I was shopping in the same price segment mid-2015. Mazda 2 didn't exist in the US at that point.
Checked out the Fit, realized it was designed for short people. Checked out the Cruze/Spark, realized they were designed for even shorter people. Versa Note and Mirage were non-starters based on reviews. Tried to get a Golf in my price range, but wanted an auto. VW says NOPE. Looked at the Fiesta, probably should have looked harder, but it just didn't appeal to me for some reason (probably because I couldn't get the Ecoboost. lol).
Checked out the Soul Base, very roomy. Also under-powered for highway merging/passing for my taste. Didn't try the Soul+, but probably would have been better. Tried to get the dealer to come down a bit on a Juke, dealer said "nope, you pay sticker or don't pay at all", so I walked. Ended up with an Accent Sport (interior alone is worth the price difference from the base model). Getting ~30MPG per tank (roughly 60/40 hwy/city). I would say the Accent is arguably one of the best values in the price range.
So far (since June-ish when I got it), my only regret with the Accent Sport is that it's not a Juke. lol