The best heated car seat covers
- Heated seats are expensive - aftermarket covers offer the same at a lower price
- Parkers guide to heated seat covers
- Affordable and effective options chosen
Written by Chris Williams
Published: 22 August 2022
Updated: 7 July 2023
Heated seats are still very much a luxury optional extra on cars. The optional Winter Pack on the Skoda Fabia for example is £265. For that, you get heated front seats and heated washer nozzles. Ford’s optional Comfort Pack on its Puma, which includes heated seats and a heated steering wheel, is £300. This is big money for warm buttocks.
In addressing the issue of affordability, we have come up with a shortlist of quality aftermarket heated seat covers and cushions that warm you on a cold morning. In addition to their pleasant warming capabilities, heated seat covers also act as a protector for your upholstery.
The best heated car seat covers
The only niggles are that despite the non-slip backing, the covers can move around a bit and you need to come up with a solution for hiding the power cable, otherwise, it’s draped in a messy fashion over the centre console.
Want to add some massaging into the mix? This heated massage seat cover is good for use in the car but also on an office chair, for example. Because you can control the backrest and seat heater independently, plus choose between a range of massage options, there are many different combinations you can have here: two temperature levels; four areas of massage; five massage modes and three intensity levels.
Streetwize is a well-established brand in Britain’s world of car accessories. Its heated car seat cover is comfortable and well-made. It is fitted to either of a car’s front seats with elastic straps and is compatible with seats with side airbags. It plugs into the cigarette lighter and has two heat settings, HI or LO with a thermostat. You also get the added benefit of some foam padding.
Drawbacks? Though it will be fine for most, the power cable is not terribly long.
The only problem with this arrangement is that you can spend an awfully long time playing around with the settings, which may result in lateness to meetings.
Many people will sympathise with the issue of lumbar support when it comes to car seats. Lower back pain is rife with many travellers on long car journeys. This Halfords heated seat cushion goes a long way to relieve people of this problem. The memory foam cushion is a curved D shape that, when placed at the bottom of the seat backrest, keeps your posture proper. The heating function is there for muscle relaxation and heat therapy.
Though the cushion is designed to sit flush against car seats, it doesn’t always, depending on the seat.
Electricity-free heated car seat covers
Granted, the sub-heading is a little misleading but there is no denying the effectiveness of sheepskin car seat covers when it comes to warmth. This set is made in the UK and are actually synthetic, but they are still very soft, affordable, and crucially, warm. You can get this set in nine various colours and patterns, all of which are easily washable. The fabric is stretchy and the base is elasticated in order to achieve a universal fit.
While these are indeed very warm seat covers, being synthetic means they aren’t very breathable.
This car seat cover from Heyner is a subtle solution to keeping warm in your car throughout the winter. This seat cover gets toasty warm but has an automatic switch-off at 65 degrees but is fully customisable to suit your preferences.
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