Well, it's recommendations like these that have me of two minds, and led to the questions in my initial post.
I've read opinions such as the above, which appear to be in the majority. But there is a sizeable minority, especially in warm climates, who say they never use the clear plastic deflector and that 1/2 to 2/3 of the wind blockage is accomplished by the black inserts inside the roll loops.
IMO, the clear plastic wind deflector looks cheap and uglies up the car. Complaints I've heard include: it rattles; it smudges easily and is a burden to keep clean; you can see vibrations and glare on the deflector through the mirror; it can come out at high speed and cause damage; and finally, according to one unverified source, the image of ex-girlfriends can appear in the plastic and ******************** at you about your music selections and hair loss.
But, I won't know how to balance the pros/cons until I drive it myself under different conditions. If I don't end up using the clear plastic deflector, I don't want those clip attachments sticking out of each roll loop. But again, I don't know the lesser of evils . . . IOW, how hard is it to take off those clips, and how much a mess it leaves, vs. how hard it is to put on the clips for a car ordered without a wind deflector.
If the clips are very easy to take off without leaving a mess, and perhaps reveal only two small unobtrusive screw holes (guessing) on each roll loop, then I probably would get the wind deflector. If, on the other hand, taking off the clips leaves a series of large ugly holes or other marks, that would be a problem (do the wind deflector clips attach only onto the metal roll loops, or do they attach through the padding?). In that case, I might just have to live with the unused clips on the roll hoops, but I'm trying to sort out the alternatives. Including, how easy is it to retrofit a wind deflector on a car ordered without one? Good as factory installed, or problems?
Hence my specific questions above, to try to make a final decision of whether or not to order the wind deflector. Sorry to be so wordy, but I guess I'm fixated on how bad I think the wind deflector looks. People complain about the chrono "wart," but IMO far and away the cheapest and ugliest looking part of the car is the clear plastic piece of crap wind deflector.
