It's 100 Degrees Outside — Why Doesn't Our Ford Ranger Have Cooled Seats?

It's the only one of our long-term midsize trucks that doesn't offer this feature

written by Ryan Greger^{Social Media Content Strategist
Ryan Greger entered the automotive industry straight out of college in 2020. Since then, he's managed social media and created content for several companies, most recently at Edmunds, where he is a social media content strategist. In addition to his social media prowess, Ryan is an avid writer, authoring reviews and other articles at Edmunds. Ryan also enjoys high-end automotive photography and has developed a sizable following on social media, where he shares photos of some of the world's finest vehicles.}
edited by Steven Ewing^{Director, Editorial Content
Steven Ewing has worked in the automotive industry since 2003. In that time, he's written thousands of car-related articles and tested just as many vehicles. Steven is Edmunds' director of editorial content and has previously been on staff at Winding Road magazine, Autoblog, Motor1.com, CNET Roadshow, and was the U.S. correspondent for Top Gear magazine. Steven has also contributed to Automobile magazine, Ars Technica, Car and Driver, The Drive, Jalopnik, SlashGear, and dozens of other publications. In his spare time, Steven loves to play the drums, cook, and lust over small JDM cars that never made it to the States.}
8/10/2024
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It's hot as H-E-double-hockey-sticks outside, which is the perfect time to test out cooled seats.
Unfortunately, our fully loaded long-term Ford Ranger Lariat doesn't have those.
Our other long-term midsize pickup trucks? They do.

Summer is in full swing here in Southern California, and that means temperatures are regularly reaching the high 90s or more in and around Los Angeles. It also means that living with our long-term 2024 Ford Ranger is a less pleasant experience than it could be for one simple reason: It doesn't have cooled seats.

That’s right: Our fully loaded $50,580 Ranger Lariat can’t cool your butt in the summer heat. Our long-term Chevy Colorado and Toyota Tacoma? They can. Rangers sold in other countries? They can, too.

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Edmunds' long-term 2024 Ford Ranger front interior

Now, if you’ve not experienced cooled seats before, you probably think I’m being dramatic, but trust me, they’re life-changing, especially in a car with leather upholstery. Cooled seats make hot weather much more bearable; you don’t feel like you’re sticking to the seat on longer trips. I think we can all agree that no one likes a sweaty butt, and cooled seats really help to mitigate that discomfort.

The Ranger’s lack of cooled seats would be more forgivable if the Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon and Toyota Tacoma didn't also offer them. Heck, there are plenty of inexpensive vehicles in a variety of segments that offer cooled seats. You can get a Kia Forte GT with this feature for around $27,000.

"We’re always looking to find the right balance of offering features customers desire while still being mindful of affordability and value for the money," a Ford spokesperson told me.

To be fair to the Ranger, though, there’s another vehicle in our long-term fleet that you might expect to have cooled seats, but doesn’t — and this one is even more surprising. That would be our $95,745 BMW i5 M60. Yes, really. Granted, at least they’re available as an option on the BMW, but how is this not standard equipment on such an expensive vehicle? Dumb.

Back to the Ranger: I know this may seem like a relatively minor thing to complain about, especially since midsize trucks are more about utility than they are about luxury. But when the other segment best-sellers offer what’s become a fairly basic comfort feature at this point — and, again, one that’s available in vehicles that cost around 50% less — it’s hard to fathom why Ford chose to forgo it.

The Ranger Lariat comes with heated seats and a heated steering wheel. Why not offer us comfort for hot days, too?

by Ryan Greger

Ryan Greger entered the automotive industry straight out of college in 2020. Since then, he's managed social media and created content for several companies, most recently at Edmunds, where he is a social media content strategist. In addition to his social media prowess, Ryan is an avid writer, authoring reviews and other articles at Edmunds. Ryan also enjoys high-end automotive photography and has developed a sizable following on social media, where he shares photos of some of the world's finest vehicles.

edited by Steven Ewing

Steven Ewing has worked in the automotive industry since 2003. In that time, he's written thousands of car-related articles and tested just as many vehicles. Steven is Edmunds' director of editorial content and has previously been on staff at Winding Road magazine, Autoblog, Motor1.com, CNET Roadshow, and was the U.S. correspondent for Top Gear magazine. Steven has also contributed to Automobile magazine, Ars Technica, Car and Driver, The Drive, Jalopnik, SlashGear, and dozens of other publications. In his spare time, Steven loves to play the drums, cook, and lust over small JDM cars that never made it to the States.