[RJK]

Originally Posted by amitayu

We first buy leather or faux-leather seat covers for our cars in a tropical climate like ours, and then worry about our bums sweating!

A good seat cover material that breathes is good enough for me, and ventilated seats are a luxury that maybe good to have, but not necessary.

While you’re right for the most part and I’m absolutely with you about fabric seats (love them), sometimes we don’t have the luxury of getting fabric seats. For example, if you look at cars upwards of 40L, you’ll notice that non-fabric seats are default (leather in most cases). I actually asked Toyota if they could please fit in fabric seats for us instead of the leather! In that sense the ventilated seats do prove to be a boon.

Also, Merc and BMW have started cheap skating with Sensatec and what not instead of actual/real leather, imagine that in 45+L car!

[nidhikapoor]

Absolutely. Leave out sunroofs which are useless, and mostly misused by kids standing through them, and bring in ventilated seats.

[inwester]

I had ventilated seats in my Audi for the 3 years I leased it and barely used it. Granted it was in NY which can only get real hot for perhaps a couple of weeks in the summer. If you have good quality real leather the seats don't get super hot, compared to the plastic seats (PU/Vinyl) which aren't as breathable.

[Autocaptive]

We've got a Verna in our garage and it's probably sitting there because of this feature. We've also got a hatchback for city use but I keep going back to Verna as my daily drive for this reason alone. First world problems? Maybe. Also where I come from, the weather is mostly pleasant July onwards so what I do is switch on the seat ventilation and never even touch the HVAC controls. It keeps me sufficiently cool. Another point I'd like to add in case nobody has already discussed it is that the AC often makes the cabin so cool that even at the lowest fan settings with temperature hovering around 23-24, I start feeling cold even though my back is still sweaty, don't know how to describe this phenomenon but I keep the VS switched on and turn off the AC for a few minutes for the ambient temperature to normalise again. So I'd call VS a convenience that once experienced can't be rescinded

[lemedico]

For better understanding of the mechanicals and electricals of such seats, this is an incredible video

https://youtu.be/5XDuvbyIfWs

skip to 5:08 for the juicy bit

[reppy]

Originally Posted by RJK

Also, Merc and BMW have started cheap skating with Sensatec and what not instead of actual/real leather, imagine that in 45+L car!

It's one of the reasons we gladly bought a Merc - they are Vegan friendly!

Today, the PU/PVC leathers have advanced leaps and bounds in tech and are beating real leather in several parameters.

[JoshMachine]

Agree on the thread title - ventilated seats are no more a luxury in India!
This feature is increasingly available in the supposedly mass market and value luxury segments.

However, with the onset of dual zone / triple zone air-conditioning setup in cars, the dire necessity of having a dedicated ventilated seat option perhaps, is not there.

A quick search lands on this article - the following cars (belonging to the popular segments) have the ventilated seats feature:-

- Sonet
- Seltos
- Creta
- Verna
- Elantra
- Hector
- Carnival
- Camry
- Superb

[RJK]

Originally Posted by reppy

It's one of the reasons we gladly bought a Merc - they are Vegan friendly!

Today, the PU/PVC leathers have advanced leaps and bounds in tech and are beating real leather in several parameters.

Great for you, as a personal choice! My comment was more from pricing stand-point. I'm no way advocating skinning of animals to put on the seat. However, you'll agree that leather in the interiors is a decent component in the pricing of the car. While the MFR's don't really give real leather, they don't seem to offer any price benefit for the lack of it - that's my beef (no pun intended )

I refuse to believe that the MFR's have suddenly become environment/animal friendly.

I have absolutely zero fascination with leather, not in this climate, certainly.

[Ragul]

Originally Posted by reppy

It's one of the reasons we gladly bought a Merc - they are Vegan friendly!

Today, the PU/PVC leathers have advanced leaps and bounds in tech and are beating real leather in several parameters.

For me new seat covers where can I find these advanced PU material that beats leather? Any make or brand I should ask for? The seat cover shops are all selling the usual stuff they like to call napa and what not ...

[reppy]

Originally Posted by Ragul

For me new seat covers where can I find these advanced PU material that beats leather? Any make or brand I should ask for? The seat cover shops are all selling the usual stuff they like to call napa and what not ...

Unfortunately you won't find them easily - most of the top quality material is made by Benecke Kalico and similar manufacturers, with no presence in the direct retail market.

[vnabhi]

I absolutely love the ventilated seats in my son's Verna, which is of Nov 2018 make. I believe Hyundai was the first to introduce this feature in sub-15 lakh segment, and the Verna was the first model to have it. Not sure if the Elantra had it, but the earlier models of Creta surely did not have it.

Though the AC in my Ford Fiesta was a chiller, i used to feel sweaty on the back on long journeys in summer--more so due to the leatherette seats. But the Verna has totally eliminated this discomfort. The only downside is that the rear passengers do not get scooped out front seats, and the rear of the front seats is hard---due to the tubes that run through it for cooling the seats.

[AMG1]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

I absolutely love the ventilated seats in my son's Verna, which is of Nov 2018 make. I believe Hyundai was the first to introduce this feature in sub-15 lakh segment, and the Verna was the first model to have it. Not sure if the Elantra had it, but the earlier models of Creta surely did not have it.

2012 Sonata debuted this feature for Hyundai in India, in fact, it had ventilated rear seats too!! It was followed by the 2012 Elantra Fluidic with front ventilated seats.

It's an extremely can't live without feature. I use it on every drive in my Elantra. Can't remember a single trip where I haven't switched on the seat cooling. (Barring Jan & Feb months).

An interesting thing I noticed early on- If one switches on the AC then even colder air from the aircon system is directed to one's back through the seat cooling perforations.

[armumbai]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

The Figo Titanium has 6 airbags, but nobody really cares because the mass market doesn't want those.

In January 2019 I had a crash in my Ecosport Titanium (o) at ~120kmph on the Mumbai - Pune Expressway shortly after emerging from the Bhatan Tunnel. At that speed I side swept the median rail and the car spun around 180degs. The front wheel and suspension was totally damaged. Notably, not one of the 6 Airbags in the car opened. Not one of the 6 airbags in the car opened. May I say if one more time. I’m not trivialising the need for airbags here, it’s just that as important as it may be, it still needs to be a functional unit. I want to submit that every feature that provides comfort is as important as one that offers safety. One doesn’t plan or hope to have accidents ever but one wants and plans for comfort all the time in all aspects of life. I think VS are a D-uhh factor feature that will soon become commonplace

I want to use this opportunity to commend the build quality of the Ecosport though. The body damage didn’t seem to match the impact. Though the ASS just could never ever give me the same drive quality even after trying a lot, ever again.

[yogishkamath]

I am wondering: Could those Amazon/AliExpress sourced products compromise the functioning of the airbags for passengers in the second row ?

[goandude]

My 2009 Swift Dzire came with fabric seat covers, and they were very breathable so my back would be dry like the rest of me. I switched to real leather seats from Karlsson and these too were extremely comfortable.
Purchased an i20 Sportz last year and my back gets very wet with sweat if I drive for more than an hour in the car, notwithstanding the arcon being on. My hands get cold but my back gets wet. The culprit are seats which are made of artificial leather (leatherette).
so I'm in a dilemma, get real leather seat covers (expensive) or retrofit ventilated seats similar to the one from Aliexpress which Lemedico has for his Honda.