Don’t you just love the little things? When I drive a new car it always seems that the small items either delight or infuriate me. I can (sometimes) forgive a car’s unflattering body lines if something else about the ride is innovative or just downright awesome. Every so often you get little gifts, like the Ford Fiesta. I’m not a huge fan of the exterior, but its other potential characteristics — Direct Injection + Turbocharging! — are seriously making me reconsider my personal yardstick, the VW GTI. I should point out that both the Fiesta and GTI were designed in Europe. Hit the jump for a car that I wish was offered in the good ole’ US of A — or at least shamelessly copied.

Behold, the Citroen C3! Impressive? Not at first glance, perhaps. Just another compact Euro hatch. But the diamonds are in the details. Check the gallery and you can see for yourself more closely what I mean. The refined and upscale looking gauges. The modern and well laid out dash. Simple and sporty steering wheel. And my personal favorite — ultra-giganto (new automotive term/you heard it here first) panoramic windshield.

I’ve always loved glass lids — it helps keep a small car from feeling too small, and certainly allows for a more enjoyable ride when the scenery is worth drinking in. This is the kind of design touch I’d like to see adopted across all hatchbacks, where the backseat more often than not feels like a dark cave as opposed to a passenger paradise. Call me crazy, but I’d probably buy this car just for the windshield alone. Now if if came in a sport tuned package… a man can dream.