A quirky French SUV you've probably never heard of has a dashboard strikingly similar to the one in Tesla's Model 3 - take a look

Citroen

Tesla-like.

• The Tesla Model 3 is famous for its minimal interior and single, central touchscreen.
• Other automakers are moving the same direction as Tesla with their designs.
• They aren't common in the US, but I found a very Model 3-esque setup in a Citroën C4 Cactus in Rome.
• The Citroën C4 Cactus is a quirky French compact crossover SUV.

The reaction that a lot of people have when they first slip into a Tesla Model 3 is one of mild shock that there isn't an instrument panel, nor much in the way of controls - just a large, central touchscreen that pretty much runs everything.

Revolutionary? Sort of.

Minimizing visual instrumentation and in-car controls isn't new, but Tesla has taken it to an extreme.

Other automakers have also taken the plunge. I was reminded of this recently when I visited Rome, rented a car, and wound up at a Citroën dealership. Citroën, in case you were wondering, is a French carmaker that's been around since the early 20th century and has created some iconic vehicles, most famously the DS, which arrived in the mid-1950s.

Read more: I drove a $29,000 Honda Insight hybrid to see how it stacks up against the mighty Toyota Prius - here's what I discovered.

Citroën now sells a variety of modern vehicles, and one of the more interesting is the C4 Cactus, a small crossover SUV that has rubbery pillows on its sides, intended to alleviate scratches.

I didn't rent one of these in Italy, but while I was waiting around at the dealership for a ride to an airport hotel after I returned my car, I checked out a bunch of vehicles I never see in the US. The C4 Cactus stood out. And it wasn't just because of the padded sides.

Here's a closer look at the C4 Cactus and other Tesla Model 3-esque minimalist interiors.

Get the latest Tesla stock price here.