During particularly bitter winters, one of the biggest frustrations and causes for windscreen replacements is frostbitten glass.

Part of the reason for so much damage being caused to the glass is not just the scratches, scrapes and dinks from hailstones but the damage caused via thermal shock caused by the many motorists who still use a boiling hot kettle.

Alternatives such as heated blankets can help, as can keeping your car out of the elements if at all possible, but car manufacturer Hyundai has claimed to have found a solution that not only avoids this but could potentially make certain cars more efficient to run.

Their Metal-Coated Heated Glass system uses 20 layers of threads in the windscreen, including a metal-coated thread that quickly spreads heat evenly over the windscreen surface using a 48V system, causing any ice to melt away in less than five minutes.

For comparison, other heated glass systems that use either heater ducts (as in a lot of electric vehicles) or 13.5V systems in petrol or diesel cars, similar to Ford’s original Instaclear and QuickClear windscreens, take at least ten and often up to 15 minutes to clear.

Given that it is a legal requirement under the Highway Code to keep the windscreen clear at all times to ensure you are driving the car with due care and attention, that avoids a lot of the snap decisions made that either damage the glass, lead to reckless driving, or a combination of the two.

It also, conversely, helps to block solar energy in summer, avoiding the problems of roasting cockpits, and potentially saves energy for EVs by not relying on inefficient fan-based air conditioning systems during winter weather.

However, it is currently only intended to be used on a small number of Hyundai’s more expensive models (often under the Genesis badge) and could be particularly expensive to replace due to the additional technology involved.