I do not think this is true, doesn't the HVAC and seat heaters still run off a separate accessory 12v battery (that is "charged" by the big battery) ? Or does everything now run off the "big" battery now?
Not all seat heaters are equal! VW Jetta I had were decently hot, selector 1-9 i think - Toyota Rav4 heaters SUCK! (cylcle on and off + no level setting) - Lexus ls430 decently hot, dial setting w/ no #'s
Absolutely! The ones in my TT Roadster have 6 different settings for some reason and the setting 6 might as well be called "sear." I never have it set higher than 4, and that's with the top down on a cold night.
It also has to do with passenger sensitivity, too. In my Chevy Suburban, I can barely stand "1" on the scale of 1-3 but my wife complains that "3" isn't hot enough.
If that's true, my wife will be so happy. She bought a Dodge Caliber (before I was on the scene ) based purely on the heated seats and rear-window wiper.
My wife would love this. She sometimes uses the car's heater to dry her hair on the way to work so a button that max fan on vent and max heat would be nice. She didn't like my Corvette as it took several button presses to do that - her current Jeep is all manual so it's just 2 knob turns.