Massaging seats can make long road trips easier on your back and less tiresome overall. It also offers a welcome reprieve on your daily commute, especially after coming from a hard day’s work.
However, seats with a massage function are not as common as heated and cooled seats, and are usually limited to luxury vehicles.
In this article, we’ll take a look at a couple of hybrid SUVs at different price points that come with massage seats as standard or as an option, and see what trim levels they’re available in.
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1. Range Rover PHEV
There’s nothing quite like a Range Rover when it comes to the levels of luxury and comfort it can provide in all types of road conditions.
Range Rovers have also had massaging seats as standard on the Autobiography trim level for quite some time, which shouldn’t be too surprising considering the type of clientele the brand caters to.
For the 2024 model year, the Range Rover P550e plug-in hybrid became available in the Autobiography trim level which still has massaging seats as standard.
The Range Rover P550e PHEV model makes 542 hp and has up to 50 miles of all electric range.
The older P400e and P440e PHEV models of the Range Rover were only offered in the SE or HSE trim levels which only got massage seats as an option. Massage seats can also be added to the base P400 mild hybrid Range Rover.
2. Range Rover Sport PHEV
The Range Rover Sport is slightly smaller, sportier and more affordable than the Range Rover, but it’s still very luxurious and capable off-road.
The first plug-in hybrid variant of the Range Rover Sport debuted in 2020 and was known as the P400e. It was available in both the HSE and Autobiography trim levels.
The P400e was replaced by the P440e, and then the P550e for the 2024 model year. Both upgraded PHEV models only came in the Autobiography trim level which have massage seats as standard.
The P550e’s hybrid powertrain is the same one used in the larger Range Rover plug-in hybrid. With over 500 hp on tap, it can rocket the Range Rover Sport from 0 to 60 in under 5 seconds.
The Range Rover Sport also comes in a mild hybrid variant which was first introduced in 2019. It’s only available in the base trim which doesn’t get massage seats, even as an option.
3. Mercedes-Benz GLE 450e
The GLE 450e is a new plug-in hybrid that succeeds the GLE 550e which was sold from 2017 to 2018.
Although Mercedes-Benz has fully embraced mild hybrids and EVs, the GLE 450e is its only real hybrid in the USA aside from the new S-Class 580e and AMG S 63, and the discontinued GLC 350e.
Official numbers haven’t been released yet at the time of writing, but the European-spec GLE 400e, which has the same hybrid powertrain as the GLE 450e, has an estimated 60 miles electric-only range.
Massage seats, which Mercedes-Benz refers to as multicontour front seats, don’t come standard on the GLE 450e, but you can get it as part of a package or as an individual option.
Multicountour seats typically only come standard in the top-of-the-line GLE 63 which has an electric motor to give it faster acceleration.
Mercedes-Benz’s massage seats come with a total of 8 massage programs which includes a spa-like ‘hot-stone’ mode and an ‘active workout’ setting. It also actively adjusts the side bolstering to keep you planted in your seat when cornering hard.
Related: 10 Most Fun to Drive Hybrid SUVs (With Pictures)
4. BMW X5 xDrive50e
For the 2024 model year, the X5 xDrive50 replaces the xDrive45e plug-in hybrid, which first debuted in 2021.
Compared to the outgoing PHEV model which had 389 hp and 30 miles of range, the new xDrive50e has a total of 483 hp and 40 miles of all-electric range.
Front massaging seats don’t come standard on any of the X5’s trim levels, but you can get it as an option on the xDrive50e if you add the Climate Comfort Package and the multi-contour which adds an extra $3,100 to the price tag.
The Climate Comfort Packages gives you ventilated front seats, front and rear heated seats, a heated steering wheel and heated front armrests. The muli-contour seats adds power lumbar support, headrests and memory seats.
The X5’s massage seats come with 8 massage programs with three levels of intensity for each one.
5. Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid
The Porsche Cayenne is renowned for its sports car-like handling but it certainly doesn’t disappoint when it comes to daily driving comfort and refinement.
The first Cayenne Hybrid came out in 2011 while the E-Hybrid PHEV model debuted in 2015.
New Cayenne E-Hybrids have over 450 hp on tap while the Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid packs even more power under the hood at 670 hp.
Electric range also goes up to 25 miles, which is big improvement over the 17 miles you could get from the older models.
Massage seats are only available as an option on all Cayenne trim levels, but you can get them in both the front and rear seats. In the Cayenne Coupe, you can only get massage seats in the front.
