Should We Look Forward to Disappearing Rear Windows in Vehicles?

For those of you keeping track of automotive features that have disappeared over the years for various reasons—such as CD players, standard spare tires, and manual transmissions—you can now add to the list the rear window.

That’s right, Polestar, the financially troubled all-electric vehicle manufacturer, formerly a sub-brand of Volvo and now mostly under the control of Chinese parent company Geely, has introduced the first production cars to go without a backlight or rear window.

You haven’t seen many Polestars in this country because not many have been sold (hence the “financially troubled” label). If you have, it was likely the Polestar 2, a handsome, rather conventional compact sedan with sharp-edged Volvo styling.

And while there was a Polestar 1, and now a Polestar 3, it’s the 4 and 5 that feature this unique design execution. There is also a proposed Polster 6 concept roadster that likewise does without a backlight.

The Polestar 4 EV is a sporty crossover like the new Porsche Macan. It’s really more of an elevated 5-door hatch with compromised utility to enable a lower upper with a fast rear profile.

The Polestar 5, based on the Precept concept and optimistically earmarked on the Polestar media website for production in 2025, is a low, sleek 5-door sedan that appears to compete with the Tesla Model S or the Lucid Air.

Both Polestars are great looking, inside and out, and while there is a certain Volvo DNA connection in appearance, these are uniquely stylish cars that stand on their own.

Part of the reason for this is the roofline of the Polestar 4 and 5, which led to eliminating the rear window, according to their chief designer, Maximilian Missoni. To achieve a coupe-like profile and retain reasonable rear headroom, the rear header structure was moved behind the rear passengers.

This in turn further compromised rear visibility, like in most steep-angled backlight coupes. So, the rationale was to simply eliminate the backlight and replace it with a camera-enabled rearview mirror.

To offset some of the cave-like darkness this creates, both cars employ large glass roofs (just like Tesla).

We’ve come a long way from the late 1950s and early ‘60s, when cars were styled with expansive glass uppers and minimized pillars. This was a period where jet aircraft motifs had influence, and that included the bubble-like canopies. You only had to look at the concept cars of the period to see the connection.

Visibility was virtually unrestricted for most production cars of the time. But recall that even one side mirror was optional then. Yet as styling has evolved, visibility has taken a major hit.

With today’s current design trend of high beltlines and low uppers and large C- and D- pillars, glass area has been reduced. It’s not all styling related though; safety requirements have also taken their toll.

Head restraints, especially for rear passengers, impede vision out the back. Roof-crush standards drive thicker pillars as well. The result is of course much safer vehicles than before—they’re just harder to see out of.

Not that there hasn’t been some compensation in the form of technical bandages—uh, safety enhancements. All new vehicles require a backup camera; dual side mirrors are pretty much standard as well, as is blind-spot warning on many.

Add rear traffic alert and parking assist—as well as the camera-enabled rearview mirror—and you have a pretty comprehensive package of features that aid rear visibility.

And this is Polestar’s argument. With all this technology, a traditional backlight isn’t really necessary, especially one of limited usefulness.

It could also be said that for a generation of drivers more accustomed to and accepting of progressive technology, this isn’t too much of a stretch. Some may believe that in this way, Polestar has taken a reasonable and justifiable approach to their design.

Yet others, who have grown accustomed to looking over their shoulder when backing up and finding a rear window there, may find that Polestar’s approach borders on arrogance, where design takes precedence over simple functionality.

I’m still unsure that with all the positive attributes Polestar claims, does it really justify eliminating the backlight? And all that technology that compensates for the backlight is added cost.

While it may be hard to make direct comparisons given Polestar’s architectural packaging, there are still numerous examples of cars that have similar design profiles that retained their rear windows—the Tesla Model 3 and Porsche Taycan, for example. And yes, their view out the back is lousy.

Still, I applaud Polestar’s bold approach, and I think their cars—with or without backlights—are striking.

But until cars are truly autonomous, when you won’t need any windows, I’ll take one with a “greenhouse.”

That old expression referred to the upper portion of the car, before the greenhouse started shrinking.

Dave Rand (pictured right) is the former executive director of Global Advanced Design for General Motors.