[viper_711]

Voted-Yes, a deal breaker

In the summer of 2019, I experienced a ventilated seat for the first time driving from NYC to Montpelier, Vermont. This was in June - fairly warm and muggy.
My ride in India has pretty good cooling but seats being leather always left a damp patch on the back and the bottom.
The US experience was a revelation! There was absolutely no stickiness with the AC running in the seat ventilation mode.
For a hot country like ours, it would be a boon for those long drives/traffic snarls and I absolutely want this feature for my next ride.

[N.A.GTC]

In similarly priced cars, definitely a deal breaker. Even if the air conditioning is good and the air is chilly in the cabin, it can still get quite sweaty in Delhi weather. This might probably be because we generally sit in the car while it's hot/warm inside, and then use the aircon. The seats covered by our bodies remain uncooled. Perhaps, I don't know; just a hypothesis. Because this doesn't happen as often when sitting in car that was already cool before entering.

[kkr2k2]

Originally Posted by 07CR

I just came across this thought, if the Ventilated seats (cooled) are an absolute necessity for a buyer in 15+L rupee segment. Can this be a deal breaker for you?.....

I always wondered the same. If I remember correctly, Hyundai offered cooled/ventilated rear seats back in 2012 with Hyundai Sonata. I still wonder why this did not catch the fancy of Indian car market with a considerable number of chauffeur driven cars.

[ajaiD]

Both Seltos and Compass have noisy AirCon's and I would prefer to have ventilated seats in both. While my BS4 Compass has gone thru 2 full blower/AC cleaning it did not much effect the noise while it is used in full speed.

[SourPai]

I think strong AC is not a substitute for Ventilated seats. Chiller AC beyond a point makes you and your passengers very uncomfortable. You cant have continuous chiller AC for long time during drive. For example, my wife and inlaws cringe when AC temperature becomes low. They want the temperature in 23-24 degree range only

One strong positive with ventilated seat is that it provides localised cooling, which is far more effective in India and especially on leatherette seats. It is extremely effective when you sit in the car parked under direct Sun. It is also effective when you do long drives during hot summer days, when even if you have strong AC, after some time back and buttocks become sweaty.

It is not a feature basis which you will change the cars with different driving dynamics. For e.g. Octavia and Elantra as someone mentioned. However I will definitely go for ventilated seats if they are available in higher variants of same car. Or even wait for a variant to be launched in future

[ChevyTeddy]

No ventilated seats for me, please.
1. It's an extra non-essential (to the running of the car) feature that requires maintenance and can possibly fail. Failure (foul smell? moisture-induced fabric or metal breakdown?) may be a remote possibility, but the downside if it does happen could involve changing the seat itself - which would be more expensive than a non-ventilated seat.
2. I prefer to use wooden beads to ventilate the gaps between my back and the seat. If I am sweaty when I come inside, I shouldn't subject my back to rapid cooling. Beads (especially the mid-sized ones) ventilate that space at just the right pace to my liking.
3. Perforated seats may wear out faster than non-perforated ones simply because they are subjected to stress with each movement of the sitter.
4. When all forms of ACs need cleaning from time to time, I am not sure how the channels to a ventilated seat and the seat's interiors themselves can be maintained. And since I've watched every episode of House MD, I can't help but imagine what happens when you keep a cold, dank place that will never see sunlight in a hot, humid climate!

[condor]

air con dehydrates a person. I dont suggest ac being at too cold a setting. And cold a/c settings have a cascading effect - a person tends to seek the same temp everywhere, and sometimes then becomes less tolerant to avg outdoor temps too.

Ventilated seats yes, if the car offers. But I wont go searching for it. Just fabric seat covers will reduce sweating on the seat and back.

[tsr_83]

IN for ventilated seats even though you use beads, for long drives - you can;t run on AC mode always like When you drive in hills, you want to enjoy fresh breeze (or) get uncomfortable with continuous usage of car AC (or) have a 10 year old car like me where you dont want to loose power for AC and add stress to the already tired engine.

[AtheK]

Definitely a deal breaker, after experiencing them in a friends car, I am absolutely sure I need them. While family might be drooling over the sun roof, this is one of my must have feature in my next car.

I will probably go on to add 4th option saying a complete deal breaker. In my area weather is usually decent, but I can figure out how this is such a boon in hot regions.

[octane_100]

I have done long drives (12+ hours) sitting on leather/faux leather clad seats and have not experienced sweating that is unbearable or excessive. Though I love the idea of having ventilated seats, I am not aware on how the long term maintenance of the same will pan out. Eg: How is one supposed to get it cleaned if the blower is blocked?

[Rajeevraj]

Never experienced a ventilated seat, so cannot comment on the effectiveness. But with my theoretical knowledge, I would assume with the modern air-cons/climate control systems-especially the ones now with dual zone controls etc.. should be good enough. So definitely not a must have feature in my opinion.

[raj_5004]

My Chrysler does not get ventilated seats. It gets heated front and rear seats and heated steering, wonder what's the use in UAE!

Just yesterday, I was driving my brother's Lincoln Continental. It was parked out in the open for about 5~6 hours and as expected, the seats were HOT by the time I returned. Now, the Continental has an outstanding AC (one of the best ones I have experienced), but the moment I turned on the ventilated seats, it cooled the seats down within 10 minutes. For that matter, I always drive this car with ventilated seats on. I don't know if it makes sense, but a cooled seat feels better and more comfortable!

Without ventilated seats, the main difference would be that your back will still sweat on a warm day, especially with leather seats.

[Nav-i-gator]

My 5th Gen City don't have ventilated seats. But, I voted for yes. However chilling the AC is, if you park the car under sunlight, the seats get really hot. Plus, your shirt get wet from sweating while your car AC has chilled the car in the meanwhile.

This is a very helpful feature, not a gimmick like sunroof or wireless charging.

[RJK]

Recently experienced ventilated seats in our new car & must say I'm delighted. The weather in Bombay is so humid currently, these ventilated seats are such a blessing. Infact, I've noticed that even if aircon efficacy is slightly weak (say Skodas of the yore), its compensated to some extent due to direct air being blown on the back & thighs. Such a relief! Infact this should be a must-have feature than say Automatic climate control - I don't like AC very cold in the car, 24-25 C & I regulate the blower speed.

[gsferrari]

2021 Creta Turbo Petrol with ventilated seats. Impossible to go back to regular seats after this. No more damp and clammy back/bottoms. I would rather have this over a sunroof but the manufacturer won't be so benevolent.

If Maruti offers a Swift/Wagon-R with ventilated seats, I will take that over a premium car without ventilated seats. You have to feel the difference.