Adding the front ventilated and massage seats costs around $2,000. If you want it in the back seats as well, it’s going to cost roughly $3,000.
The Cayenne’s massage seats come with 10 air cushions in the backrest and 5 programs, each with varying levels of intensity.
6. Volvo XC90 Recharge
Volvo is known for its outstanding safety ratings and technology, which makes it an excellent choice for families, but the flagship XC90 doesn’t disappoint when it comes to comfort and luxury.
The Volvo XC90 plug-in hybrid has been on the market since 2016 but it’s gone through lots of incremental updates over the years so it doesn’t look or feel outdated at all.
The XC90 Recharge now makes 455 hp and has 36 miles of electric range. The older T8 plug-in hybrids only made 400 hp and 18 miles of range.
Massage front seats are available on the XC90’s Ultimate trim level if you add the Lounge package, which costs an extra $1,700.
In the older T8 models, you needed to add the Luxury package to the Inscription trim level to get the massage function. It also came standard in the range topping Excellence trim level.
The XC90’s massaging front seats has five programs and 3 speeds with 3 levels of intensity to choose from.
Related: 10 Hybrid SUVs with Captain Seats (With Pictures)
7. Volvo XC60 T8 Plug-in Hybrid
The XC60 is a compact luxury SUV that’s led Volvo’s sales charts for a number of years.
It’s just the right size for small families and is easy to drive around town and on longer road trips. It also doesn’t disappoint when it comes to comfort, luxury and style.
You could get massage seats in the Inscription trim level of the XC60 T8 plug-in hybrid after adding the Luxury Seating Package which cost an extra $2,200.
For the extra money you spent, it also added heating, ventilation, and power lumbar support to the front seats.
The massage option was dropped in 2021 which is around the same time the plug-in hybrid model was renamed as the Recharge. Along with the change, heated seats became standard on all trim levels and the Inscription trim level, now known as the Ultimate trim level, added front seat ventilation.
8. Lincoln Corsair Plug-in Hybrid
The Corsair is Lincoln’s smallest SUV and is the successor to the MKC. It’s also the only other Lincoln hybrid aside from the much larger Aviator.
You can only get the Corsair’s plug-in hybrid powertrain, which has up to 28 miles of EV range, in the top of the line Grand Touring trim level.
To get the massage seats, you’ll have to add the Collection III equipment package for $8,000, as well as the $1,285 24-way Perfect Position Front Seat option.
The Collection III package also gives you Lincoln Co-Pilot 2.1, BlueCruise, heads-up display, heated rear seats, and a Revel 14-speaker sound system, which explains its high price.
In older model years, you could get the Perfect Position seats with the massage function if you added the Elements Technology Bundle which only cost $3,900.
The massage function also works on the backrest, as well as the seat bottom, and has 5 different modes.
9. Lincoln Aviator Plug-in Hybrid
The Aviator is a fairly large midsize luxury SUV that is positioned just below the flagship Navigator in Lincoln’s model lineup.
Like the larger Navigator, the Aviator comes with third-row seats, but it’s also available with a plug-in hybrid powertrain that can drive up to 21 miles in EV mode.
The hybrid powertrain is only offered in the Grand Touring and Black Label Grand Touring trim levels.
The 30-way Perfect Position front seats with Active Motion massage come standard on the top of the line Black Label Grand Touring model.
You can also get it in the Grand Touring trim level, but you’ll have to get the $5,840 Grand Touring I equipment package and the $3,300 Luxury Package, which ends up adding roughly $9,000 to the price of the vehicle.
10. Ford Explorer Hybrid
The Ford Explorer is one of the most popular SUVs in history with over 8 million units sold.
When the sixth generation Explorer debuted in 2020, it also got a hybrid variant for the very first time.
The Explorer’s hybrid powertrain gets an estimated 27 mpg in the city, beating out the base 4-cylinder EcoBoost’s 21 mpg. The hybrid is also only available in the Limited and Platinum trim levels.
You can only get massage seats in the Explorer Hybrid on the Platinum trim level after you add the $1,295 Premium Technology Package.
Aside from the front multicontour seats with Active Motion (massage function), this equipment package also adds a 10.1-inch touchscreen in portrait mode and a 14-speaker Band & Olufsen sound system.
You can also get the Premium Technology Package with the massage seats in the ST and King Ranch trim levels, but these aren’t available with the hybrid powertrain.
