How much of an issue is heat w/ Black Interior?

[kanys]

I was wondering if those of you who have owned cars with black interiors (preferably leather) and who live in the south, or wherever it gets into the mid-high 90's at least a few weeks out of the year just how hot it gets, and mainly is it worth it? My camaro will be silver ice, and I really like the black leather interior but right now I am going with the gray. But maybe the silver exterior will kinda balance out the heat absorbed by the black inside?

Anyways can anyone tell me just how hot the car w/ black interior gets if you leave it outside during the summer? I do like the gray, but IMO the black looks better.

[nickspohn]

hot summer - SIZZLING


cold winter night - BURRRRRRRRRRRRRRR


not sure which one is worse.

[kanys]

Well the heated seats will take care of your 2nd point, but yeah the first one is what I am concerned about.

[headpunter]

in my experience when i was living in Socal the thing is its hot Right when you sit down for like 30secs and then you start to cool down. i never found it that bad, i would never skip out on a black interior just becuase it was hot.

[SdustinK]

its only hot for one minute hey if yout gtting auto just start the car and run the ac before you get in ;-]

[Th3Nigh7Stalk3r]

Well my dad owns a 2008 Jetta Wolfsburg Edition and it has LEATHERETTE seats. It doesn't get that cold/hot. But with the leather I am guessing it will get pretty cold/hot. I am probably going to stick with the cloth unless the leather comes standard.

[GamerGuyZ28]

I'll tell ya one thing my 2000 Z28 is black with charcoal interior, and I've recorded temp of 190+ and i live in north Georgia, I could not imagine what they get in Arizona. Plus if you don't keep protection on it it will cause early wear on the interior, so while the black looks better it is quite hot, but then again it's not a hatch back so the A/C should be way more effective.

[SSOOCH]

I have a 2002 Monte Carlo that is Galaxy Silver with Black leather interior, just use some sun shades in the summer, you'll be fine or tint your windows, tint helps

[Rogue Leader]

My 2000 Vette was Black on Black. Admittedly I live in NY, but it still gets hot as hell here (we had a few weeks of 90+ temps this summer).

Firstly I had 20% tint on all the windows. And secondly I used a sunshade whenever it was going to be parked for a while. While it was still hot in there, I never had a problem being able to just pull the sunshade and drive off. Its really not that bad.

My SS will have Inferno Orange interior... now that will be hot.... like an Inferno... get it... ha ...ha haha

[Ry4nVan]

Arizona and black leather is like living in hell sometimes. But I'm going to be getting a dark window tint and probably leave a towel on my seat during the summer times.

[camaro5]

Native Floridian here: Never owned a black interior or exterior car. Personally feel it's suicidal in hot climate. In Vermont, no problem. (lived in Burlington, VT for 8 yrs.)

[Camaro_Corvette]

Deal with it, I absolutely love black interiors, one of my main reasons is that they hide stains, and with my OCD, this is a requirement. Plus, it looks soooooo good!

[heavyt100]

I had a black leather interior in my previous car and black and red two-tone in my current one.

As long as you have good air conditioning, you should be OK.

That said, I ordered a 1SS this time, in part because I wanted a black interior and preferred cloth over leather.

[Txturbo]

Its not bad after you develop scar tissue. It can get around 140-150 on the interior if left in full sun.

[nUcLeArEnVoY]

Get a reflective sunshield cover to put over the windshield when you'll be out of the car for extended periods. Believe it or not, they really do help a good amount. It only takes a minute to fasten them and they'll also protect the interior from heat damage which is another issue down the road.

And needless to say back home, if you have a garage, use it.

[ucla1ove3]

it's not that bad, the AC cools it quickly lol. and it's a smaller car so the AC will cool it extra fast cause it's less area

[SS4EVER]

My current ride is black and my ride before was also black. As far as heat goes being an issue, I've found it to be liveable, but yeah with black exterior color, and leather... When the sun is blazing and when it's a nice summer day my interior is an oven! My ride before actually had tints and it certainly did help reflect some rays, and keep the interior cooler.

Seeing that you live in Houston this may be an issue, I know it would be for those that probably live in the south west. But I wouldn't let that be your determining factor in getting black or not...

[stovt001]

I'll also voice support for getting a sun shade. They keep temps down and protect the interior from damaging UV rays. It kills two birds with one stone. Also tint (keep it legal) helps. I live in Southern California and I plan on a black leather interior. Black leather just looks great, especially on this car, so I'll suck it up. Lighter colored leathers stain really easily. Edmunds had a long term test car with gray leather and jeans left permanent stains in the seat.

[themossman]

I have had several black leather interiors in FLA...the single most important thing to do is get your windows tinted as dark as possible (I go a few shades past the legal limit on the rear window and rear sides. Second, either use a windshield screen or park so that your windshield doesn't bear the the brunt on the passing sun.

On days your certain it won't rain, a millimeter crack in the windows will also keep the car cooler.

It gets hot...but not intolerable.

[screamingchicken88]

My jeep has black leather seats, and luckily for me, I have no working ac or a driver's seat heater. In the summer its not really a problem, only when I am driving slowly and no wind is coming into the car. In the winter its only bad for about 5 minutes, or until the heat comes on fully. But in a new car, you won't have any of these things to worry about. So go for the leather!

Oh, and the temperature of a car during the summer really depends on the size of the car. Bigger car, more time to heat up. But the leather only makes it a little more uncomfortable.

[Evotion]

I'm sure some of my Arizona friends would agree... black, white, tan... leather, cloth, etc. It's all hot. Personally, when it's in the 110+ range, and I get out of the car (A/C full blast) it looks like someone just poured Gatorade down my back. For that reason I prefer leather here. Mainly because it doesn't absorb sweat as much, there for the seat isn't soaked when I get back in

[Emher]

Personally I'm getting the leather interior since I'm fed up with the cloth in my Saab. I just can't get it clean after the soon to be ten year of abuse, and while it's not bad enough that I can't stand driving around in it (it's still a fantastic car for it's price and age) I sooo want leather next time. Plus somehow to me American V8 = leather or vinyl.

And as other people have said, it will have a good A/C so I'll probably just switch it on on full blast for a minute or so on hot summer days and it will be veeery comfortable. Did that with the rental I had when I went over to Atlanta in the summer a few years ago and it worked great.

[Joker57676]

I've had black leather in two different cars. One when I lived in Las Vegas and one when I lived in Tucson, AZ. Neither was really that bad. It's more other people telling you how hot it is. I wouldn't ever turn down a dark interior because it was too hot. It really isn't that bad. Besides, how often is your skin actually touching the seating surfaces? I know mine rarely ever did but occasionally female passengers with short skirts/shorts complained...but the car isn't for them is it? The only issue I ever had was with my aluminum shift knob; that bastard got too hot to touch. I had to grip the boot to shift.

Mark

[FenwickHockey65]

+1 for the sun shade. Our '03 Envoy's windows were apparently tinted from the factory, at least the rear windows. We use a sun shade for the windshield and it helps a lot.

I'd say the remote start + AC would cool the car down before you even got in.

[Hylton]

Get an automatic and then you can remote start the car (included in 2LT and 2SS) a few minutes before jumping in. Just set the A/C to blow cold before getting out of the car.