While heated seats may have been considered unacceptable decadence behind the ominous Iron Curtain, today they can be had in almost any car you wish. But that doesn’t mean heated seats always come as standard.
Indeed, Skoda’s optional Winter Pack for the Fabia, which gives you heated seats and heated washer nozzles, is £265. Meanwhile, Ford’s optional Comfort Pack for the Puma gives you heated seats and steering wheel but will set you back £300. These are high prices for warm buttocks.
What we’ve done in this article is create a shortlist of reliable heated car seat covers that do the job of warming you without breaking the bank. Though admittedly not quite as fast as flicking a switch on the dashboard, these removeable heated seat covers can be popped on at a moment’s notice, even in July when Britain’s weather sometimes forgets what season it is.
The best heated car seat covers
A pair of functional polyester heated seat covers. Each cover can be controlled individually, you can select between HI (60u00b0C) or LO (30u00b0C) - or OFF, of course. You plug the heated seat covers into the cigarette lighter and away you go. You only need wait a couple of minutes for the covers to warm up and a thermostat automatically switches the heating off when the temperature reaches 65u00b0C to prevent overheating.
The only niggles are that despite the non-slip backing, the covers can move around a bit and you need to come up with a solution for hiding the power cable, otherwise, it’s draped in a messy fashion over the centre console.
www.argos.co.uk
Streetwize is a well-established brand in Britainu2019s world of car accessories. Its heated car seat cover is comfortable and well-made. It is fitted to either of a caru2019s front seats with elastic straps and is compatible with seats with side airbags. It plugs into the cigarette lighter and has two heat settings, HI or LO with a thermostat. You also get the added benefit of some foam padding.
Drawbacks? Though it will be fine for most, the power cable is not terribly long.
Want to add some massaging into the mix? This heated massage seat cover is good for use in the car but also on an office chair, for example. Because you can control the back rest and seat heater independently, plus choose between a range of massage options, there are many different combinations you can have here: two temperature levels; four areas of massage; five massage modes and three intensity levels.
The only problem with this arrangement is that you can spend an awfully long time playing around with the settings, which may result in lateness to meetings.
www.halfords.com
Many people will sympathise with the issue lumbar support when it comes to many car seats. Lower back pain is rife with many travellers on long car journeys. This Halfords heated seat cushion goes a long way to relieve people of this problem. The memory foam cushion is a curved D shape that, when placed at the bottom of the seat backrest, keeps your posture proper. The heating function is there for muscle relaxation and heat therapy.
Though the cushion is designed to sit flush against car seats, it doesn’t always, depending on the seat.
Electricity-free heated car seat covers
Granted, the sub-heading is a little misleading but there is no denying the effectiveness of sheepskin car seat covers when it comes to warmth. This set is made in the UK and are actually synthetic, but they are still very soft, affordable, and crucially, warm. You can get this set in nine various colours and patterns, all of which are easily washable. The fabric is stretchy and the base is elasticated in order to achieve a universal fit.
While these are indeed very warm seat covers, being synthetic they aren’t overly breathable.
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