I find it hard to believe you weigh 100kgs....
So lemme get this straight. You live in a place that has dozens of mouth-watering Euro stuff denied to this Hillbilly land of yutzes, and didn't bother checking any out (Astra aside)?
Peugeot 307 is supposed to be the best-handler in its class, and there's of course the Golf, not to mention the strange Citroen C4. I'd say try the Volvo V50, but it's a rather dour drive. The new Mazda3's just around the corner so maybe you can luck up on a run-out special!
Screw that. Just buy an Impreza or Liberty. BTW why the Hell aren't they called "Legacy" in Oz like everywhere else?