Cruising in Comfort: 6 Cars with Massage Seats

These six new SUVs and other cars with massage seats can make drivers and passengers more comfortable on both long journeys and short trips around town.

Andrew Ganz | 

Feb 4, 2022 | 3 min read

Genesis

Your grueling commute or long road trip can get a lot more comfortable if you shop for cars with massage seats. These systems can simply provide a little relief or simulate a soothing hot stone massage, helping drivers and passengers stay comfortable while exploring the open road.

Once the domain of high-end luxury cars, vehicles with massage seats have become less expensive—if not exactly common. Still, if you want this feature, make sure it's within your budget when added to your other criteria. Cars with massaging seats can cost more, but for drivers who spend a lot of time behind the wheel, they can be worth the extra money.

Generally, cars with massage seats use small air bladders distributed through the seatback and base that rapidly add or lose air in concert to create an approximation of a massage. Such seats have actually been around for a while, but they have become considerably more sophisticated over the last few years. The feature isn't all that different from a massaging chair you might find operated by the minute in an airport or shopping mall. Massaging seats in cars, however, are a little fancier with power adjustment and often heating, cooling (which is different from ventilation), not to mention soft leather upholstery. To add these features, car shoppers have to step up to a more exclusive price point, but the added comfort may be worth the extra cost.

We've assembled a diverse list of six models with massaging seats at various price points, listed alphabetically by model name. Each is available for about $55,000 or less, making them slightly more expensive than the current new-car average transaction price of about $45,000.

Volkswagen

Volkswagen Arteon SEL Premium R-Line

The top-of-the-line Volkswagen sedan pays special attention to motorists. A massaging driver's seat is standard fare in the range-topping SEL Premium R-Line, which pairs Nappa leather upholstery, as well as heated and ventilated front seats with massage options.

Buick

Buick Enclave

The whole family can go for a ride in the three-row, eight-passenger Buick Enclave, but the most desirable seats are definitely up front. Massaging seats are standard on Premium and Avenir trim levels. Buick's seats offer relatively fewer massage modes compared with rivals, a trade-off for a sub-$50,000 price point.

Ford

Ford Explorer

Several versions of the Ford Explorer are available with massage seats, starting with the sport-oriented Explorer ST trim level. Ford markets the seats as Multicontour with Active Motion, and ordering them requires selecting a package with various additional options, as well.

Ford

Ford F-150

Equally adept at work and play, large pickup trucks like the Ford F-150 are excellent vehicles for long-distance driving. Ford's Active Motion massage seats are standard on Platinum and Limited trim levels, and they're optional on the western-themed King Ranch version.

Genesis

Genesis GV70

You may not recognize the Genesis name, but the level of luxury packed into this Hyundai offshoot's lineup is definitely worth checking out. The GV70 is the smaller of Genesis' two SUVs, and it can be outfitted with what the automaker calls Ergo Motion seats. These front seats offer massage as well as a "stretching mode" that automatically adjusts the cushion on longer drives to help relieve tension.

Volvo

Volvo V60 Cross Country

Long a brand associated with comfortable seating, Volvo takes luxury to another level entirely with massaging Nappa leather seats equipped in several models. The least expensive car with massage seats in the Volvo lineup is the sharp V60 Cross Country model. At around $50,000, the V60 Cross Country offers numerous massage modes and intensity levels.

Andrew Ganz

Andrew has been hooked on cars since his mother coaxed him into naps by driving him around in her rattly old diesel Mercedes-Benz. Perhaps it was the diesel fumes that lulled him to sleep. Either way, he has since parlayed his automotive enthusiasm into a decades-long career as a journalist writing for such well-known sites as Auto Express, Autoblog, Car and Driver, Leftlane News, Motor1, Motor Authority, and The Car Connection, not to mention numerous classic-car publications. When he's not researching cars, he's probably working on one — though he has yet to own a diesel Mercedes. Off to the classifieds he goes.