Cars.com Reviews the 2013 Mazda2

You might have dated someone like this: attractive looks and fun to be around, but dealing with problems inside that are revealed as you get to know each other better. Cars.com reviewer Jennifer Geiger says the 2013 Mazda2 offers potential suitors a nice, sculpted body with a grinning grille, along with good maneuverability and more zippiness than its petite horsepower might suggest. However, its interior is uncomfortably sparse, offering backseat passengers scant "cushy for their tushy" and deceptively little cargo space. That might be why the competing Ford Fiesta gets more than three times as many dates with buyers.

2013 Mazda2 Review

The Cars.com Redesign Index

It can cost up to $1 billion or more to develop a new or redesigned car, so sales success — and not just a little bit of it — matters. Determining which of those new cars hit the mark with consumers is no easy task. In the past three model years, significant redesigns averaged a 33% increase in year-over-year sales in the months after they were launched compared with their predecessors in the same period a year earlier. With numbers like that, most automakers could claim success with a redesign. But some cars rose above that lofty mark while others fell below. Which were the redesigns that car shoppers lined up for?

Cars.com crunched sales figures for 61 redesigns or introductions that replaced outgoing cars over the past four model years. We set a sales floor and grouped cars into three sales tiers — after all, a bit player can easily double its sales with a sharp redesign, but market saturation makes it harder for a popular model to do the same. We compared six months of sales after dealers ramped up inventory with the same time period from the year before. Finally, we also accounted for the growth in the overall auto market, meaning that if the whole market went up 10%, we assume that tide would have carried these redesigns as well.

Mazda-Based Toyota Subcompact on the Way

Combined with its Scion brand, Toyota has a pretty strong small-car portfolio — and it's about to grow. The automaker announced today it is partnering with Mazda to produce a Toyota-brand subcompact for the U.S. market.

The vehicle will be built at Mazda's plant in Mexico, which is still under construction, and will be based on Mazda's smallest vehicle, the Mazda2. Could the new car be a replacement for Toyota's subcompact, the Yaris?

Possibly. Yaris sales are on a slide this year even though the car was revised for 2012. In October, Toyota sold just 2,579 units of the Yaris, down from 6,792 the previous October. Although Mazda moves fewer Mazda2 units, sales of the subcompact are up about 17% so far this year.

The two are similar in size: The Mazda2 is 155.5 inches long; the 2012 Yaris, which is available only as a hatchback, is two inches shorter.

Toyota plans to start production during summer 2015 and build around 50,000 units of the car per year.

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Cars.com Reviews the 2012 Mazda2
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More Mazda News on Cars.com

Daily News Briefs: June 25, 2012

Hatchback shoppers, take note: Next year's Toyota Yaris may come from France, Reuters reports. Sacre bleu! Well, not really. Toyota plans to slash Japanese production amid rising energy costs and a stronger yen hurting export revenues, and the Japan-built Yaris is an easy candidate. The automaker already builds the Yaris in France, and an investment of some $10 million, at current exchange rates, will allow 25,000 Yaris annual exports to the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. That suggests a sizable chunk of U.S. sales still will come from Japan; through May, Toyota sold nearly 18,000 here. It also would make for the second U.S. vehicle that's built in France, where the sole U.S. auto export is the Smart ForTwo.
 
In other news:

Extreme Commuting in the 2012 Chevrolet Suburban, 2012 Toyota Yaris and 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth

The 2012 Chevrolet Suburban and 2012 Toyota Yaris we tested for this edition of Extreme Commuting are two ends of the commuter-car spectrum. The large Suburban takes the comfort angle, while the tiny Yaris takes a more frugal approach. I also put the punchy Fiat 500 Abarth through my lengthy commute.
 
