I never thought I'd say this 6 years ago, but my Mazda 3s (the one with the 2.3l engine) is a pretty fun to drive car. Mind you, I owned a 04 Mach 1, an 06 GTO, 08 Lexus IS, and even though this doesn't have the same throw you to the back of your seat driving, it's light, its fun to drive fast around on ramps, and I get anywhere between 29-35 combined driving depending on my commute. Best part, it's pretty cheap to maintain. I also hear Fit sports are fairly fun to drive with a manual, but I can't attest to that.