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Toyota’s smallest and lowest-priced offering has emerged from the cocoon for 1995. The stylists took several swipes with their blades, and the engineers found room for a more potent, yet more fuel efficient, engine plus dual air bags.

The result is an attractive, less boxy sedan that’s high in mileage and occupant protection. Unfortunately, when the stylists swiped at the body panels, they missed the window sticker.

Tercel is offered in two-door base and two- and four-door DX versions.

We test drove a 1995 Tercel two-door DX sedan.

Despite having only two doors, Toyota calls the little brother to the Corolla a sedan and not a coupe thanks to the thick center roof pillar that divides front from rear.

Dual air bags are standard and a 1.5-liter, 93-horsepower, 16-valve, 4-cylinder engine, a modified version of the Paseo powerplant, has replaced the anemic 1.5-liter, 82-h.p., 4.

The 1.5-liter boasts 30 miles per gallon city/39 m.p.g. highway despite being teamed with a 4-speed automatic. That’s 20 percent better mileage than last year’s engine even with the added h.p.

Used to be that to get a 30/39-m.p.g. rating, the car had to be stripped-vinyl floor coverings, 5-speed manual and cloth seats that smelled as if the seeds were still in the sack.

The 1995 Tercel is a high-mileage commuter car that you don’t have to hide when friends or relatives drop in.

But, thanks to the vagaries of the yen versus the dollar, you will pay the price. The DX coupe we tested starts at $11,738, but climbed to $14,610 with minimum options that didn’t include anti-lock brakes, which were left off to keep the advertised price down. With ABS, the two-door subcompact we tested would have run roughly $15,500 before tax.

Toyota says most folks it surveyed don’t want or need ABS. We suggest Toyota find some new people to question, such as those living in the Snow Belt-people who haul kids or couples who place a high value on each other. Dual bags are great, but ABS could mean the difference in whether the bags have to deploy.

As for the price, consider all the options-$900 for air conditioning, $260 for power steering, $825 for ABS, $240 for a radio, $170 for a rear defroster. And when you move from a 4-speed manual (in the base models) or 5-speed manual (in the DX) to an automatic (3-speed in the base models,4-speed in the DX), add $700 more. All those items ordered together would raise the price more than $3,000-plus tax.

Toyota made optional some items you commonly would consider standard-such as power steering, radio, and rear defogger-to offset the rise in the yen against the dollar. It’s called decontenting.

You have to consider value for the dollar to mean quality, reliability, dependability and longevity more so than the total on the sticker to come to grips with having to plow through an option list to give Tercel the necessit ies.

Toyota thinks those factors will outweigh the monetary outlay and forecast Tercel sales will rise to 90,000 to 100,000 for 1995 from 80,000 to 90,000 now. That may be asking a lot for a line heavy in two-doors at a time when consumers are opting for four-doors-and when the price brings them head-to-head with Neon and Saturn, two popular car lines.

In performance terms, while the 1.5-liter, 4 boasts 10 percent more power and 20 percent better mileage than last year’s engine, the 30/39 m.p.g. rating is evidence that being first from the light or dashing into the passing lane is not what this car was designed to do. The 4-speed comes with overdrive that you can turn on/off with the push of a button.

Power is respectable with OD off, but when you press the accelerator hard you’ll experience engine/transmission growl from being called on to perform tough labor in a hurry.

The suspension doesn’t camouflage all the bumps, but you wouldn’t expe t a luxury suspension in a subcompact or sports-car ride and handling in a car powered by a 1.5-liter, 4.

To improve ride and handling, Tercel needs a different set of treads. The car sits on 13-inch, all-season tires and 14-inch aren’t even offered. In taking a sharp corner while traveling Wisconsin’s scenic pathways a bit above the limit, the Tercel seemed to ride on the sidewalls. A 14-inch tire would have better grip and surer footing.

Items worth noting are a huge trunk for groceries or luggage and folding rear seat backs so you can carry skis in the cabin.

Standard equipment in the DX includes power brakes, dual pullout cupholders, full wheel covers, carpeting, dual manual mirrors, tinted glass, trip meter, black bodyside moldings and rear seat stowage pockets in the side panels that include cupholders.

The base two-door Tercel starts at $9,998 with 4-speed manual, $10,698 with 3-speed automatic; the base two-door DX starts at $11,028 with 5-speed manual, $11,738 with automatic; the four-door DX starts at $11,328 with 5-speed, $12,038 with 4-speed automatic.

>> 1995 Tercel DX coupe
Wheelbase: 93.7 inches Length: 161.8 inches Engine: 1.5-liter, 93-h.p., 16-valve, 4-cylinder Transmission: 4-speed automatic Fuel economy: 30 m.p.g. city/39 m.p.g. highway Base price: $11,738. Price as tested: $14,610. Add $900 for air, $260 for power steering, $235 for a weather guard package including larger windshield washer tank and heavy-duty rear window defroster with timer, $330 for a convenience package including digital clock, trunk/fuel filler door release, split folding rear seats and dual remote mirrors, $605 for deluxe radio with cassette, $85 for color-keyed bumpers, $60 for carpeted mats and $397 for freight. Missing was ABS at $825. Pluses: Dual air bags standard. New design. Roomier interior. Excellent fuel economy. Minuses: How fast and how high the price can run. ABS a hefty $825 option. Only 13-inch tires available. >>