It's true none of them are performace cars, but..........
By far the Mazda 3 SP23 is the best of the smaller car range, followed by the Holden Astra then the Subaru RX.
Don't even both looking at the Honda Jazz that just ridiculous to compare them to any of these cars and the pulasr is good without being outstanding in any field. It's just not the best valued samller car on the market.
Nobody can really tell you what car to buy, it's really a personal desicion. I myself am in the middle of getting a new car. I am currently driving my g/f Astra. It's a very good little car and does the job it was made to do, it's economical and has the power to get to the speed limit and can handle a full load of passengers with the air-con on full and still doens't struggle.
Having said that the SP23 is the most sporty version of any car in that range and as such is head and shoulders above the rest. No real cons about the car, the fact it's front wheel drive is basically irrelivant because not many car manafacures make small cars that are rear wheel drive. This just might be your preference.
If you want a car to make noise get either a Mazda 6 or Holden Vectra they both use small engines still but slightly better on the models down and also come with alot more for your money and they also come in under 30k.
Good Luck