A small straight 6(1.4l) with direct injection, gear driven camshaft, and throttless engine control driving an 8 speed manual and twin plate kevlar clutch in a subcompact wagon, much like my dearly missed xB. That car had a light enough pedal that it could squirt through traffic without making it a chore on the left knee. A multiple clutch would lighten the pedal even more. Hybrid with capacitor storage would be nice but it has to be a manual. Honda did it so it can be done. Power going to the rear with a dedion rear suspension mounted in a rear subframe so I can tow with it.
And I liked the cathedral like head room and the uncompromised structural rigidity so no sunroof for me. In fact give me the fold flat seat arrangement of the Honda Fit. Continuously variable seat adjustments would be nice but not critical. Speaking of the fit, I felt a little unprotected without side airbag.
Give me electric power steering with fast ratio and it should shut down completely at high speed. Why would anyone want to be able to steer with one finger and not know exactly what their tires are up to while their lives are depended on them at 70 mph? I want disc brakes with no dead travel in the pedal.
Power everything except seats would be nice. But I don’t need auto climate control. I want to adjust my temp just by groping the knobs instead of looking at them while moving. I liked the instrument panel in the middle, as it opened up space for wallet, phone, gps, etc. Instantaneous mileage read out would be nice.