If everything from gas prices to insurance premiums has you shopping for a small, affordable car, you're in for a thrill.

Your budget goes further than ever in 2008. So does your gasoline and imagination. We've never seen subcompacts with so much style, substance and good old-fashioned sexiness.

Our three favorites -- the Honda Fit, Nissan Versa S and Scion xD -- are all 5-door hatchbacks that make saving money look smart. Even exciting.

Buy one and we suspect you'll be shocked at how little they have in common with the boring subcompacts we've come to know and hate over the years.

Honda Fit

No one will ever ask you why you bought a Honda Fit.

It's fun and practical, with certified low emissions and high fuel economy, plus a jackpot of standard features all housed in a roomy interior that belies its petite dimensions -- a clever secret of brilliant packaging.

Plus, it's got "Honda" written all over it in quality, reliability and respectability.

All of our favorites come with four-cylinder engines. Although the Fit's 1.5-liter is the smallest and least powerful of the bunch, it gets the best mileage -- 28 miles per gallon in the city, 34 m.p.g. on the highway.

And you can still tease a good deal of satisfying performance from its 109 horsepower with the help of the standard 5-speed manual transmission (a 5-speed automatic is available). The car's light weight and excellent steering response make it nimble and fun in corners although its 14-inch wheels register as a bit small.

The brakes -- front disc/rear drum, as is the case with the Versa and xD -- prudently and responsibly feature an antilock system (ABS) that allows you to steer around trouble even as you lay into the brake pedal with all your might.

Indeed, the Fit shines as a safety icon for the class, achieving 5-star driver and front-passenger crash-protection ratings. It also boasts a host of inflatable protection, including side-impact air bags for front occupants and head-protection curtains for all outboard passengers.

Standard Fit features include air conditioning, power windows and door locks, a 160-watt AM/FM/CD audio system, 60/40 split-folding rear seat, and body-color side mirrors and exterior door handles.

There are no options, not that you'll ache for any, and you'll still only be paying $14,585, including destination and handling.

Nissan Versa S

Starting at just $13,355, the Nissan Versa S offers the best value.

But don't be deceived. The Versa offers just about everything the others do, plus a few things they don't, like the added flexibility of a 6-speed manual transmission.

ABS is a necessary $250 option, but aside from that, the Versa S earns full marks as a class competitor, making it our $13,605 bargain recommendation.

In addition to being a standout for price, the Versa stands head and shoulders above the competition in terms of head and leg room. Rear-seat leg room is nothing shy of a blessing for adults thanks to the 102.4-inch wheelbase (versus 96.5 for the Honda Fit and 96.9 for the Scion xD), and when you're not hauling people, you can pack 50 cubic feet of cargo into the back. That's roomy.

Even though it looks sporty in a European hot-hatchback kind of way, the Versa isn't really a performance vehicle. The ride is pleasantly comfortable, but carving up corners and braking on a dime are not its strengths.

Working with the 6-speed manual, the 1.8-liter 122 h.p. engine performs as you'd expect from a commuter car -- think solid mid-pack performance with no outstanding virtues or vices -- including its fuel-economy (26 m.p.g., city/31 m.p.g. highway).

Even with its friendly price, the Versa S comes with plenty of comfort and convenience -- air conditioning, an AM/FM/CD sound system and 60/40 split fold-down rear seat are all standard.

If safety is your primary concern, the Versa will impress with front-seat-mounted side-impact and curtain-type air bags protecting both rows of outboard occupants from flying glass and debris in the case of a side-impact collision or rollover.

Unlike the Honda Fit, the Versa offers appealing option choices, including a rear roof spoiler ($250) and cruise control ($200), as well as some bundled appearance and features packages that you may want to invest in with the money you save buying a Versa in the first place.

Scion xD

The xD is an all-new-for-2008 replacement for the departed xA.

While it's not quite the wild rebel yell Scion was hoping for, it's a persuasive package for younger buyers.

For starters, it's a Scion, which means that you can pretty much accessorize it to within an inch of its life (and your checkbook's life too, for that matter). A cursory list of add-ons includes audio and navigation upgrades, XM or Sirius satellite radio, illuminated doorsills, B-pillar appliques and a carbon-fiber engine cover.

While unconventional, the Scion's exterior tries a little too hard to be hip. Thankfully, the interior tells a different story. The xD's insides are downright attractive with sport front seats and a terrific 160-watt 6-speaker AM/FM/CD stereo with iPod/MP3 playback capability.

As a performance beast, the xD holds its own, starting with its 128-h.p. 1.8-liter engine. Nicely matched to the 5-speed manual transmission, it moves the xD out with no trouble at all. The Scion's 16-inch wheels and tires also give it a comfortable confidence at higher speeds that the Honda and Nissan can't match.

The endowments of safety equipment on the xD are as good as those of the best in this class, and in two cases, better: The Scion provides emergency-sensing brakes assist as a standard enhancement to the ABS, and it's the only one of our three recommended hatchbacks to offer a traction and stability control system as an option ($650).

Granted, 2008 Scion xD pricing starts a nudge above $15,000 ($15,170 to be exact), but you don't need to add anything to feel like you're driving a finished automobile. Although, really, doesn't a carbon-fiber engine cover sound cool beyond cool?

By Richard Homan

Interest.com Contributing Editor

Have a question about cars or your finances? Ask us at editors@interest.com