The Yaris is cheap and gets decent gas mileage, making it the more traditional commuter car. Not everyone is a fan, though; it finished midpack in our mileage challenge of $16,000 subcompacts earlier in the year. The SE we tested here is considerably more fun to zip around corners in than the base L model we drove in our Subcompact Shootout. A little bit of on-ramp fun was had before the inevitable bumper-to-bumper traffic buzz-kill. The Yaris over-delivered on its 30 mpg city rating with 33.3 mpg.

2012 Toyota Yaris Video

The previous-generation Toyota Yaris left us cold. Luckily, the redesign of the 2012 Yaris addressed many of the old model's issues. Better cabin materials, a more masculine look and a gauge cluster that is now behind the steering wheel instead of in the middle of the dash make the subcompact more appealing, according to Cars.com Senior Editor Bill Jackson. Still, the new Yaris has its flaws. It's not the roomiest of subcompacts, and gas mileage is only so-so when it's equipped with an automatic transmission.

How Much Stuff Can You Fit in a Toyota Yaris?

We usually make our weekend plans long before I know what I'll be driving, and my family's plans don't change for anything—not even a 2012 Toyota Yaris. The plans: grocery shopping, picking up a large birthday gift and hauling some shrubs for a landscaping project. The challenge: How much stuff could I cram into Toyota's subcompact? Especially after seeing how it didn't come close to the competition in our recent $16,000 Subcompact Shootout when it comes to cargo space.

The Yaris fit more than you'd think, actually, but first let's go back to 2007, when it first hit the market. I drove it then and was underwhelmed by its pokey powertrain, lack of ride composure and high level of road noise. It scored points, however, for its decent fuel economy and its maneuverability.

A lot has changed since then—more with me than the car. I carry a lot more stuff now. As a homeowner and mom, I have more baggage than I did in 2007, which means there's always a child-safety seat in the backseat, a diaper bag in the trunk, and when we grocery shop, we fill the car to the brim. Last weekend was like any other, except the Yaris is one of the smallest vehicles I've tested in a long time.

Cars.com Podcast: 2012 Toyota Camry, 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid, 2012 Toyota Yaris

It’s been a Toyotathon of a week here at Cars.com. First, we got our hands on the all-new, completely redesigned 2012 Toyota Yaris — now available just as a hatchback. Then, we test-drove the even more important 2012 Toyota Camry and Toyota Camry Hybrid. Both have improved ride and handling, interiors and gas mileage. Will it be enough to help turn around Toyota’s sagging sales in the U.S.? Discussing all of this on this week’s podcast are Cars.com editors Joe Wiesenfelder, Kelsey Mays and Bill Jackson.

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Cars.com Reviews the 2012 Toyota Yaris

We’ve had a bit of frenzy around our offices regarding the redesign of Toyota’s entry-level Yaris. Typically, a car of this sort isn’t buzz-worthy, but with its early reveal at Lollapalooza, folks took notice. Editor Bill Jackson was able to test the new Yaris where it counts — on public roads — and he came away a bit mixed about the 2012 model. Check out his review for insight into the different trims and how they hold up against the competition.

2012 Toyota Yaris Review

2012 Toyota Yaris Starts at $14,115

Late last week we showed you some exclusive shots of the U.S spec redesigned 2012 Toyota Yaris hatchback. Still without any official U.S. press shots or info about the powertrain, the automaker announced today that the new model will start at $14,115 for the two-door hatchback, excluding a $760 destination fee. That’s about $1,000 more than the 2011 model; the four-door hatch starts at $15,140 (up $1,685). There’s no next-generation sedan model, at least not at launch.

That entry price makes the Yaris four-door hatchback more expensive than almost all its competitors: the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic ($14,635), 2011 Honda Fit ($15,100) and 2012 Hyundai Accent ($14,595). Only the 2012 Ford Fiesta costs more ($15,500). 

Toyota says that price increase includes $1,000 worth of new standard equipment compared with the outgoing model. Toyota says that extra standard equipment includes many of the features that come with the 2011 Yaris’ Convenience Package, such as a split-folding rear seat, CD player and larger windshield washer fluid tank.