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Air-conditioning, in the context of being parked

Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2017 4:12 pm
by veteran
I suppose many of us owners of recently-produced Polos have had the terribly unpleasant experience of climbing into the driver's seat on a boiling hot summer's day, after having left the car parked out in the open, only to find the cabin interior like the veritable centre of a furnace, and then, worse still, being burnt on then touching the steering-wheel. Certainly, sunroofs - many of which you could afford to leave partially open but still in a secured state - have become less popular and don't seem to be fitted as standard any more. Consequently, this tendency for the car's interior to transform into a heatbox in the summer has become more pronounced.

What I'd like to ask is whether, aside from taking some obvious but small counter-measures, there's anything clever that can be done with the Polo's air-conditioning (AC) and security systems to mitigate this. I mean, is it at all possible to have the AC running while the car's parked, locked and the driver and passengers absent - for, say, an hour or two? Clearly, from a security standpoint, you can't afford to leave, in a public place, one or more windows open, even partially.

Re: Air-conditioning, in the context of being parked

Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2017 4:27 pm
by alexperkins
Sadly not. The polo doesnt have a 'rest' feature where it will run with the car off.

Mercedes have had this for many years, but it uses residual cool air to keep the air con working for a short period, and an electric air con pump to circulate the coolant without the engine running

The idea is good in principle but theres draw backs as it can flatten the battery.

Re: Air-conditioning, in the context of being parked

Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2017 6:50 pm
by RUM4MO
That maybe cheap and not so cheerful makers of car called Skoda, do either include or offer as a factory fitted option, along with a sun roof, a solar cell and fan driven by it to move the air around a bit, what Polo probably has, is, if you hold the unlock button on the remote key fob, it will drive all the windows down. If the Polo does not have that function I think that it can be programed in on certain trim levels of them.

This question forces out of me another question, and that is, why do most hire cars in hot countries have dark paintwork?