The “S” in the Toyota Verso-S name may officially stand for “Sport” and you can certainly spice up your ride by shifting it into Sport mode but the Verso is impressively Small, Spacious and Smart too.At a touch longer than 13 feet, it’s one of the shorter mini-MPVs (Multi-Purpose Vehicles) on the market but don’t let that fool you. The Verso-S has plenty of room, thanks to some smart design and storage solutions.The high roofline makes the Verso feel like a much bigger car when you step into it something Toyota also did successfully with the old Yaris Verso. This Verso though is a very different animal to its former namesake, shedding the squarer Yaris body for the more traditional streamlined MPV shape.Toyota figures that if you need functionality in a car, why can’t it be with a touch of style?Thanks to subtle touches like thinner front seats, the Verso’s three rows of seats comfortably seat up to seven adults with plenty of legroom. There are a staggering 32 seating combinations and an array of clever storage solutions with Toyota’s one-touch Easy Flat-7 seating system that can be operated from the rear seats or from the trunk, thanks to tilt-down levers provided on the sidewalls and within easy reach of the rear door.The tailgate is cut into the rear bumper, which means you can easily load luggage into the trunk without catching it on the lip. The floor of the trunk includes a deck board that can be set at bumper level for flat easy loading and 336 litres of cargo space or lowered to boost load space depth by almost four inches and cargo volume by an extra 57 litres. Take the board and the spare wheel out all together and cargo volume goes up to 430 litres.And because the rows really do fold down absolutely flat, flipping the rear seats down will give you a generous maximum load volume of 1,388 litres. Not only that but all around the Verso are handy bottle and cup holders, big front door pockets and a versatile, three-level dashboard compartment.So now you’re sitting comfortably, how does the Verso-S drive? Very nicely, indeed.If the interior makes it feel like a bigger car, the Verso drives with the zest, road holding and maneuverability of a smaller, sportier one. There’s plenty of power in the 1.6 litre engine and you can feel the torque when you hit Sport mode.Toyota’s MultiDrive system uses continuously variable transmission technology for a smoother drive and better fuel economy. Slide the automatic Drive control to Manual and you can change seamlessly through the seven gears either using the up or down settings on the gear stick or via the steering wheel paddles.The spacious cockpit and fully adjustable seat and steering positions make for comfortable driving and the central controls for air conditioning and the radio/CD/MP3 system are well-positioned, clearly marked and push-button easy to operate. There are entertainment controls on the steering wheel too so you don’t need to take your eyes off the road to change channels or skip tracks.Toyota hasn’t skimped on the safety features either. A rigid body structure and seven airbags are designed to help reduce the impact of a collision while specially designed seats and headrests reduce the risk of whiplash in the event of a rear-end collision, and seat belt pre-tensioners and force-limiters help to limit injury to the chest. Features like these helped the Verso-S win a class-topping five-star safety award from Euro NCAP in 2010.The Verso-S cleverly packs a lot into a small package and will attract interest from consumers looking to downsize from a full-size SUV or station wagon as well as families looking for a comfortable, flexible and practical car at a reasonable price but one that’s also a lot of fun to drive.The Class E Toyota Verso-S is priced from $39,000 and is available from Bermuda Motors, Church Street East, Hamilton. Call 292-0893 or visit www.bermudamotors.bm