Hard to see? In my experience no.
All of my cars have excellent outward visibility (measured in degrees, the higher the number the better. Bear in mind that they are older designs (‘93, and two ‘96s) The greenhouses in all have thin roof pillars and expansive stretches of glass.
Also, when my car’s interiors were designed the hip point (The place good designers start when configuring a car’s cockpit was carefully considered). Proper hip point location influences visibility, driver comfort and stability and lowers the car’s center of mass. I’ve driven many cars in my line of work and it’s obvious many manufacturers aren’t giving this crucial point much consideration, at least not lately.
With a correct seating position and properly adjusted mirrors I get very good visibility without the need to lean forward and with a minimum of head turning. http://www.caranddriver.com/features/how-to-adjust-your-mirrors-to-avoid-blind-spots
US Federal regulations for newer cars is chipping away at this advantage. Roof pillars have become annoyingly thick in order to house airbags, and more recently because of a new regulation that requires that a car’s roof be able to support the weight of a car in the case of a rollover. (Nobody seems to care that this raises a car’s center of mass and compromises performance in the worst possible way).
The upshot of all this? The Fed has given up on the notion of active safety and is gradually turning cars into rolling vaults for accident prone, email reading, reflex challenged idiot commuters.
Drive well designed hardware, employ good seating and mirror adjustments, put down that latte and good luck.