Credit: Southern Living / Getty ImagesWhen you open your car door and feel a blast of volcanic air, you may start to question your decisions. Yes, you should have parked in the shade. But you've also learned that sliding into your black leather seat in summer causes searing pain. When you shopped for this car, should you have gone with the tan leather interior instead? Do cars with a dark interior really get hotter in the sun?The answer is a strong maybe, but you don't need to rush to the dealer to trade in your car. The interior color of your car doesn't make a huge difference in how hot it gets, and there are many steps you can take to keep your car cooler in summer.Why Dark Cars Get Hotter Than Light OnesIt's true that dark cars heat up more quickly than light ones. This is because black paint absorbs the entire spectrum of visible light from the sun, heating up the roof and other surfaces of your car. White or silver paint reflects a lot of visible light—60 percent or more. So while light cars still get hot in the summer, they won't heat up as fast as black cars. Tests have verified that the interior temperature of a white or silver car can be at least 10 degrees cooler than a black one, at least in the short term.What About Interior Color?Your seats and trim are subject to the same physics as the exterior color of your car. And we all know that a hot black seat and steering wheel can be very painful to touch after hours of exposure to sunlight. However, you aren't likely to find a car with a white dashboard or seats, and we're not sure you'd want to try to clean those.AdvertisementAdvertisementTan or gray seats could keep your car slightly cooler by absorbing less solar radiation, but you won't notice much of a difference in the overall interior temperature of your car. No matter what color your seats are, the heat that results from solar radiation will be trapped by the glass. The best way to keep your car cool is to block sunlight from entering in the first place.How to Keep Your Car Interior CoolerThere's not much you can do about the exterior color of your car or truck. If you're forced to park your black, charcoal gray, or navy blue vehicle in the blazing sun, it's going to get hot. Window tinting can help, especially since most of a car's solar heat gain comes from sunlight entering the windows and heating the interior. Here are more ways to keep the interior of your car cooler—even if you have black leather seats:Put a sunshade in the windshield to block out sunlight and keep your dashboard and front seats from baking.When you park in direct sunlight, leave windows cracked half an inch.If your car came with mesh window shades in the back, pull them down when you park in the sun. If it doesn't, install mesh shades with UV protection.Install a light-colored, cloth seat cover on the driver's seat.If you live in a hot, sunny climate, consider aftermarket window tinting with good UV protection to reduce sun exposure.Read the original article on Southern Living
