Dunno, I have an SX and don't notice anything fancy about it..From the brochure specs, I've read that the SX comes with a feature called Solar Control Glass. Eh? What exactly is this? My guess is that it's UV protected, but then again, I thought all vehicle glass has been UV protected for... ever.
Anyone else have an idea?... btw, my dealer doesn't.
Nope, none of the models come with tinted glass.... it is just to help with heat absorption.
All vehicle glass manufactured from about 1992-onwards is tinted, slightly. Bar the front windscreen.
... sounds good - but again, I thought most windshield glass already did this.
When I complained about it (hey, I can do it myself for $50 - and get to choose the darkness of the tint) and also mentioned the Solar Control Glass the SX is supposed to come standard with... he mysteriously dropped the charge. Hmmm...I can confirm that the SX does not come with tinted windows (of any level that is noticeable). I had mine done included in the price of the car so not sure how much it was, but for reference on tinting prices: I had my mazda5 done with 18% for $225, and it has a few more windows than my Rio, my guess is the Rio would cost maybe 150-175 at a tinting place. To pay $500 would be the biggest RIPOFF EVER!!!!Taken from the above link (thanks LordHelmet): ... sounds good - but again, I thought most windshield glass already did this.
And then I also thought Solar Control Glass it might just be Kia's way of describing tinted windows. Heck, only the top-level SX is supposed to come with it, so it is plausible. But I wasn't actually at the lot to test the theory.
My suspicions were raised further when my local dealer tried to sell me.. nay force me, to take pre-installed tinting on the car when I bought it. At $499 no less
if you sit in your car on a sunny day and look out the driver window, and then compare it to the little A-pillar window, you will notice that the driver window is slightly darker. the front windshield is about equal to the little a-pillar window, but the rest of the car is equal to your driver window.... a little bit tinted, not much....
I'm not sure if you are talking about do-it-yourself type tinting or not. Professionally applied tinting looks great and doesn't peel or bubble. I wish here in BC we could tint the front windows too. I had my front windows on my Versa tinted and when I got pulled over for speeding they made me take the tinting off too.
-Good thing it peels easily.
Front tinting isn't allowed here either.Agreed. My '06 Rabbit was parked outdoors in Houston, TX and the tinting had nary a bubble, streak or tear when I traded it in this past January for the Rio. It looked exactly like it did the day it was installed 1 week after I drove it off the lot. (Better actually since there will usually be a few bubbles that disappear within days of installation.) It came with a lifetime warranty that was never needed.
