I second the Mazda 3 vote. If you could find a slightly used "S" 5 speed it should be right at $15K. Mazda really targeted the 3 series when they engineered this car and they hit the nail on the head.
We had an Audi A4 1.8T Quattro 5 speed that my wife loved - we got cold feet on the reliability and sold it. My wife and I both are amazed at how much the Mazda 3 feels like a German car at a fraction of the price.
I noticed that the Mazda 3 tested on crashtest.com did not have the otional side airbags. I'm sure that would have helped its score.
Check this out:
http://www.nynewsday.com/business/autocorner/ny-sstom0903,0,7060831.story?coll=nyc-header-extraheadlines