Quick Facts About Cars With Massaging Seats
Driving stressors assume many forms, whether it’s slogging through heavy traffic on the way to the office or clocking hours behind the wheel on a cross-country trip. Consequently, car shoppers looking for that ideal vehicle may find it worthwhile to upgrade, splurging for a vehicle model and 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? Passengers can even get in on the action in some cars and SUVs. Carmakers offer massaging seats in select trims, such as the Ford F-150 Platinum 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?
According to the latest AAA Foundation’s New American Driving Survey, drivers spend nearly an hour a day in their cars, making nearly 2.5 trips while traveling about 30 miles. That’s just the average, which means some drivers are spending more time, making more trips, and traveling more — sometimes a lot more — miles.
Therefore, 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 forest aromas in your vehicle, such as citrus, thyme, bergamot, and pink pepper fragrance, with a hint of cedarwood and pine 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 Platinum, you can engage the Active Motion Seats massage function 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, and they still are. For example, Rolls-Royce will happily sell you seats at every position that use mechanical rollers and inflating air cushions to massage your back in more ways than we can count.
But massaging seats are also available to us 99.9 percenters without a billionaire’s budget. In 2024, you can find massaging seats in sedans, pickup trucks, and SUVs. Moreover, they’re in luxury cars and more affordable mainstream cars.
Here are some 2024 models available with massaging seats:
Audi
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
Bentley’s massaging seats offer multiple massaging modes and multiple intensities controlled via the infotainment touchscreen.
BMW
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
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
Ford brings luxury features to the affordable car classes with multi-contour massage seats on some SUVs and the F-150 pickup, the best-selling vehicle in America. They’re found only on top-level Platinum trims.
Genesis
In addition to its 12-way power adjustments, the driver’s seat in the GV60 and GV70 includes a 3-mode massage function.
Hyundai
Hyundai makes its Ergo Motion Seat available to Palisade drivers. It has multiple massaging modes and intensities.
Kia
The Lumbar Stabilization System in the Telluride is programmable to engage the seat massage every 30 or 60 minutes.
Land Rover
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
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
Some Lincoln SUVs can inflate and deflate seven separate air bladders in their seats to provide a gentle massage.
Mercedes-Benz
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, waking the driver with a gentle massage.
Porsche
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
The Rolls-Royce Ghost delivers massaging to the front-seat occupants and 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 provides more massage from the shoulders to the lumbar area.
Volkswagen
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
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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