Need advice choosing a playful hardtail

Hello!

I'm in the wonderful dilemma of not knowing what bike to go after. Looking for a fun, playful hardtail to ride both around local XC style trails with friends but something capable in the mountains.

Budget: <=$1200 – 1400, broke guy right out of college

I previously bought a Kona Honzo ESD for an insane price and rode it for a while before selling it. I'm 5'7-5'8 and their medium felt massive on me. I'm more interested in something with 27.5" wheels that feels really playful. I love to hop and throw the bike around on local chill XC-style trails. I want it to be nimble and playful when messing around with friends but not feel terrible on chunky downhill terrain when I make it out to the mountains. The ESD was a little too downhill-oriented for me, definitely don't need something with a 63-degree HT angle.

I found someone selling a 2020 Nukeproof Scout 275 Expert (asking $1200-$1300) in great shape and wanted to see if anyone has personal experience with the bike and what they've thought about their sizing (don't want to drive a few hours to pick it up to find out its way too big, looking at a medium). The wheelbase isn't much shorter than the ESD so I'm a little conflicted.

I'm intermediate-ish when it comes to riding and can handle my own, wanting to work on hopping/jumps on the trail.

Let me know what you think, also more than happy to take suggestions on other bikes to look out for – I'm mostly at the will of the facebook marketplace/pinkbike gods for what shows up. Thanks!

Specs: https://www.vitalmtb.com/product/guide/Bikes,3/Nukeproof/Scout-275-Expert,27545