2012 Toyota Yaris Hatchback

A competitor in the crowded subcompact segment, the second-generation Toyota Yaris hatchback provides reliable and economic transportation for those in need of inexpensive transportation. The 2012 Yaris is available as a three- or five-door hatchback. Both body styles come exclusively with a 1.5-liter inline-four that produces 106 horsepower and 103 lb-ft of torque at 4,200 rpm.

The all-new Yaris gets a new, more angular design on the outside. Inside, the center-mounted gauges on the dashboard is finally replaced with a more conventional setup right in front of the driver’s view.The design helps to ensure that all areas from the head to the lower back are equally supported, helping to reduce whiplash-type injuries during certain types of collisions.

Starting with nine standard airbags, the Yaris offers an impressive array of safety features. Standard driver and front-passenger dual-stage airbags are complemented by front-seat mounted side airbags and a knee airbag for the driver. Roll-sensing side airbags are fitted to both front- and rear-row seats.

Yaris features Toyota’s Star Safety System, which includes Vehicle Stability Control, ABS, Traction Control, Electronic Brake-Force Distribution and Brake Assist. The Yaris also features Smart Stop Technology, Toyota’s brake-override system, as standard. Other standard features include air conditioning, six cup and bottle holders and a storage cover for the cargo area. The Yaris is fairly capacious inside, with 15.3 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats in the three-door and 15.6 cubic feet in the five door.

The subcompact Toyota Yaris hatchback competes with a mostly fresh lineup of entry-level cars including the Chevrolet Sonic Hatchback, Ford Fiesta, Honda Fit, Mazda2 and Hyundai Accent Hatchback.

2012 Porsche Panamera S Hybrid

BMW to unveil 6 Series Gran Coupe at Geneva

BMW has announced a whole slew of products it intends to showcase at the rapidly approaching Geneva Motor Show, with the biggest reveal being the first public showing of the five-passenger 6 Series Gran Coupe.

But that's just the tip of the Bavarian iceberg. Another highly anticipated machine, the BMW M6 Coupe, will make its world debut in Geneva before going on sale in the U.S. in the late summer as a 2013 model. The M6 Convertible, which is a big seller for BMW in the States, will debut in April at the 2012 New York Auto Show and will go on sale shortly thereafter.

Updated Ferrari California coming

Ferrari will showcase an updated version of its California droptop at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show. The revised California is now lighter and more powerful. The engine- a 4.3-litre V8 now churns out 483bhp, up by 30bhp thanks to new exhaust manifolds and engine mapping.

Ferrari has built a lighter,more powerful version of the California, and willshow off the revised grand tourer at next month’s Geneva motor show. The torque curve has also been modified and is higher across the engine’s rev range, with maximum torque of 51.43kgm at 5000rpm.

BMW Announces X5 M Sport, Four-Cylinder X3

Keeping things fresh in the BMW crossover camp, the German automaker is introducing a new engine for its X3 compact and a new M Sport package for the midsize X5.

For the X3, BMW will bestow its new 2.0-liter twin-turbocharged four-cylinder engine to replace its base 3.0-liter inline-six. Its official name will still be the X3 xDrive28i, despite the fact that its engine size has changed (the number signifier in the name). But if you’re really complaining about such fripperies, you’ll be happy to know that at least it’s more powerful than the outgoing engine; expect a five-horsepower bump to 245. If the engine performs as well as it does in the 2012 BMW 3 Series sedan, expect about a 20-percent fuel economy improvement over the current base engine’s 19 mpg city/25 mpg highway.