Just walked past a Mk 4, the first I've seen not moving.

One of the things i really like about my Mk 3.5 is the identical wipers which sweep outwards from the centre of the screen for the same distance and very good coverage coverage each side. The car I've just seen has one long and one shorter blade which sweep from one side of the screen to the other and must make for a less efficient clearance of rain and crud from the screen.

Assuming I'm right in that, it can't be just me who thinks it's a backward step, can it?

I've not noticed the wipers , but your right. Looks like they have indeed gone back to a linked motor. 

Its what was used on all cars for a very long time - and its probably a cheaper setup, since its a single motor? I assume the MK3/3.5 is two stepper motors , which cost more, and need extra electronics to control. for example if you move the two arms when the car is off, they have the intelligence to reset when you turn the car on next time, without getting all tangled up.

They work much better,no clunk against the A-Posts anymore either, much better

2 hours ago, Abbadon said:

Its what was used on all cars for a very long time - and its probably a cheaper setup, since its a single motor? 

I'm not sure it is cheaper...as they have to produce two different motor/linkage setups for RHD & LHD...  With the outward sweep you can use that on all models regardless of drive side...

I must admit, the outward sweep wipers are something I miss from the Mk3...  I'm a bit disappointed he Mk4 has lost them.  

I think the change was because they wanted more interior space which necessitated a change in windscreen shape and Mk3 wiper style would not work 

22 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

I'm not sure it is cheaper...as they have to produce two different motor/linkage setups for RHD & LHD...  With the outward sweep you can use that on all models regardless of drive side...

I must admit, the outward sweep wipers are something I miss from the Mk3...  I'm a bit disappointed he Mk4 has lost them.  

Yes I would agree there, although they could have adopted BMW approach, they just use the RHD linkage on all cars, my 5 series always niggled me a bit like that, that you got the inferior passenger sweep on the drivers side!

 

 

It's a common setup on new I guess.  Our 2018 Fiesta has the big and the small wiper.

My ancient LX of course has the big & small wiper, but, they work brilliantly! They give a perfect sweep everytime, don't judder, don't hit the A pillar, and just clear the screen with no drama. I confess too that in 40 years of motoring, I have never bought 'car manufacture' blades, but mine came with genuine 'Ford' ones (nice little logo on the blade), and I'm very tempted to replace with same when needed.

There's been a lot of dust and dirt in the air recently so when I started the car yesterday I washed the screen. No noise from the wipers striking the A pillars. Last evening with the  screen dry again you can see that the wipers stop in their outward arc about 2cm from the pillars. I suppose they might get a bit sloppy with age but there's no evidence of that right now.

My previous car (not a Ford) had the large and small set up leaving an annoying unswept area on the passenger side. I didn't actually know the Mk 3.5 had the matching  wiper set up till I collected the car. I thought it was a bit of a bonus and really value it now.