My judgement is based on following grounds:

The financial crisis has changed everything a lot especially inside car industry business. People need new cars with low emission and fuel economy engines, compact sized and roomy inside, with high level of safety  and value for many ratio.  If you are looking for a city car  – Toyota IQ seems like the best choice. Smaller than 3 meters, roomy inside, with plenty of new engineering ideas, including the world premier – rear passenger airbag. I drove IQ 1.33 with my wife and two children through the Moscow traffic without any problems. We felt comfortable, turning around and parking this car everywhere we needed. But it was Toyota’s press car, shall I buy IQ which one costs like Avensis for my city driving? I'll have to think hard, it looks too expensive now.
Now, the best value for money car  is VW Polo. Especially, with 1.2 TSI engine and DSG gearbox. Economy, quick enough with perfect looks and high quality interior. New Polo has not so many new ideas as IQ has, but Polo introduces  3 and 5 door models (sedan coming soon)    and wide engine range where 1.2 TDI with BlueMotion is going to be one of the best choice.             
If you need the same quality but a more roomy car, you should look at Golf class. The new  Opel Astra is completed by all innovation of Opel Insignia, Car of the Year 2009. Opel EYE, AFL+ headlamps, FlexRide chassis and so on, it’s the most innovative car of the segment ever very pleasant to drive. But there's  just one choice for today – 5 door car and some of new engines where 1.4 turbo is one of the best .
Meantime the new Mercedes E-class  proves that premium segment could be fuel economy to drive and is ready to compete with the best selling compact cars for Car of the Year title. First of all coupe, cabrio, wagon or sedan, everyone is looking nice and fun to drive. Secondly, there are well known  innovations, most of them coming from S-class and BlueEfficiency technologies which one makes great engine performance. 
Citroen C3 Picasso doesn’t need different bodies one is more than just enough. It’s a  family car, no fun to drive. Though the steering system and suspension performance are great for that kind of a car, the  gear shift is not informative and makes you forget about Citroen's crown of  WRC. For this car is more important  passenger comfort, luggage volume, seats transformation and driver visibility. All this is perfect. For engine best choice -  HDi 110.
 Countryman Peugeot 3008 has the same and more powerful engines and four wheel drive Hybrid 4 version which will be launched in 2011. I liked the last one with automatic transmission, did not enjoyed the mechanical gearbox of serial models (it needs to be better) and hope the “Grip Control” system will work well for years, I would worry about it.
But I would not worry about anything being behind the steering wheel of Skoda Yeti. Simple, homely and quality performance car with 1.8 TSI engine and 6 –x speed gearbox (for off-road it’s better than DSG) is a good choice for people living in the country. But living inside big megapolis year after year I've realized that to make my life comfortable I should buy smaller and more pleasant to drive car, besides this one looks too expensive.