Re: Canadian Subaru Outback Wilderness Gets A Key Feature - U.S. Is Left Out

Yousuf Khan <[email protected]> wrote:

> VanguardLH wrote:> 
> 
>> I have an Outback with heated seats.  Not because I wanted them, but
>> because the model they had available had them. ...
>
> It's more of a necessity when you have leather seats more than cloth 
> seats, but they're still quite useful with cloth seats. 4-cyl models 
> take forever to warm up inside, compared to 6-cylinder ones, and the 
> seat warmers are pretty much your only source of heat for the first 5 
> minutes after starting off. 5 minutes is murder without heating on 
> certain days. And of course with leather seats, they are always too cold 
> in the winter and too hot in the summer. I have no idea why anyone gets 
> leather seats.

Yeah, hot and sticky in summer, stiff and cold in winter.  I've never
bought a car with leather/vinyl seats.  Hate them.  I always get cloth
seats.  For me, I don't even think leather/vinyl seats are stylish.
Even my 20-year old Legacy's cloth seats are in great condition.  Maybe
an owner with kids likes them for easy cleanup, but I use my carpet
washer with hose attachment for major spills along with spraying the
seats and carpet with 303 Fabric Guard every few years.  If I somehow
got stuck with a car with leather/vinyl seats, I'd get an anti-slip
padded seat cover similar to using a padded steering wheel cover.  A lot
cheaper to replace than a car seat or a steering wheel.  The padding is
sufficient for me even in sub-zero temperatures.  Acclimation probably
accounts for why some folks feel much colder in winter than others.
When I go to Florida on winter vacation, I'm dressing in T-shirts while
the residents are wearing layers and Walmart is selling winter coats
down there.

We don't often get winters that dip below 0F (or -18C), but even then
I'd just use padding instead of electrics.  Even when we hit -20F, I
didn't use the heated seats for myself.  In that weather, it would be
stupid not to dress to be outside for an extended time, like when the
car breaks down, after an accident (yeah, those never happen, uh huh),
or a long walk from car to building.  I'd be dressing the same as when I
go out to use the snowblower.  At -20F, I'll be wearing thermal
underwear, heavy or insulated jeans depending on the wind speed, a good
winter coat with neck cover, face cover, insulated hat, and very good
gloves or mitts.  I dress for outside, not for inside a car.  The young
and stupid dress for style in winter.  I dress for outside, and can peel
layers or open zippers when the car's inside warms up.  

It can be so cold here that you have to leave the windows open a crack
for airflow inside the car when first starting out, because your breath
will frost the inside of the windows.  The thermostat stays closed to
let the engine warm up first, and then you'll get heat at the defroster
outlet for the windshield and at the side vents for the windows.  If I
were to dress inappropriately, I'd be too frigid everywhere else to
worry about my butt.

If heated seats were so critically important for extremely severe
winter, why aren't you wearing electrically heated snowmobile apparel to
keep more than your butt warmed?  If you lived in Greenland, it'd be
very stupid to dress for inside a car.