Quick Facts About Cars With Massaging Seats
- A car doesn’t need to be a luxury brand to offer a massaging feature on at least the driver’s seat.
- Many models offer a massaging function for second-row seats.
- Some models allow you to select among different massage modes.
Many of us have returned to the office, dealing with traffic and everyday driving stressors. Consequently, car shoppers looking for that perfect vehicle may find it worthwhile to splurge and upgrade to a vehicle trim with massaging seats.
Who wouldn’t want a relaxing circular seat massage after a day at the office? Or how about a hot relaxing back massage during a road trip with the kids or following a long hike? Your passengers can also get in on the action.
Carmakers offer massaging seats on select trims like the Ford Explorer Limited or Volvo XC90. Yes, massaging seats do remain a feature of higher-priced models and trim levels. However, automakers are increasingly adding other comfort features to seating in even more affordable cars.
Here we will make a case for massaging seats, provide a bit of insight into how they work, and provide a list of many of today’s models offering them. If you want to skip ahead in the story, please use the jump links provided below.
- Why Buy a Car With Massaging Seats?
- How Does a Car Massage Seat Work?
- What Are Some of the Cars With Massage Seats?
Why Buy a Car With Massaging Seats?
According to the latest AAA Foundation’s New American Driving Survey, drivers spend nearly an hour a day in their cars, making 2.5 trips going nearly 33 miles.
So it’s no wonder carmakers are looking for ways to keep drivers more comfortable while on the road. Heated seats help you stop shivering on a cold morning commute or warm up your muscles after a long day on the slopes. On hot summer days, ventilated seats gently fan cool air to help lower your body temperature. Then some seats adjust 8-, 10-, 12-, or even 16-or-more-ways.
Some experts insist that cars with massage seats can help improve circulation. And if that’s not reason enough, you can dial up pleasing scents in some cars to accompany the massage. For example, Mercedes offers wafts of fresh morning dew aromas in your vehicle with a nutmeg, cedarwood fragrance with a hint of jasmine among its many scents. If only you could place cucumber slices on your closed eyes while driving, right?
How Does a Car Massage Seat Work?
Instructions to get a massage in your driver’s or passenger seat vary per vehicle. For example, in a Ford F-150 Limited, you can engage the Active Motion Seats massage by going to your infotainment menu. You’ll then select “settings,” then choose “seats.” Next, you can choose the driver or passenger and the type of massage you prefer.
Options include upper rolling, lower rolling, and air pockets in the seat that inflate and deflate to create the massage. You can adjust the type of massage from one of the five options in the F-150 Limited. You can also hit a button on the side of your seat for the menu to pop up on the infotainment screen.
What Are Some of the Cars With Massage Seats?
Not long ago, buyers found massaging seats exclusively in luxury cars. They still are — Rolls-Royce will happily sell you seats that, at every seating position, use both mechanical rollers and inflating air cushions to massage your back in more ways than we can count.
But they’re also available to those of us without a billionaire’s budget. In 2023, you can find massaging seats in sedans, pickup trucks, and SUVs. They’re in luxury cars and affordable cars.
Here are some 2023 models available with massaging seats:
Audi
- A7
- Q7
- A8
- e‑tron
Audi’s system has five levels of strength. It’s available on both front seats. The ultra-luxe A8 has a VIP rear seating option that replaces the 3-seat rear bench with a pair of massaging, heated, and ventilated power-adjustable seats.
Bentley
- Bentayga
- Mulsanne
Controlled via the infotainment touchscreen, Bentley’s massaging seats offer multiple massaging modes and multiple intensities.
BMW
- 5 Series
- 7 Series
- X5
BMW has some of the most adjustable massage seats on the market. The driver and front passenger can select massage functions for their upper and lower body, shoulders, hips, and lumbar area through a menu on the touchscreen.
Cadillac
- CT4
- CT5
- CT6
- XT4
- XT5
- XT6
- Escalade
- Escalade ESV
- Cadillac Lyriq
Cadillac’s 22-way power-adjustable, heated, and ventilated seats include rolling and kneading massage functions and an anti-fatigue setting that randomizes the massage pattern to help keep a tired driver alert.
Ford
- Edge
- Explorer
- Expedition
- F-150
Ford brings luxury features to the affordable car classes with multi-contour massage seats on most SUVs and the F-150 pickup, the best-selling vehicle in America. They’re found only on top-level Platinum trims.
Genesis
- GV60
- GV70
In addition to its 12-way power adjustments, the driver’s seat in the GV60 and GV70 includes a 3-mode massage function.
Hyundai
- Palisade
Hyundai makes available its Ergo Motion Seat to drivers of the Palisade. It has multiple massaging modes and intensities.
Land Rover
- Range Rover
- Range Rover Sport
- Range Rover Velar
Range Rover’s massaging seats are simply decadent. They adjust 24 ways and offer an astounding 25 massage programs, including a “hot stone massage” setting that uses strategically placed heating elements to relax you. They’re available only in the first row of seating.
Lexus
- LS
If you desire front seats with more power adjustments than you have fingers and toes combined, the LS offers 28-way power-adjustable seats with multi-mode massage.
Lincoln
- Aviator
- Navigator
- Nautilus
Some Lincoln SUVs can inflate and deflate seven separate air bladders in their seats to provide a gentle massage.
Mercedes-Benz
- C-Class
- E-Class
- S-Class
- CLS
- GLE
- GLS
- SL
- EQS
- EQE
Mercedes offers its Active Multicontour massaging seats on much of its lineup. They feature eight different massage modes, varying intensity levels, and the option of pinpoint hot stone heating. The opulent EQS electric vehicle even incorporates them into its nap mode — it wakes the driver with a gentle massage.
Porsche
- Cayenne
- Panamera
- Taycan
Porsche is famous for the endless customizability of its vehicles. That includes the ability to spec massage seats on some Porsche vehicles. Porsche’s seats offer five levels of intensity and five massage programs. But they’re not cheap — adding $2,000 to the price of the car.
Rolls-Royce
- Ghost
The Rolls-Royce Ghost not only delivers massaging to the front-seat occupants, but also delivers extra pampering to the second-row executive seat. In addition to the waves of massage traveling from the tailbone to the top of the back, a separate set of air cushions provide more massage from the shoulders to the lumbar area.
Volkswagen
- ID.4
You may not be able to have real leather seating in the ID.4, but Volkswagen does make available 12-way power-adjustable front seats with a lumbar massage.
Volvo
- S90
- XC90
Volvo’s flagship models offer five massage programs, three levels of intensity, and three speeds for their front-seat massage function.
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