Then also test drive the Fiesta if the 208 already impressed you. They have different strong points.

Actually, amongst Japanese cars the Mazda 2 is probably the best in terms of giving you a conti feel, but it is also the least common Japanese B segment car (besides the Swift), which means maintenance and spare parts won't be that good either. The Fiesta is already relatively successful, the 208 looks like it will be too.

Thus I would GUESS that there is not much difference between owning these cars.

Generally speaking though a conti will be more composed at high speeds/easier and less dangerous to drive, it will also be much safer (both by preventing accidents and by giving much better protection in the case of an accident). Japanese cars tend to be more focused on being cheaper to produce (less safety equipment = more profits for the manufacturer) and on comfort through a soft suspension. They IMHO tend to be less refined...

Btw., fuel consumption is EXTREMELY important to Europeans. Remember they pay around RM 6-7 per liter. Yes, they may earn more, but it's still a very important factor.

In JB I also see more Fiestas than 2s, though there are more and more Mazdas overall.

B segment cars usually don't drop nearly as much as C or worse yet D segment cars. The Fiesta seems quite stable in terms of RV? Also the 308 was hurt by gearbox problems with earlier batches, so that drives down RV too. IMHO it is too early to predict. But if I had to, I'd say for the time being (until people get more safety conscious) it won't be as good as Vios and City (though the current Vios may drop quite a bit when the facelift/new model (whatever it is) arrives). But RV probably won't be horrible, perhaps on a similar level to the Fiesta, 2, ... It is a rather desirable car after all, people are digging it.

Probably, and so may the Fiesta (though the current one is using an older engine... the next Fiesta (soon?) may get a 1.0 that should be quite frugal.
http://paultan.org/2013/03/26/ford-fiesta-...h-1-0-ecoboost/
(The Fiesta in Malaysia is imported from Thailand, so if they get the 1.0 Ecoboost we'll probably get it too...).