Hmm well, we'll just have to agree to differ as far as the looks are concerned. I still think it's a dead ringer for the Fiat. Same overall body shape and stance on the road from most angles IMO but no matter.
I've no doubt the Fiesta is a better car, especially to drive. Fords have come a long way since the horrors of the (late) Escort period. They actually have civilised engines in them now. Every one I've driven in the last 10 years, (3 incarnations of Fiesta and a Focus), has been "nice" to drive. Though the Focus feels far too much like an MPV inside for my tastes.
What I was going to say: at least the Matiz has 3 stars EuroNCAP. (The Seicento has 1 and a half :schwitz
And, back then, we paid it the equivalent of 8500£, and it is the full optional model (2 airbags, abs+ebd, pretensioners, A/C, electric windows, split rear seat, power steering, radio-cassette player). The Seicento for the same price didn't have almost all the optional I mentioned and it was 3-doors.
And remamber that the Seicento (600) is nothing more than a restyled Cinquecento (500), a car concieved in the 80s and produced since 1991.