Heated Windscreen

[aab203]

I've got the winter plus pack as part of a T8 I have just ordered. When I was in the showroom / test drive I noticed the front windscreen had those little heater wires (don't know the technical name).

I am wondering whether they are distracting whilst driving, or in certain conditions they make it harder to focus on the road (e.g. any sunlight reflection)?

For those who have it on their cars, what are your thoughts? Does the presence of those lines become less noticeable after time (I don't mean in the literal sense, but in that you get used to it)?

Thanks!

[xc60ed]

I've had the heated windscreen on my last 2 Volvos and wouldn't be without it. You can notice the wires when the light catches at certain angles but I never find it distracting and most of the time I don't notice them at all now. It is absolutely brilliant in winter and clears the screen very quickly. I would definitely spec it.

[PerfidiousAlgernon]

Originally Posted by xc60ed

I've had the heated windscreen on my last 2 Volvos and wouldn't be without it. You can notice the wires when the light catches at certain angles but I never find it distracting and most of the time I don't notice them at all now. It is absolutely brilliant in winter and clears the screen very quickly. I would definitely spec it.

Ditto. Ditto.

[shortword]

I have a T8 R-Design with front heated windscreen. It is only barely noticable at certain light levels. Most of the time I don't notice it. I have previously had it on a few cars and it's typically not noticeable at all.

No need to worry, at all. You have made the right choice.

As an aside, mention to your dealer that the T8 has no charge timer and ask him to check with Volvo if it's in the works. Bloody frustrating.

[neon]

Originally Posted by xc60ed

I've had the heated windscreen on my last 2 Volvos and wouldn't be without it. You can notice the wires when the light catches at certain angles but I never find it distracting and most of the time I don't notice them at all now. It is absolutely brilliant in winter and clears the screen very quickly. I would definitely spec it.

Had this on my Ford about 20 years ago as I think they had the patent and have only just released it for other car makers. I really missed it when I started buying Mercedes. I found it very good with frosted windscreen and as a demister and you do not notice the little wires unless you keep looking for them from my experience.
Have not included it in my build as I want the HUD. Gone for the auxiliary heater instead.

[shortword]

Originally Posted by neon

Had this on my Ford about 20 years ago as I think they had the patent and have only just released it for other car makers. I really missed it when I started buying Mercedes. I found it very good with frosted windscreen and as a demister and you do not notice the little wires unless you keep looking for them from my experience.
Have not included it in my build as I want the HUD. Gone for the auxiliary heater instead.

Just a note on this, the T8 comes with the aux heater, as you may often start on pure battery as this is the default. There are preconditioning timers for the aux heater to have the car brought up to temp. Within this you can set the front and rear window heaters to come on. As it's summer here all I've done now is set the car to 20C for 07:30 every week day morning and it's working really well. Looking forward to the winter months when it's cold and frosty and getting into a nice warm car (including heated seats!)

[aab203]

Thanks for all the replies. Looks like I am over thinking it

Originally Posted by shortword

I
As an aside, mention to your dealer that the T8 has no charge timer and ask him to check with Volvo if it's in the works. Bloody frustrating.

I'm not exactly sure what this is? Do you mean the car doesn't tell you how long left before full charge?

[neon]

Originally Posted by shortword

Just a note on this, the T8 comes with the aux heater, as you may often start on pure battery as this is the default. There are preconditioning timers for the aux heater to have the car brought up to temp. Within this you can set the front and rear window heaters to come on. As it's summer here all I've done now is set the car to 20C for 07:30 every week day morning and it's working really well. Looking forward to the winter months when it's cold and frosty and getting into a nice warm car (including heated seats!)

Mine is going to be an Inscription with the auxiliary heater option available in the UK.

[FooMan]

Originally Posted by shortword

I have a T8 R-Design with front heated windscreen. It is only barely noticable at certain light levels. Most of the time I don't notice it. I have previously had it on a few cars and it's typically not noticeable at all.

No need to worry, at all. You have made the right choice.

Same here.

[Carl Sberglager]

Originally Posted by xc60ed

I've had the heated windscreen on my last 2 Volvos and wouldn't be without it. You can notice the wires when the light catches at certain angles but I never find it distracting and most of the time I don't notice them at all now. It is absolutely brilliant in winter and clears the screen very quickly. I would definitely spec it.

Agree, have it on the XC90 and V40, is a must have for winter and barely noticeable when driving.