What kind of riding do you expect to do? Mostly roads? Roads mixed with some trails?

My husband wanted a bike for mostly paved trails, but also some hardpacked dirt trails, so he looked at hybrids. He's close to your size, and he test rode and liked both the Specialized Crosstrail and the Giant Roam 1. We both got Giant Roams because we liked how they rode, and they offered more upgraded components for a more competitive price than some others. We've been very happy with them.