Fuel-Efficient Versatile Commuter

I'm 6'-2" and find the Fit to be fine. Sure a few folks complain about seats, but most people don't have a problem with them. It would be a good idea to check them out, though. The hatch Yarises you might have a hard time fitting into; the sedan gives you more leg room. Either way, the Yarises give better mpg than the Fit (they have taller gear ratios) but have less interior volume. The M2 is small with not the best mpg, but for a good deal, maybe it would be worth it. The M3 is a little larger; more powerful; a little worse milage; not really more space than the Fit. And the Mazdas will probably rust sooner if that's a concern where you are.

The Yarises give you ESC in 2010; whereas only 2012 for the Fit if you're at all concerned for safety.

None of the cars you're looking at are bad choices. Test any of these models you can find a good deal on and see what happens. The Yaris would minimize your cost of ownership, probably followed by the Fit/Mazda2 then the Mazda3.

For the sake of full disclosure, I will tell you that I own a 2006 Mazda3 s 5-door (manual) that I purchased new in 12/2005. I am very fond of Mazda vehicles (also had a 2012 CX-9 GT that I sold to my parents when I leased a new Volvo S60 earlier this year). But the Mazda3 is a great car. Fuel economy is the only (minor) complaint i have after almost 10 years of owning the car. I average 23-25mpg overall with the 2.3L and 5-speed manual.

Mazda only offered the 5-door with the larger 2.3L engine thru 2009 and 2.5L in 2010-2011. They finally introducated a 2.0L version of the 5-door in 2012, but those are going to be out of your price range.

But I have three alternatives that fit your criteria and they are all cars I would purchase for myself.

1- 2010-2012 Suzuki SX4 Sportback 6MT- the Sportback has an aero body kit, 17" alloys, sport suspension, fog lamps, stability control and a 6-speed manual standard. The look good and are very nice to drive with a peppy 150hp 2.0L and 6-speed manual. They're also very well built and reliable. I found two identical silver 2011 models on Cars.com wiith clean Carfax reports which include maintenance records. One has 77k miles (in CT) and is priced at $8995. The other has 52k miles and is $9500 in IL.

2- 2009-2011 Nissan Versa S 5-door- I have always found the 1st-gen Versa 5-door to be an attractive, well-packaged and nice driving small car. It feels like a much larger car from the inside and has some nice features not expected in this class. A quick search on Cars.com turned up more than a dozen 2009-2010 models with 40-70k miles and CPO warranty for well under $9k!

3- 2009-2010 Toyota Matrix- The base and S models feel underpowered with a 132hp 1.8L, even with the 5-speed manual. The XRS with a 158hp 2.4L is a much different story and has plenty of power. But finding an XRS manual isn't an easy task, especially for $9k or less.

BTW, I am 6'2" (34" inch inseam, so I am rather 'long-legged') and I weigh about 255lbs....I'm a pretty big guy. I have driven all three of the cars above and haven't had any height/size-related problems. I seem to remember that the SX4 has a manual seat high adjustment, like my Mazda3, which I keep set as low as it wil go. I have plenty of head room, especially in the SX4.
Good Luck!

He might have excluded the 2008 because it was the second year of the car, and those were still somewhat glitchy. Looking at our reliability stats, reliability is about equally middling for the 2007, 2008, and 2009. Of greatest concern: we have had some reports of issues with the CVT transmission in Nissans from these years. Most are reliable, they're just a bit of a gamble.

Yes, basically a more attractive Matrix. Should be reliable, and plenty of passenger and cargo space.