My judgement is based on following grounds:

The elder man, the less he needs? Well, probably except some attention and fun. If so, I had everything I need with Toyota iQ. And even less space for parking and luggage and more attention to my person than I could imagine. Some disharmony caused by non-stable braking deceleration and relatively high fuel consumption (at least with CVT) I can easily explain by my passion to get more fun than a small “boxy” car can give. What was really bad surprise is unreasonably high price in Russia. The elder man, the more he pays (for a fun)? I still hope I am not so old.
My favorite car is Mercedes, most elegant E-class of last decades! Still keeping some reflection of a traditional “remote-control” feeling, it doesn’t make me to miss BMW with its precise reactions and feedback or Audi with its DSG: exemplary balance of style, quality, comfort, true roadholding and interface between the car and the driver. Exactly what a “premium car” means.
Polo and Astra left an impression of a “limited dozen progress in the frames of law”, but I’d like to mark an impressive result of combination of H-beam and Watt mechanism in Astra’s rear suspension.
My choice between two crossovers from Skoda and Peugeot is Skoda with its four-wheel drive (Peugeot promises hybrid 4x4 only in 2011) and more practical solutions rather than some electronic “toys” of Peugeot.
Looking at Citroën C3 Picasso and driving it I sadly think about gaps in my education in modern art. I can only hope that Pablo Picasso would be more happy than me to own and to drive his namesake.