[Jdens]

I have been spending some time comparing the new Tucson to the SC. One (hopefully) nice feature that appears to be in both is the ability to select the AC to be "diffused" throughout the entire ventilation strip that goes across the dash. The button to activate this is on the bottom row of the AC controls marked "diffuse." Living in AZ one of the main reasons I DO like the SC is the ventilated seats AND the smaller interior cabin. I drove a hard top Miata for many years and the nice thing was the car cooled down VERY fast. The SC should do the same considering you are not cooling the back storage area as you would in the Tucson.

 

[JMII]

Is that ventilation strip really open? I assumed it was just decorative.

Living in FL I too would love an AC system that doesn't freeze your hands while still managing to cool the whole cabin. I often set my AC to the chest and feet vents just to help mix the air up. I would like to be able to shut off the rear vents so the front cools down even quicker. In past vehicles I've found tipping up the sunroof gives the hot air a place to escape.

As for the ventilated seats: I sure hope they work better then the ones in my C7 which are disappointingly weak.

 

[Jdens]

JMII- yep, according to the specs and media reviews of the Tucson, you can diffuse the air throughout the entire strip, or by deselecting the "diffuse" option, it routs the air to just the more traditional key points for the vents. I am in AZ and have the same issue with freezing hands. As for the ventilated seats, I have been very close on 3 separate occasions to purchasing a 2020 or 2021 Sonata Limited, Kia K5 or a Kia Forte GT, all of which have ventilated seats. I have heard nothing but positives of the vented seats in all three cars. The last time I drove one was during "winter" here in AZ, so the vented seats did not get much of a work out, but there was absolutely a immediate and noticeable cooling effect going on. I too am hopeful for a above average system to keep me from melting and arriving at my destination with frozen hands (AC diffuser) and a wet back (Ventilated Seats)!

 

[JMII]

Diffuse sounds great!

The cooling effect on the ventilated seats I have is immediate, however the problem is the effect dies off after about 5-10 minutes. The seats are not cooled per say, they are just vented. It does help just weak and disappointing.

 

[JASmith]

Yup, nothing worse than cranking the AC only to have your knuckles freezing or eyes tearing because of concentrated blasts. That said, I felt it was a little bit of a gimmick, as I just put the system on half top/half bottom which diffuses the cold air into the cabin too.

Great point on less interior volume to cool, didn't think of that. Ventilated seats also require a pano sunroof on the Tucson IIRC, and that's going to let in way more solar radiation than the mini sunroof on the SC.