What Are Your Opinions On Window Tint?

I realize this is an extremely vague Autopian Asks, but if there’s anything I’ve learned during the process of tinting my 2021 BMW i3S Rex Giga World it’s that everyone has an opinion on tint. Do you like the way it looks? How much tint is too much tint? Is ceramic worth it? Do you stay within legal limits? Do you have trouble seeing at night? Is it going to gain you appreciable EV range? Anyway, let’s get into it.

I recently got my BMW i3S tinted, and if I’m honest, I didn’t want to, I sort of had to. The truth is that driving in LA with a car that has untinted windows is true misery, and I found myself regularly having to put my left hand up near my door glass to block the sun from burning my face. (It doesn’t help that the i3’s sun visor does not telescope!). Not only that, but I had to crank on the air conditioning when it really wasn’t even that hot outside, it was just the radiative heat transfer toasting me. The result was reduced range.

Of course, AC compressors don’t really use up that much range when compared to a heater, but between the efficiency drop and the comfort compromises, it was clear to me that tintlessness was jut not gonna work. That’s a shame, because I don’t like the way tint looks on a car.

Have a look at my BMW i3S before the tint, and you’ll see that glass was a prominent element of its design. Look at how that raer window is squeezed at the rear, but expands forward into a tall second-row window, which rises up to join the front glass. There’s just so much of it, and it is a clearly well thought-out element of the car’s design:

I think, especially on the models that have body-colored roof trim, the glass looks amazing:

But tinting glass essentially removes it in the eyes of the viewer. It’s no longer glass, visually speaking.

My car’s tint is fairly modest, but you can imagine how a darker-tinted car would look no different than if you’d replaced the glass with a piece of black-painted sheetmetal:

Glass is a beautiful thing, and to essentially hide it by tinting it, I think, is actually a step backwards in some cases. I think the best example of this is cars with tall greenhouses — boxy off-road vehicles in particular. I’ve written about this before:

One example I give in that article (aside from the Wrangler shown above) is the Jeep Grand Wagoneer. Look at how gorgeous it looks with its stock glass:

And look at how much of the magic has been lost by essentially turning the glass into black panels:

Anyway, this concept of “glass is beautiful” isn’t a new one in cars or in architecture, but there are practical concerns that sometimes dominate, like in my case.

I could have just slapped some ceramic on there and it likely would have still kept the heat off my face without much tint, but ceramic coating still doesn’t look the same as perfectly clear glass from the outside. What’s more, as someone who wears glasses and doesn’t plan on getting prescription sunglasses, this is a little less straining to my eyes, so I’m quite happy with my decision to go 20% in the rear and what might look like 50% up front but can’t be since it’s not legal. I reckon it protects my interior from sun-damage, as well.

Driving at night isn’t an issue with this modest tint level, I use the AC much less, I feel comfortable, and even though I love the look of glass, I think on the i3S with the black trim it looks OK. I prefer the clear, but it’s not a big deal.

Anyway, tint is a hugely contentious topic, I’ve found while reading up on which levels I should get for my car. So let me know your thoughts in the comments!