I bought the 1.4 Petrol model back in July 2006. To be honest, I was very apprehensive to buy a american make purely because the Japaneese cars have a better feedback, good resale value and arguabally better fuel economy. Somehow I was never a big fan of Honda City and other models were out of my budget. So after test driving City, Aveo and a few more cars, I went for Fiesta.
I always enjoyed the peppy pick up, super air conditioning and the comfortable driving experience. In these pittifull delhi roads, I never felt stuck or cramped in the Fiesta. I took it for long drives to Himachal and Rajasthan, and it always passed all my expectations. The service center is very responsive, they keep me well informed and have maintanined the the brand new feel of the car.
9 months later I went to the US for 1 year. There I drove Brand new Chevy Malibu, Toyota Corrola, Camry, and Mazda. All cars has automatic transmision which was great and add on that the incredible trafic sense and road conditions in US.. I enjoyed my driving times. But now when I am back in India and driving my Ford, the car seems to again pass all my expectations. Its smooth, the engine is still noiseless (i have done 24000 Kms), the air conditioning is amazing and the fuel economy is the same.
Verdict - You will always wish you get more fuel economy ( I get 13 KMS to a Ltr with AC), appart from that I also wish that it was a little more spacious from inside (specially the back seat leg room). Other than that, the car is a top performer. I dont really care about the resale value because I aint selling this one. Go for it if you are conteplating.