RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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New Car Buyers view heated seats as the most wanted feature in a vehicle.
Safety features make up a large portion of the list of wanted features.
A growing number of car shoppers trust advanced driving features such as lane-keep assist and automatic braking.
Car shoppers face a myriad of choices that start at a high level before being boiled down to checkboxes on an order form. You start with a given make and model before moving on to trims, powertrain choices, and then on down to the nitty-gritty luxury and tech features.
According to automotive market research firm AutoPacific, however, there is one feature that stands above the rest: heated seats. Car shoppers want to keep their backsides toasty more than anything else, making heated seats the number-one feature for new-vehicle shoppers.
AutoPacific spoke to more than 19,000 licensed drivers who intend to purchase a vehicle within the next three years. Of those surveyed, 47 percent stated that they need heated seats.
The rest of the list features a lot of modern safety equipment, a bit of tech, and one particular drivetrain option. Here are the top 15 features, in order:
Parking Sensors (Front And Rear) \u2014 45 percent
Rear Automatic Emergency Braking \u2014 44 percent
Power Front Driver's Seat \u2014 43 percent
Adaptive Cruise Control With Active Lane Centering \u2014 43 percent
Rear Cross Traffic Alert \u2014 42 percent
Power Front Passenger Seat \u2014 40 percent
Large Animal Detection \u2014 39 percent
One interesting thing to note in this study is the increasing comfort level drivers feel with advanced safety features. AutoPacific notes that 62 percent of drivers feel comfortable enabling their vehicle to handle certain driving tasks. This includes lane centering and parallel parking.
That number has risen from 57 percent in 2024 and 60 percent in 2025.
Motor1's Take: Heated seats are an interesting choice for the number one most wanted feature, but not surprising.\u00a0Lots of folks like tossing on the booty warmers. I'm just surprised that ventilated seats didn't also make the list.\u00a0
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