A solar loading-based system includes a memory, a disturbance prediction module, a cabin temperature estimation module and a thermal control module. The memory stores a cabin thermal load model of an interior cabin of a host vehicle and a solar load prediction model. The disturbance prediction module: receives signals indicative of states of cabin thermal actuators and comfort metrics; and predicts an effect of solar loading over a known portion of a predicted route including predicting cabin temperatures based on the solar load prediction model, the states of the cabin thermal actuators, and the comfort metrics. The cabin temperature estimation module, based on the cabin thermal load model, determines a first comfort metric based on the predicted cabin temperatures. The thermal control module controls cabin thermal actuators to adjust cabin states, including the first comfort metric, to respective target values based on the predicted effect of solar loading.