Toyota Yaris Overview

The subcompact segment has grown extremely competitive, with Toyota's Yaris still a value leader when weighing base price, fuel economy and standard features. For 2011 the Yaris is offered in 3-door and 5-door liftbacks and as a 4-sedan. A single trim level makes ordering easy, though extra-cost options can quickly raise the car's $13,155 base price by several thousand dollars. A 1.5-liter inline 4-cylinder outputs 106 horsepower, mated to either 5-speed manual or 6-speed automatic transmissions.

Fuel economy measures 29/36 city/highway mpg with the manual transmission, or 29/35 mpg with the automatic. The Yaris offers some important standard features missing from some competitors near price point, like traction and stability control, anti-lock brakes and air conditioning, though a stereo system will cost a little extra. An all-new replacement for the current Yaris is coming for the 2012 model year.