Car shades or blinds are fabric window inserts that block sun and, unlike permanent window tinting, can be removed when not wanted. They seem to be more popular in Europe, but I was interested for their removable feature as solar heating during the winter is a good thing up north.

I zeroed in on Blinds4Cars based in the UK which offered the Car Shades brand. They offered an 8-piece kit for the S212 Estate. Shipping was pretty expensive, plus DHL adds taxes (understandable) and additional brokerage fees which IMHO should have been included in the high shipping charges levied by the seller.

I dived into the package as soon as the product arrived. The 8 panels include six for the left and right side glass from the rear doors back, plus a two-piece arrangement for the tailgate glass. Each panel consists of a steel wire frame around a perforated black fabric shade which probably blocks about 75% of light transmission. They came with a nice carry-bag for storage when not in use.

The instructions were vague but Blinds4Cars principal Nigel has an excellent YouTube tutorial that I had to find by chance as it wasn't referenced in the documents. Little steel clips must be pressed onto the wire frames, which then slide into the window weatherstripping on the inside to keep the frames in place against the glass without touching.

Most of the panels fit well and went on without difficulty. The problems only arose with the back door windows. These did not fit, being slightly too large. This resulted in the metal frames bending during my efforts to make them fit. Much back and forth of emails and photos with Nigel failed to solve the problem. In fact, his suggestion that I use a hair dryer to heat and straighten the frames only resulted in melting a small hole in the fabric. And they are still too large

Overall, I'm happy with the fabric shades...where they fit properly. The cost, including shipping and DHL fees, is a bit more than tinting but I have the advantage of popping them out if I wish. OTOH, there is a fit issue with the back door glass which the vendor and/or manufacturer appears unwilling to acknowledge. Unfortunately you cannot order the set without these panels so, if you need the back door windows covered, look elsewhere.

 

for what they cost I would prefer window tint

 

Probably best if you want the rear doors dark as well.

 

Just an update. One other panel doesn't fit quite right and has taken to falling out when I hit bumps in the road, despite having the retaining clip properly installed. The frame is slightly too small so the clip doesn't fully engage behind the weatherstripping. I was able to cure this by taking an additional clip from the door shades that I can't use. With two clips, this panel seems to be holding.

Clearly this product has too much inconsistency in manufacturing tolerances to be recommended. The distributor in the UK doesn't appear willing to assist either. Reluctantly, I have to give Car Shades two thumbs down.