• AutoPacific, an automotive research firm, surveyed over 19,000 drivers and found that heated seats top new-car buyers' wishlists.
• Heated seats beat out blind-spot monitors, lane-change assist, and adaptive cruise control, among other often-used features.
• All-wheel drive landed in 15th place, while parking sensors and rear automated emergency braking took second and third place, respectively.

Above safety features and all-wheel drive, it seems people simply want a warm seat to sit in. A new study by automotive research firm AutoPacific found that the overall most-wanted feature in a new vehicle is heated seats, followed closely by parking sensors and rear automated emergency braking.

More than 19,000 licensed drivers who plan on buying a new vehicle in the next three years weighed in. AutoPacific's survey asked participants to rank over 160 features in order of how important they were in buying a new car. For 47 percent of the group, heated seats took top priority.

Front and rear parking sensors and rear automated emergency braking took second and third place, respectively. Interestingly, rear cross-traffic alert with automated emergency braking landed a bit further down the list in ninth place, and wireless charging took 11th. All-wheel drive rounds out the list in 15th place, which seems shockingly low, considering how many vehicles have leaned into off-road capabilities and rugged styling in recent years.

Six of the top 15 features are repeated from AutoPacific's 2025 findings; eight were options, but ranked lower last year. The only newly ranked feature this year was automated parking, which was defined as a car that could park itself either while occupied or when the owner was nearby. Auto park finished in 10th place, showing that a decent amount of people are looking for self-parking features in their new vehicles.

The highly coveted heated seats are typically reserved for mid- to high-level vehicle trims, so those with warmer priorities should expect to shell out a bit more money for the toasty feature. Some automakers offer cold-weather packages that can add things like heated seats, a heated steering wheel, or heated outside mirrors, at a lower cost than an upgraded trim, which may be a more feasible option for drivers who can do without some of the extra frills that come with higher trims. A base-model Nissan Sentra S, for example, can be equipped with heated front seats and heated outside mirrors with a $500 package.