I learned to my surprise that the 2023 Prius Prime (and the 2023 Prius) have no rear windshield wiper. What are/were they thinking? The rear window is nearly horizontal! With 2017 Prius here in Canada, I use the rear window wiper to help clear light snow or road spray off the back window. It would have been a small cost item to add a rear window wiper to the car, and the lack of it may cause many prospective buyers to go to a different vehicle.
With the prime which has that dip in the glass, which I’m not sure how you could get a wiper blade to follow that contour. Not sure about the non-prime newer models if they’ve gone to the curved rear window too that might explain it.
gen 4 prime didn't have a wiper, and i guess there wasn't enough pushback, so they completely deleted it from a prius models
Not on my 2022 either. Coming from a 2005, it surprised me. I didn't even think about it until I tried turning it on.
From: Ottawa ON Snowfall Totals & Snow Accumulation Averages - Current Results For about 115 days a year, Ottawa has at least a centimetre of snow on the ground. In mid-winter the snowpack averages from 21 cm deep. Generally, the snow cover begins to build in December and remains deep throughout most of January and February.
Yeah, we get our share of snow in my neighborhood. The average annual snowfall in our region is 60-110 inches. But that's just total accumulation. I would say less than 30 snowy days? The snow will not stay on the car for long. I never felt I had to have a rear wiper on my PP while I drove it for the last 5+ years.
Two additional thoughts about this: 1) there is an option on the Prius Prime for a "digital rear-view mirror". Perhaps the thinking is that if you need rear visibility out the back window in inclement weather, you should get this option. 2) the slope of the rear window is such that it could distort any view through it from the driver's seat. Again, a digital read-view mirror would be useful if this is true.
Yes, a digital rear-view mirror will be available only in Prius Prime XSE Premium and only as part of a ~ $2,000 optional package that also has a solar roof, panoramic-view monitor, rear-seat heater, and advanced park.
No, nothing is free. Hopefully I will get one with the solar roof/digital rearview mirror/PVM/advanced park/heated rear seat package next year.
Yes, if you would like to save money, getting the base model is always a good idea, as you still get many of the bells and whistles. In my case, if I don't get all the packages, I later drool over other people's cars; so, it's better for me to be safe than sorry. LOL
Canadian packages are frequently different than US. For instance, base model Primes (at least from 2020+) in Canada have heated seats standard. 2023 Prius in Canada will come with AWD as standard. It’s good for Canadians to check the fine print and not rely exclusively on US reviews and observations.
