The 2012 Chevrolet Sonic is besting the competition for safety ratings, for now. The little sub-compact Sonic scored a five-star rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to beat out the Ford Fiesta, which only scored four out of five.

Safety isn’t the only thing we’re pleased to say makes the Sonic great, it’s a peppy starter car that comes available with a six-speed manual and a turbocharged four-cylinder that had us scooting past the speed limit with surprising ease. It also comes with 10 standard airbags.

The Sonic still has to go up against its other competition: this year’s Kia Rio and Honda Fit, which both have yet to be rated. The 2012 Nissan Versa sedan also still has to be rated, but the verdict isn’t looking good for its hatchback brother with three of five in the frontal crash category and four of five in rollovers.

Poor ratings aside, the Sonic hasn’t won the race yet. It got four out of five stars in the rollover category, so there is still a chance the unrated cars can equal or best it.

Of course, that rating is coming hot off the heels of a recall over missing brake pads in the Sonic. We’re willing to assume the rating is based on completely assembled cars.

The Sonic is also a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Read Autoguide’s Chevy Sonic review here.

Toyota is expected to debut an all-new Yaris later this year with the hopes of climbing back to the top of the sub-compact sales charts. To do that, the Japanese automaker will need to offer plenty, with current rivals delivering style, high-tech options and plenty of interior space at a reasonable price.

We can’t confirm much about the new Yaris, although it is roughly 4-inches longer than the predecessor with half that space coming between the wheels to improve rear seat legroom. Drivers will also notice a big change with the gauge cluster moving from the terrible (and terrible looking) central position, to a more ideal location immediately above the steering wheel.

While we wouldn’t expect to see a new Yaris out testing on the Nurburgring, we were surprise to snap these photos just outside Toronto – a short drive from the company’s Canada headquarters.

GALLERY: 2012 Toyota Yaris Spy Photos

If little changes from some of the Yaris models we’ve seen unveiled in other countries it should significantly resemble the Euro-spec model. See a pic of that car after the jump:

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Mazda has just announced that it will bring the Mazda2 model to market in North America late next year, to compete in the growing sub-compact market alongside models like the Toyota Yaris, Hyundai Accent, Honda Fit and Ford’s upcoming Fiesta.

“You’ve asked us for it for a while now, and we’ve been studying the market to make sure we can make a business case for it across North America,” said Mazda North America CEO Jim O’Sullivan. “As consumers’ tastes and attitudes toward small vehicles have changed, we now believe strongly there is a place in our lineup for a car below our current least-expensive car, the MAZDA3.  MAZDA2 will be true to everything that makes our cars stand apart from the competition: it will be stylish, fun-to-drive and a heck of a value. In short, it will be Zoom-Zoom.”

There is no word on any specifics about the North American model, but in Europe and Japan (where it is sold as the Demio) it is available as a three-door and five-door hatchback, while a sedan version is available in China. Several different gasoline and diesel engines are available overseas, with a 1.5-liter 4-cylinder making just over 100hp a likely option for North America.

The current Mazda2 model was introduced in 2008, when it won World Car of the Year. It is based on the same chassis that underpins Ford’s European Fiesta, which, by no coincidence, will also be on sale in North America by 2011.

Over the past 12 months Ford sold-off much of its stake in Mazda and recently announced it would bring to North America the European Grand C-Max MPV, which would compete directly with the Mazda5. The introduction of the 2, while no-doubt a pure business decision, is also very much a well-timed retaliation.