I think this is one of the biggest jokes in our cars! I had a chance to test them yesterday, as there was really pretty hot in my area, and unfortunatelly - I found out, I can't feel any difference, or really hardly, between ventilation button switched on / off. Same applies for passenger seat.

We are in 2019 and guys from MB knows how to build an perfect engine and they are not able to build such an easy thing like ventilated seats ?? :-D or am I missing something?

If somebody is thinking about that option into his new car - really don't do that - save money for something else!

I had ventilated seats on my ml and they were great.

I agree the seats in my macan were so much nicer

Agreed OP. Have them in my GLC43 and they really don't do much at all, especially in hot/humid weather. Good thing the MB air conditioning is darn good. I think the lack of any real feel with this option is because it's basically a fan, whereas some of these systems are actually "air conditioned" seats. Was in a rental Taurus SHO for work about 3 years ago and it actually had "air conditioned" seats and they were phenomenal. Did an amazing job as I traveled across a hot/humid Midwest. If someone is choosing between the ventilated seat option and some other option, probably go for the other one.

There is a difference between Ventilated and cooled seats. Example (My 09 CLK, 05 CLK55, 04 CLK320, 06 CL600 and 2012 E Class have Ventilated seats) Like most MB models. They basically have small fans inside the seat that blow the air that is of the temp in the car up into the seat. Cooled seats like in the Cadillac I rented in Las Vegas actually make the seat cooler. There is a difference. I do not use them much as the A/C does the job just fine.

I've noticed if the car is hot, like when it's been parked under the sun, they dont do much. It also depends on what you are wearing, some fabrics make it more noticeable than others.

I had ventilated seats on several Cadillacs and they were a joke. Passed on that option when I bought my E450 CAB, being a convertible and all. Plus, those holes ruin the look of the leather seats and makes them tougher to clean those ugly holes.

My Panamera had seats which pumped chilled air through, and they were great.
My GLC63 has ventilated seats, which people have pointed out only pumps cabin air through.

That said, it makes a big difference on long drives. Probably useless on trips to the grocery store.

No clue why MB chose that design/engineering.