Hyundai Ioniq 5: That's why the Stromer lacks this important component

Created: 01/25/2022, 08:13

By: Marcus Efler

Thrift versus security?

With the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6, no rear window wiper guarantees a clear view to the rear - which is mainly because they are electric cars.

Seoul (South Korea) - With the Ioniq 5 and its technology brother Kia EV6, the Korean car company Hyundai has made a big splash: Thanks to fast 800-volt charging technology, powerful drive, lots of space in the interior and the large display, it convinces many customers and Car testers - some of them even consider it the best electric car in its class.

Only slowly did the lack of an actually widespread component come into focus: "Has nobody actually missed the rear window wiper in the Ioniq 5?", User victor007 asked timidly in the car portal "motor-talk" last autumn: "I had heavy rain during a test drive and could hardly see anything to the rear".

Some reply posts confirmed his experience, others dismissed it.

(Electric cars in a uniform design: That's why so many Stromer come as SUVs)

Hyundai Ioniq 5: That's why the Stromer lacks this important component

In fact, unlike sedans with notchbacks, SUVs.

Station wagons and hatchbacks, the rear wiper is actually an indispensable component to ensure a clear view: The rear window has to be cleaned of dirty deposits again and again in bad weather.

Roof spoiler instead of rear wiper: Hyundai's decision is controversial.

© Dino Eisele/Hyundai

Nevertheless, Hyundai and Kia do without it in their new high-tech electric vehicles.

Actually a rather simple and manageable problem with summer downpours.

But in winter, the complaints increase, because slush blocks the view to the rear.

"Without a windscreen wiper or windscreen washer system, the rear window became an opaque surface that forms a view like a sheet of metal," says 24auto.de in a US portal.

(Snow in Ford Bronco - the cause is quickly found)

Hyundai Ioniq 5: "Like the 50s"

In fact, American customers in particular are complaining about the missing part, while German drivers are divided.

Some point to the side mirrors and the ability to activate the rear camera.

Others post videos in which they laboriously rub the rear window with a rag: "Like in the 50s," complains one.

(Car innovations 2022: These electric models are rolling to the dealers)

Hyundai Ioniq 5: roof spoiler to replace the wiper

But why do Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 have to do without this standard component? After all, the costs would be negligible if a simple wiper were to go into production as a series. But with the Stromern it's about every kilometer of range. And on the one hand, a wiper motor only nibbles a little when used frequently or even continuously, but then it does measurably when it comes to the energy supply. More important, however, is the aerodynamics: this inconspicuous part has always driven designers to despair because it creates turbulence in the rear area, which impairs the drag coefficient.

In the Korean models, instead of the wiper, the roof edge spoiler is supposed to keep the window clear by directing the airflow so cleverly that it sucks away moisture and dirt.

However, this works better at high speeds than in city traffic, for example – and of course not as well as the good old concept of the mechanical wiper.