2012 Toyota Yaris: Motoramic Drives

With gas prices north of $4 a gallon and a crowded clutch of subcompact cars for shoppers to choose from, Toyota has a lot to prove with this 2012 Toyota Yaris. Last year's troubles in Japan and lackluster reception here put the Yaris well back of its peers, with the Kia Soul outselling the Yaris 3-to-1. Now Toyota's promising an "edgier" Yaris, with an ad campaign that drolly announces "It's a car!" Yes, but is it enough of one?

At first glance, its shaper external contours are less polarizing than its pudgy, jellybean predecessor. In other words: less girly, more androgynous. But its mass-market styling anonymously blends into the any grocery-store parking lot, even with the cursory sporty touches on the five-door SE like the tweaked bumper and steel-grey alloy wheels. Toyota did manage to get the body-to-glass ratios correct, something that's difficult on a small car; it's not offensively disproportional like a Versa.