​​How Your Volkswagen Keeps You Cool During Summer Road Trips​

Summer is approaching, and school will be out, which may mean it’s time for the family’s summer vacation or a quick road trip. Ironically, the very summer weather that draws us to over-the-road travel can be the most challenging part of such trips. Fortunately, Volkswagen models have several features to help you keep your cool. Bud Brown Volkswagen wants to remind you of them.  

Long ago, the biggest concern on summer road trips was vehicle overheating. Sensors and improved internal cooling systems have pretty much made that a thing of the past. Not that you shouldn’t keep an eye on the temperature gauge on particularly hot days while driving long, uphill mountain roads.   

Volkswagen’s biggest concern now is keeping everyone comfortable, and it has several features across its models to do just that.  

Air Care Climatronic 

This system lives within the infotainment system and has the climate control system respond to simple voice commands, such as “I’m hot.” This will not only activate or adjust the climate control system but, when combined with dual- or tri-zone climate systems, will also allow the vehicle to determine where in the cabin the voice command originated. It can also respond to directional commands such as “Cool feet,” “Fresh air,” or even “Clear view,” which will automatically start demisting the windshield. 

Ventilated Seats 

Upper trim levels of the Atlas, Atlas CrossSport, and Tiguan model lines use fans built into the seats to circulate cabin air through perforations in the upholstery, providing a cooling effect. The system doesn’t use a separate cooling unit; instead, it draws in cabin air and directs it to areas of the body not exposed to it. Often, this feature can serve as an alternative to further cooling the entire cabin, saving energy and preventing the cabin from becoming too cold for other people in the vehicle.  

The controls can be on the dash, on the center touchscreen, or both, and will offer three intensity levels. This function is individual, so ventilated seats can be on for one person while a seat heater is on for another. 

Remote Start  

This feature is often associated with pre-starting a vehicle in the winter to warm the engine so you can drive soon after entering the car. However, the system is quite useful in the summer as well. It can be activated from the myVW app. Remote start will automatically set the climate control to a comfortable temperature of about 72°F, which can be a significant change from both the outside and cabin temperatures if the vehicle was parked in the sun. If 72°F doesn’t work for you, the system can be managed through the touch display for specific settings before leaving the vehicle. 

Sync 

Don’t overlook that if you are the only occupant in the vehicle and your model has multiple climate control zones, activating the SYNC control will automatically match all zones to the driver’s setting.  

With the power of the center touchscreen display, you can activate several specific climate control settings, accompanied by clear, intuitive graphics that confirm the system is doing what you asked of it. If this system isn’t on your current vehicle, be sure to give it a thorough test when you visit Bud Brown Volkswagen for your next test drive.