treeofliberty

For the folks living in the desert heat of the Southwest, can you comment on the air conditioning (and ventilated seat) performance? I suppose this doesn't have anything to do specifically with the Grand Sport, but that's what I'm in the market to buy in the coming weeks/months.

A test drive would provide a data point, but I'd like to get a more general sense of this car's ability to overcome the heat. Yes, I want some creature comforts for myself and the wife.

Thanks for your feedback. I tried the search but didn't find what I was seeking.

TheGadgetGuru

While I live in Florida and have only had my GS for a month, I can say the A/C works very well. However, it's a good idea to have the airflow going through the dash and floor vents as the footwells can get warm at highway speeds.

Steve_R

AC works very well at all temps. The seats are only ventilated, not cooled, so keep your expectations low on them if you've used cooled seats.

Paul Clifton Jr.

I've got a pretty new Stingray here in Phoenix. The A/C is working great, but I can't feel much difference with seat ventilation.

- Paul

KenHorse

GM typically has great AC. During our trip to SoCal a couple of weeks ago, it was at least 99 for over 5 hours and even with a transparent top, no problems with the AC keeping up

NSC5

The AC works very well. Give it a little help by venting the car before starting the AC when it has been parked in the sun and manually choose recirculation under high heat conditions; in auto mode it will use recirculation when conditions are sufficiently stressful but you will get better cooling under high heat conditions by using recirc mode manually to avoid having the system dealing with large amounts of outside air.

When you get it, make sure that you go into vehicle personalization and set auto max fan speed to high. It has been too long since I bought my Z06 (2016) to remember but most GM vehicles come with the default maximum fan speed set to lower than high which handicaps the climate control system.

Null Pointer

In hot humid sunny Florida, my A/C more than keeps up with the heat. No worries there.

Ask the dealer to set the afterblow option, which turns the A/C fan on several times after the car has been shut off. This function blows out all the condensation in the A/C ducts so that it doesn't get moldy or musty in there. Even more appropriate for humid climates like Florida. Most service departments have never heard of it, but it is on just about all GM vehicles these days - but the default is off. The tech will need to hook up to the OBD port on the vehicle and also hook up to the GM system and go through the menus to turn the option on.

azcanuk

The air in my Z works as expected when it's 110+ managing to cool me down quite nicely... HOWEVER the "ventilated seats" are another thing... even having the air delivery mode set to blow on the floor doesn't get enough cool air under the seat to really cool the seats.

NSC5

I have the suede competition seats and I think the seat ventilators work a little better with those than perforated leather. Make sure you keep your seats clean, vacuum as necessary so that air can flow and using conditioners or other similar products on leather seats may partially block the airflow so use with caution.

My GMC Sierra Denali 2500HD has perforated leather and the seat fans move a little more air but weight and seat size aren't a huge concern when designing pickups and although the AC in my Z06 and Cadillac ATS can easily keep up with the temperature, the Sierra will cool down instantly on the hottest days and could easily freeze out an Eskimo

jdk541

My AC and ventilated seats work great here in Arizona. No matter what the temperature, the cabin is always kept comfortable. If I used the ventilation on the seats, I usually keep it on low or my nuts get a bit numb.

Now I do admit, that I never let my car bake for hours out in the sun on the hottest days, but on those average 105 to 110 degree days the climate control system performs just I would expect it to.

Steve Garrett

You'll be fine, OP. Just remember to use your Recirculate button!

decco

I agree with all the other comments from the guys in Arizona. The ventilated seats are a joke. But on the other hand, unlike the guys from Florida, you won't have to worry about mold or a musty smell!!

iclick

Report from S. LA, which is hot but also very humid. AC works fine but ventilated seats are a tad better than no fans at all. I would expect them to work better in arid regions because sweat would evaporate faster in lower humidity. The OP didn't ask but I would advise against the transparent top for summer duty for any region where temps exceed 90°. I have both stock painted and trans tops and use the latter only from October thru April. It's great in winter.

SingleTrackMinded

OP: I have a GS with 3LT package. The stock air works great here, no issues at all thus far. As for the ventilated seats, I am actually surprised at the added benefit of these. Mine work fairly well. Its true, that they don't put out a lot of cool air, but what they do is noticeable. I use it all the time and would hate not to have it now that I'm used to it.

If you live in the Phoenix area, you're already aware of the rock issues on our freeways. I'd highly recommend having front PPF applied if you care about saving the front end from the inevitable rock chips. Additionally, I recommend going to a good tint shop and getting ceramic tint installed. Big difference in heat rejection.

Best of luck on your search.

joemessman

Mine works great. I keep it on 73 and nice and chilly. Always have used mine set to auto. Only recirculate when going through a dusty area or something like that. It's actually the best A/C I have had with any car I have owned. I don't have ventilated seats and really don't need them or miss them. I have had A/C seats in other cars and never really used that feature. But....if you have the heated, ventilated seat option....remember they are ventilated, not cooled.

cowboy casey

115 here in Oklahoma last year and it kept me kewl

Carqwik

Scottsdale here. Tint is a must, PPF also a good idea. A/C works fine. Disagree with the poster who says the ventilated seats are joke - they do work and keep the seats comfortable. In fact, I'd say the ventilated seats are mandatory for AZ summers.

treeofliberty

I want to thank everyone for the very helpful relies, especially with the added context. It certainly sounds like the A/C is going to be great (similar to our Tahoe experiences in the past) but the hope for cooled seats is misplaced. We have this feature in our F-150 and F-350, and it's not enough to produce a shiver but it does keep you from showing up with a sweaty, salty back. Truth be told, that is the most attractive 2LT feature to me, but I'll just have to lower expectations and I'll be fine.

Time to get out there and test drive some cars, forming my own opinion.

RFZ

i live in " but its a dry heat" Tucson. a/c works fine, clothing that i am wearing seems to have a bit of effect on how well vent seats work. recommend getting fiber seats over leather.

vader86

Keep expectations low on the cooling level of the seats. I barely feel them but they do keep me from sticking to the leather and sweating against it

AC works great