Which Cars Have Cooled Seats for 2022?

It’s hard to believe there was a time when people bought cars without air conditioning, even when it was available. Now, not only is air conditioning expected, but more people are looking for cooled or ventilated seats that promise personalized relief from backside heat. Automakers have responded with more availability of the feature for 2022, even on mainstream vehicles. Kia is leading the way in democratizing the feature with a ventilation option, even on its Forte budget sedan and Sportage and Niro small SUVs.

Related: Which Cars Have Cooled Seats for 2021?

The demand for ventilation also has been stimulated in part by the popularity of leather and imitation leather seats, which can be hotter and stickier than cloth upholstery after sitting in the sun for extended periods of time. And as with heated seats, several luxury and higher-end mainstream vehicles have extended the ventilation option to the rear seats.

How They Work

The overall goal is to alleviate heat trapped between the seat and your body via fans circulating air through perforations in the seating surfaces. The fanciest seat systems provide cooled air by diverting air from the air-conditioning system or by directing air over a separate cooling unit. But most systems simply ventilate with cabin air — either by pushing it through the holes in the seats or by pulling it back through the seat — and offer a choice of fan speeds.

Both serve the same purpose: creating airflow that relieves trapped heat and moves moisture away from your skin, assisting your body’s natural cooling system to make you more comfortable so you arrive looking less wilted. No current system cools the surface of the seats the way heaters warm it, though refrigerant-based systems that could do so in the future are being researched.

Ventilated seats typically are packaged standard or as an option with heated seats. A secondary benefit of seat ventilation is that, in some vehicles, it is designed to be able to work in conjunction with the heated seats in cold weather to increase comfort by circulating air warmed by the seat heaters.

Do They Work?

Regardless of the technology, only you can judge whether the extra comfort is worth the added expense. The feature is almost always an option and/or offered only on higher trim levels, and the amount of extra comfort can vary widely by model.

The only way to tell if the feature is worth it is to try it on your test drive, leaving a little time for the ventilation to really work — as you would let a seat heater warm up. Be sure to also listen to the feature in a quiet cabin; the fans in some seat ventilation systems are noisier than others, and some people are more sensitive to such noises than others. Bear in mind that, in addition to the initial expense, you’re buying a feature that adds weight and may require repair down the road.

The jury is out on this feature at Cars.com, with the editors unimpressed by a lot of ventilated seats — so much so that seat ventilation made a Cars.com list of features you don’t really need. However, a lot of Sun Belt drivers would argue with that, particularly this summer.

2022 Vehicles That Offer Ventilation

Below is a list of vehicles that offer cooled or ventilated seats, either standard for certain trim levels or as an extra-cost option for the 2022 model year. The list includes just the root nameplate; performance or body style variants (an extended-length or hybrid version, for example) may also offer the feature. In a handful of cases, we list only a specific variant (such as the Hyundai Kona EV) if the feature is not otherwise available for the mainline model.

• Acura: MDX, RDX, TLX
• Aston Martin: DB11, DBS, DBX, Vantage
• Audi:A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, E-tron, E-tron GT, Q5, Q7, Q8
• Bentley: Bentayga, Continental GT, Flying Spur
• BMW: 4 Series, 5 Series, 7 Series, 8 Series, i4, iX, X3, X4, X5, X6, X7
• Buick: Enclave, Envision
• Cadillac: CT4, CT5, Escalade, XT4, XT5, XT6
• Chevrolet: Blazer, Bolt EUV, Camaro, Corvette, Equinox, Malibu, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, Traverse
• Chrysler:300, Pacifica
• Dodge: Challenger, Charger, Durango
• Ford: Edge, Expedition, Explorer, F-150, F-150 Lightning, Super Duty F-250/350/450, Mustang
• Genesis: G70, G80, G90, GV70, GV80
• GMC: Acadia, Canyon, Hummer EV, Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Terrain, Yukon
• Honda: Accord, Odyssey, Passport, Pilot
• Hyundai: Elantra HEV, Ioniq 5, Kona EV, Nexo, Palisade, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Sonata, Tucson
• Infiniti: QX50, QX55, QX60, QX80
• Jaguar: E-Pace, F-Pace, F-Type, XF
• Jeep: Cherokee, Compass, Grand Cherokee, Grand Cherokee 4xe, Grand Cherokee L, Grand Wagoneer, Wagoneer
• Kia: Carnival, EV6, Forte, K5, Niro, Sedona, Sorento, Sportage, Stinger, Telluride
• Lamborghini: Urus
• Land Rover: Defender, Discovery, Discovery Sport, Range Rover, Range Rover Evoque, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Velar
• Lexus: ES, GX, IS, LC, LS, LX, NX, RC, RX, UX
• Lincoln: Aviator, Corsair, Nautilus, Navigator
• Maserati: Ghibli, Levante, Quattroporte
• Mazda: CX-5, CX-9
• Mercedes-Benz: A-Class, AMG GT, AMG SL, C-Class, CLA-Class, CLS-Class, E-Class, EQB, EQS, G-Class, GLA-Class, GLB-Class, GLC-Class, GLE-Class, GLS-Class, S-Class
• Nissan: Armada, Maxima, Murano, Pathfinder, Titan, Titan XD
• Polestar: Polestar 2
• Porsche: 718, 911, Cayenne, Macan, Panamera, Taycan
• Ram:1500, 2500/3500 HD
• Rolls-Royce: Cullinan, Ghost, Phantom
• Subaru: Ascent, Legacy, Outback
• Tesla: Model S, Model X
• Toyota: 4Runner, Avalon, Camry, Highlander, Mirai, RAV4, Sequoia, Sienna, Tundra, Venza
• Volkswagen: Arteon, Atlas, Atlas Cross Sport, Golf GTI, Golf R, Jetta, Taos, Tiguan
• Volvo: S60, S90, V60, V90, XC60, XC90

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