Here we go again with the spiking gasoline prices.

Oil has hit new highs in the upper $90s recently and is flirting with the $100 mark.

The result is that the easing of gas prices we saw during summer and early fall is over, and prices are rising again. This time, they probably will go above $3 and stay there, and even might reach as high as $4 if oil continues its climb.

That's again increasing the demand for small, fuel-efficient vehicles, and the automakers are responding with more — and better — choices.

Coming in January, for instance, is the U.S. version of the popular European

Smart ForTwo, an 8-foot, 8-inch long, two-seat micro car from Mercedes-Benz that will get up to 40 miles per gallon on the highway from its 70-horsepower, three-cylinder engine.

Prices will range from just under $12,000 for the basic model without air conditioning, to about $17,000 for the cabriolet (convertible) version.

The Smart is aimed at urban trendsetters who are expected to use it for in-town commuting.

You don't have to go that drastically small to get good fuel economy, though. There are some quite practical cars on the market that offer great mileage as well as good utility.

To get better fuel economy, though, you will have to go smaller.

The reason is simple: The more weight, the more gasoline it takes to move a vehicle.

Some of the new small cars are quite stylish, such as the Mini Cooper, the smallest car that can hold more than two people. It's surprisingly roomy as well.

And like the Smart, the Mini has styling that turns heads wherever it goes.

EPA ratings are 23 city/32 highway with the manual transmission, and 22/30 with automatic.

Beyond those two cars, though, there is a whole crop of small vehicles on the market this year that are the polar opposites of the big SUVs.

The challenge is persuading consumers to give up their big SUVs to switch to small cars.

That's getting easier as the bigger vehicles increasingly take some of the family grocery money at the gas pumps.

Among the newest small cars are three subcompact lines from Nissan, Toyota and Honda. But they, too, are roomier than most of us would expect. They are the Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa and Honda Fit.

They join several other popular gas-sipping subcompacts on the market, including the Chevrolet Aveo and Kia Rio, both of which come from South Korea, and the Suzuki SX4, introduced in hatchback form for 2007 but joined by a sedan version for 2008.

The Yaris comes in two versions: a three-door hatchback and a four-door sedan.

The three-door, called the Liftback, is the second generation of the Yaris that has been sold in markets outside the United States for several years. The sedan, which is on a different chassis, is new.

Both Yaris models come with a 1.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine rated at 106 horsepower and 103 foot-pounds of torque. It's offered with either a four-speed automatic or five-speed manual gearbox. The engine is the same one used in the 2006 Scion xA and xB models.

The sedan is a completely different car, created by a different set of designers and engineers. It's even on a completely different chassis from that of the Liftback. It's 19 inches longer than the hatchback and very roomy for a car that would be considered a subcompact.

The big advantage of the Yaris — besides its entry-level prices, just under $12,000 — is its fuel economy: 34 miles per gallon in the city and 40 on the highway with the manual transmission, and 34 city/39 highway with the automatic.

For 2008, a five-door version of the Yaris has arrived, as well. But this one doesn't carry the Yaris name. Instead, it's marketed as the Scion xD, a small wagon that replaced the discontinued xA.

It comes with a larger engine, however — the 128-horsepower from the base Corolla — so is a bit peppier than the Yaris and the xA.

The subcompact Nissan Versa hatchback and sedan are smaller than the compact Sentra, which had been the smallest vehicle in Nissan's U.S. lineup. The hatchback version began arriving in dealerships last year, and now a sedan version is available.

The Versa has a starting price of about $13,000. The car's name reflects the versatile space provided by the roomy interior and cargo area of these cars,

Nissan said. They are built in Mexico in the same plant that builds the Sentra.

All Versa models come with a 1.8-liter, double-overhead-cam, inline four-cylinder engine, rated at 120 horsepower and 125 foot-pounds of torque.

EPA ratings for the Versa are as high as 27 mpg city/33 highway with the optional Nissan Xtronic continuously variable automatic transmission. With the manual gearbox, the ratings are 26 city/31 highway.

Honda's entry in this class, the Fit, went on sale in spring 2006. Sold in other markets as the Jazz, it comes only as a five-door hatchback; no sedan version is offered.

Fit prices start under $14,000. Aimed at hip young buyers, the Fit has an Apple iPod music link and has lots of standard features — unusual for a car of this class and size. A 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine, connected to a five-speed manual transmission or a five-speed automatic with optional steering-wheel-mounted shift paddles, allowing clutchless manual shifting, powers the car.

This engine is rated at 109 horsepower and is EPA rated at 28 city/34 highway with the manual, and 27/34 with the automatic.

Suzuki's SX4 models start just under $16,000. They're powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine rated at 143 horsepower and 136 foot-pounds of torque.

The engine is coupled to either a five-speed manual gearbox or a four-speed automatic ($1,000 extra). The sedan has the best mileage ratings — 23 city/31 highway. The wagon is rated at 23/30.

Other small cars offer fuel economy of 30 mpg or above for highway driving — along with good prices and comfortable interiors.

They include the Toyota Corolla, Toyota Matrix, Pontiac Vibe, Honda Civic, Sentra, Mazda 3, Mitsubishi Lancer, Ford Focus, Chevrolet Cobalt, Hyundai Elantra and Accent, Kia Rio and Spectra.

Even some of the popular midsize sedans have highway mileage of 30 or better, including the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Kia Optima, Hyundai Sonata, Pontiac G6, Chevrolet Malibu, Dodge Avenger and Chrysler Sebring.

To check the EPA ratings of any vehicle you might be considering, visit the EPA's special Web site, www.fueleconomy.gov.

Best fuel economy

Here are the most fuel-efficient 2008 cars (hybrids not included), with their best EPA fuel-economy ratings shown (miles per gallon city/highway).

Toyota Yaris 34/40

Smart ForTwo 33/40

Toyota Corolla 28/37

Honda Fit 28/34

Honda Civic 25/36

Kia Rio 25/35

Ford Focus 24/35

Chevrolet Aveo 24/34

Scion xD 27/33

Toyota Matrix 26/33

Pontiac Vibe 26/33

Nissan Versa 27/33

Nissan Sentra 25/33

Hyundai Elantra 25/33

Chevrolet Cobalt 24/33

Pontiac G5 24/33

Hyundai Accent 24/33

Mazda 3 24/32

Kia Spectra 24/32

Mini Cooper 23/32

Suzuki SX4 23/31

Saturn Aura 22/30

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (www.fueleconomy.gov).