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Very nice option - when the prior owner raved about them I just shrugged but they are great to have and cool you down better than the AC. Like others have said not a deal breaker though.
I wanted them based on how much I liked them in my old Acura RL. But since I don't have them, obviously they were a deal breaker. They were one of my favorite features and none of our current cars have them. I 'd even run them in the winter when skiing. I'd drive up to the mountains in my ski pants and they would keep me from overheating. They don't create a massive difference in 5 minutes, but on drive of 2 hours or more I find them to make the drive much more comfortable.
Regarding the leather perforations. Check out some detailer videos on leather maintenance. If you don't have the analine leather, but the standard leather, leather conditioner is not effective because the leather is dyed and clear coated. It just sits on top of the clear coat, where it can attract and collect dirt. Cleaning occasionally with a mild degreaser will prevent the pores and perforations from clogging. I'm trying simple green at a 10:1 ratio with a brush on mine. The seats needed cleaning right now after my long road trip. I tested 409 multi surface first. This didn't harm anything, but the seat looked somewhat matte after use. It seems that a light wax coating for interiors is the best way to provide some protection to the clear coat.
I think this kind of says what some other people said but I recently rode in a really nice full size work truck my friend owns from LA to San Diego and back over 2 day drives in full sun with the temps around 90 or above. What I noticed is that with my old Avant and my C2s without ventilated seats, my back gets a bit sweaty. It isn't excessive but my wife also says she doesn't like leather for that reason because your front will be cold from the AC but then your back is damp from perspiration and a bit uncomfortable. In any case, with the ventilated GMC seats, my front and back were equally cool and I felt no sweatiness from the leather seats. It didn't feel like AC was blowing on my back or anything but it did keep my back side cooler than without it. The truck is brand new, so I would agree with @MexicoBlueTurboS that over time, if not cleaned carefully, the effectiveness of the seats will diminish.
I really like them. Also the fact that they saved weight by having an in-seat fan “pull” air, rather than extra tubing to “blow” AC air is cool. Brilliant and very effective.
The 997.2 ventilated seats are way better than the ones in my Merc E550. You could barely tell the Merc ones were even running. There is no doubt in the 997.2.
It was one of the options I knew that wanted when I replaced the Cayenne with the Macan. They are really nice and very comfortable when you are hot or feel stuffy. In my case they were/are deal breakers.
I love the "peepee seats" (as m,y kids and I call them) in the 997.2.
Although I live in the GWN, with the fake climate change a cool summer day here is now 24C with high humidity and a hot summer day can be in 38-39C, with high humidity. These seats make getting into a hot car much more palatable, and reduce the need to keep the car ice-cold with AC due to the better air flow - they make a sweaty back or butt a thing of the past.
I also like that you can use this in conjunction with the seat heating, which makes that feature a lot more effective as well - Porsche recommends (did anyone else read the manual?) putting the ventilation on to increase the effectiveness of the heating, and I find this works great on cool fall or spring days.
That said, I can definitely see the downsides (durability and hygiene) of perforated seats. After giving them a scrub with a foaming light degreaser/cleaner and a brush, a quick vacuum of the seats helps keep the cleaner from further clogging the pores.
I was just thinking about this very topic yesterday. I had a Cayenne S a few years ago, and one of its options was the heated/cooled seats. Like someone else mentioned, it was an option I didn't realize I needed until I had it. My current 997.1 only has heated seats, and with our local temps going over 100 degrees yesterday it felt like I had them on....my back was disgustingly moist. If whatever vehicle I come across next has the option for cooled/ventilated seats, it'll be one that I hold out for.
07-24-2019, 03:08 PM
