Yeah, big difference....there's a significant space (bed) between rear window and the road, not an apples to apples comparison at all. When the rear glass is actually the rear of the car, it has the potential to get dirty to the point of not being able to see out of it when driving in crappy weather. (Mid-West winters with salty roads & slush)
I don't on any of my current vehicles. But R2 is not shaped like a sedan. Rear up-spray collects on the rear windows of SUV-shaped vehicles. Having the more upright glass closer to the rear end is what makes a rear wiper preferred. The more teardrop shape of a sedan, combined with its rear window being further from the rear end of the vehicle, means airflow alone clears the back glass.
Hang around long enough and you'll notice that's pretty much all a handful of members do.
The rear up-spray is mostly the product of aerodynamics and the turbulent vacuum, or low pressure area, directly behind a boxy shape. This may not be as big of a deal with the R2 because they actually did wind tunnel and CFD work to improve aerodynamics and reduce drag. The rear of the R2 might still get dirty, but it likely won't be as bad as other 2-box designs that were never built with aero considerations. Cd figures for most cars can be looked up via web search. The R2 is said to be close to 0.3 (per Jeff Hammoud). And that is damn good for a 2-box. Previous generation Prius is said to be about 0.27 (same as the R35 GT-R). And unlike other cars, the R2's rear glass is recessed, not flush-mount. I suspect the R2's rear wiper won't be used as much and all this speculation and arguing is just fodder. When I lived in the Willamette Valley, I owned cars and SUVs with rear wipers—including a AWD DSM that was built in the same Normal IL plant—long before cars had cameras and long before OEMs paid much attention to aero and efficiency. The only times I used their rear wipers was when backing up in heavy rain. Or the rear window had leaves stuck on them. Or when my OCD compelled me to wipe the rear glass.
Ask the Ioniq5 how that worked out.
Just when I thought there was nothing lower than a used car salesman! Setting new low now.....
You are wrong, the baby was the result of a weekend motivator speaker and a Nigerian Prince.
The R1S wiper is similar. The R2 wiper has to work with a completely disappearing drop window. They both work for rain, dirt, and mud that builds up on SUV and Hatchback rear windows. Yes, the wiper only clears a small part of the window. Is the rear window wiper even necessary? Most of the vehicles that i have driven didnt have rear wipers. Some didn't have usable rear windows. What about using the wing mirrors, the cameras, and the proximity sensors.
