I have driven a white car and a black car and if there was a difference in heat in the car it was not noticeable. If a car sits in direct sun on a hot day it will be hot. If you can park it in the shade or it's not as hot outside it will not be. I think perhaps because virtually all exterior colors have a lot of reflective particles in them the color may nont matter as much.

What DOES matter is the color and material on the seats. If you have a white car but dark colored seats then they will get hot sitting in the sun. Even with the UV on the windows. Leather seats are usually also hotter to the touch because of the smoothness of the surface though I vastly prefer leather to fabric.

Currently drive a dark blue car with light leather seats. Car itself is no hotter on a hot day than my old white car and the seats are actually a bit cooler as the old car had black leather seats that were scalding.

Anonymous wrote:Black, gray, and white are all gonna be everywhere.

If you care about standing out or not looking like everybody else you need to stay away from all of those colors.

Sadly the other options are not good.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t really get the issue as car paint colors seem like such a non-thing. I would go for most practical which is white due to the heat. There is a huge difference in how hot a car gets. No way would I want navy or black. Silver or white.

OP here. I’m quite practical as well (ie: minivan) These are all helpful perspectives. Thanks.

I have a white vehicle and it shows a lot more dirt than any other color that I’ve had, but I think it’s safer (easier to see) so I’m okay with that.

I love blue cars and like a kind of mid-blue. Currently drive a Subaru Outback in Geyser blue and it's perfect. I like that it stands out versus all the white and gray and black but it doesn't feel obnoxious.

Depends on the car but white is pretty popular especially with women

I like silver cars.

I don’t really get the issue as car paint colors seem like such a non-thing. I would go for most practical which is white due to the heat. There is a huge difference in how hot a car gets. No way would I want navy or black. Silver or white.

I don't know why car manufacturers don't use more forest or emerald green. I'd love that as an option. Chocolate brown, Indigo, Turquoise, Sunshine yellow...

White is awful. Black is funereal. Grey is depressing.

I don't see white minivans anymore. I have a white SUV but I'll be getting a different color when I get a new car. Go with black or navy.

Agree with skipping matte paint.

White is so much cooler temperature wise than any other color (even light gray or silver). If you don't have garage parking, i wouldn't consider anything else.

--White SUV owner who was grateful all summer

Depends on the colors. Sometimes the blue or red is the best-looking color in person. Choose a metallic paint; they look better longer. I'd avoid a black or white matte since they show dirt more.

I feel like I only ever see silver minivans!

Black, gray, and white are all gonna be everywhere.

If you care about standing out or not looking like everybody else you need to stay away from all of those colors.

I'm getting a new minivan to replace an old minivan. Not that exciting but new will be nice I guess and I'm stuck on color. I like white but white minivans are everywhere so I don't know. Black seems too hot and too hard to keep clean-ish. Maybe silver? Dark gray? Blue? The only color I know I don't want is the bright red.

I know that no one cares, but if anyone reading this has a thought, I'm all ears. I'm terrible at making relatively unimportant decisions.