The Car Talk guys Click and Clack recommended and even owned the Fiat 500L. They said that it was like their well regarded Dodge Colt Vista. 

from those suggestion above, no wonder most people says that people in USA have no interest in small cars at all. Here below are my suggestion which is literally small car that even smaller than Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris

I had an early 10's RAV4, and it would have been the exact opposite of what he needs (I’m 6'3" - but evenly proportional torso to legs.) The RAV4 had plenty of headroom (no sunroof) but was tight on the legs.

The best way to get more headroom is to seek out a non-sunroof model of a vehicle that offers them both with and without. It’s usually good for an extra inch or two. (Ours is an ‘18 Crosstrek, which also sits higher than the Impreza, but gets similar high-20s mileage.)

Love that all the tall guys are arriving with options... this is always something that has extended my car searches, and I’m noting all of the ones I haven’t looked at myself. Sales guys never seem to understand... I say I need a car I can fit in, and they say “we have this nice Corolla here...”

i’m 6'3, and all torso with a big melon head, so i sit taller than generally 99.5 % of the population.

I had several inches of headroom in my old beloved Honda Element, and maybe an inch or two in my 2016 accord. I actually have a few inches of headroom in my girlfriends Honda Fit too, but im not sure if long legs…

I’m 6'5". I drove a Kia Soul for a bit with had great headroom (no sunroof) and legroom. I sat in a Jeep Renegade (no sunroof) and it was suprisingly comfy.

When I’m looking at vehicles, I pretty rule out anything that has a sunroof. Cars I’ve owned through the years that I fit decently in:

I have one with a manual and it really is a fantastic car. And the headroom and legroom, front and rear, is excellent!

I would suggest trying a Kia Soul.  Plenty to choose from from base models to lots of features.  Tons of headroom and leg room too plus a higher seating position that a Rio.  Decent fuel economy too.  Checks all of your boxes!

I am so confused...

‘’ and I find driver space doesn’t have anything to do with car size. ‘’ and later on; ‘’ I suspect this puts me in CRV or RAV4 range, but I’m concerned about driver space. ‘’

car size does indeed affect driver space. The wider the car/platform, the more driver space you can have.

anyways, correct…

Its mid size so depends on your definition of massive but the 10th gen Accords interior has a massive amount of room.

I don’t know how you fit in a Mazda3 unless you’re built like Cotton Hill and don’t have shins - I’m 6' even and have to put the seat in mine as far back as it goes.   I can’t imagine having longer legs and trying to drive it for any length of time.

You should consider a mini countryman, it seems to fit all your requirements and it has half an inch more headroom than the rio.

None of those are small cars, what you want is a MINI Cooper! Believe it or not they have plenty of room inside for tall folks, and a good late model one will fit your budget. Not to mention, they are a ton o fun to drive!

A 1978 Honda Civic? Worked for Hightower, with mods

My first thought was Niro! Great tom, I have a ‘23 Niro SX HEV, great car plenty of room, and drives better than it should, so far very reliable.

I’m 6'6", mostly leg. I had a Scion xB for 9 years. Your legs will go around the steering wheel, but there is enough space between the wheel and the radio that it won’t impair movement. The seating is high enough up that getting in and out won’t aggravate your back. In 9 years I did nothing but regular maintenance.

Used Aztek! I had a co-worker who was 4'11" and her husband is 6'11". The only car they found that they could both comfortably drive was an Aztek. I see them around town and they still have it in 2024.

I’d hate to recommend a crossover, but the Mazda CX-30 might be worth considering. I’m of similar height and build and fit in my Mazda3 with room to spare, and the non-turbo, FWD models are right around your budget used/CPO and get as near as makes no difference 30 MPG.

Live like there is no tomorrow! It’s so fucking underappreciated. Well, okay, it’s pretty weird looking, and nobody should mention reliability, and should avoid DDCT, but it’s surprisingly useful and surprisingly good to drive, especially with manual. Someday, it will be so fucking cool (someday, when hell freezes…