The silver layer helps defrost and maintain temperature come summer or winter
Heated windscreens are nothing new, and you can easily spot one by peeking closely at the glass, looking for the wires zigzagging their way from side to side. They are effectively heating elements designed to prevent misting and icing, but they are old tech and Volkswagen thinks it has the answer with a new technical solution.
It basically uses the same principle of encrusting a heating element into the glass, but where the VW solution differs is in the nature of the metal and the way it’s shaped. Instead of having wires from side to side, this approach uses a conductive layer of silver to basically do the same thing.
Its advantage is that your view is perfectly clear with it in place, no longer slightly distorted as with the older approach. VW says it also blocks the sun in summer (by a claimed 60 percent), thus keeping the cabin cool. The manufacturer now offers it as an option on the Golf, Golf Sportsvan, Tiguan, Sharan, Passat and Passat Variant models, with prices starting at €340 (it goes up depending on model).