We've driven the Toyota Yaris three years in a row and while we can confidently say the 2012 model is the best of the bunch, we can't say it's the best of today's sub-compact market.

In fact, while there are many compelling alternatives to the Yaris in the Ford Fiesta, Honda Fit and others, the biggest competitor may turn out to be the Toyota Prius C compact hybrid. That's because the Prius C is basically the same size as the Yaris, yet returns 18 more miles per gallon in combined driving.

Most important, the Prius C Two trim costs only a few thousand dollars more than the best-appointed Yaris. The Prius C won't arrive in stores until spring 2012 but smart shoppers should cross-shop both vehicles.

With that bit of Toyota cross-promotion out of the way, the Yaris is indeed a big improvement over the prior models. We drove the LE trim that included two upgrades: cruise control and carpeted floor mats. With the $760 destination fee included, the sticker price was just over $17,000.

The Yaris was comfortable enough for my five-foot, nine-inch frame and even a six-foot-three-inch tall passenger didn't complain about front-seat space.

Like all sub-compacts, the Yaris is best in the city and zipping in and out of traffic was easy if not necessarily fun. But a drive up one of Utah's canyons quickly revealed the limitations of the 1.6-liter engine and comparatively anemic horsepower ratings. The engine screamed as we ascended above 7,300 feet of elevation and could only reach about 65 miles per hour during that ascent. We safely stayed in the right lane.

Put simply, there are better sub-compact cars than the Yaris and one of the best of the bunch is the new Toyota Prius C. If your budget can handle the slight increase in price, we suggest you start your search there.

The redesigned 2012 Toyota Yaris gets good gas mileage, is affordable, and has historically proven to be damn near unbreakable. It’s better looking than before, and in SE trim might even prove to be entertaining to drive. But the Yaris is competing against popular models like the stylish Ford Fiesta and eminently practical Honda Fit, and enters battle against new entries from Chevrolet, Hyundai and Kia with significant horsepower, torque, and warranty coverage deficits. It looks like Toyota may have dropped the ball on this one.

By Christian Wardlaw and Michael Waterman