Leather is luxury. Not.

[Corvette Owner]

I do NOT like leather seats either. I covered my Corvette Seats with neoprene (wet suit material), cooler in summer and warmer in winter.

My Impala and Van both have cloth seats. Wife wanted leather in Murano, it's HOT !

 

[Hokiefyd]

I buy anything except cloth. I don't care what it is. Leather, fake leather, vinyl, whatever. Neoprene would be fine also. Anything but cloth. Cloth isn't comfortable to me.

 

[Colt]

I love leather.Especially black leather and usually will buy a vehicle with leather.
Leather years ago was nicer as it was softer but cracked and stained easier without today's plastic coating.

 

[andrewg]

I'm also not a fan of leather. Most leather seats don't add the ambiance to the interior as I used to think they do. Cloth has a softer, more comfortable feel to it for me. I will say this about leather though; the truly high end vehicles that have the really soft, expensive leather is a far cry above what most of us see as leather. Beautiful and comfortable....at a price.

 

[Sunnyinhollister]

I will take anything other than cloth in the family car simply because it's easier to keep clean. Unfortunately leather is the ONLY other option to cloth in most cars. My truck is cloth and it's harder to keep the seats clean in it and the kids are not in the truck that often. It's simply a utilitarian thing.

 

[sasilverbullet]

My 90 Grand Marquis has cloth-like velour. VERY comfortable, no sweating in the summer and warm in the winter. Could soak up smells, spills etc. though.

 

[dparm]

Alcantara is nice but it is actually very fatiguing. Since it's "non-slip", it's hard to make minute adjustments in the seat to get comfortable.

Truthfully the Mercedes AMG and BMW M cloth/leather combo is the best. My old Mazdaspeed3 had a decent breathable fabric/leather hybrid.

 

[97tbird]

^^^ Now THOSE seats look (and i bet feel) great!!!

I think leather on the side bolsters and cloth/alcantara surfaces look and feel great too..
but full leather is just tacky and horribly cheap feeling unless it's VERY high end leather, which can look and feel very nice.

Like I said i LOVE the cloth/alcantara combos - a good number of people (NOT ALL - repeat NOT ALL) just get (cheap) leather automatically without realizing it's cheap-ish leather on most vehicles these days, mostly as a status thing/show-off and then suffer in heat/cold because most of the low-mid end cars that come with horrible leather just to make them look 'attractive' don't have cooled/heated seats...

I once rode in a new-ish Tahoe with leather - felt SO cheap and slippery - ugh!

 

[mechanicx]

I agree. Leather is cold, hot and doesn't breath enough and seat heaters are just annoying. I dislike leather in a car and don't want it even if it was the same cost as cloth or even offered at a discount. The fact that they charge more for it and force it on you as part of an option package with other things you might want makes it worse. It's just one of the ways they screw up late model cars. The fake leather is one of the things I dislike about many German car interiors.

As far as being more durable, even that is somewhat debatable as it can get crinkly and crackly especially if you don't regularly condition it. Although it can be more resistant to wearing through and resisting stains. But even for durability fake leather is probably better anyway. I think leather is more suitable for home upholstery.

For less than the cost of the usually low quality leather (not to mention heat seaters and coolers) you could have a very nice cloth that is durable and stain resistant.

Sunroofs are another feature that I dislike that they stick you with. It can cut in on headroom, is heavy and adds weight to the very top of the car and can reduce chassis stiffness and integrity.

 

[G-MAN]

This topic made me remember an article in Car and Driver back in 1980 on the new Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit. The cars was introduced in the UK and Europe first and then a year later in the States. The C&D journalist asked the RR rep why the car at that particular press event (somewhere in Europe) had cloth upholstery and not leather. The RR guy responded that the vast majority of RRs built for UK and Euro customers were ordered with cloth seats and that "only in the U.S." was leather considered the preferred seating.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Cloth isn't comfortable to me.

Do you wear leather pants and shirts also?

 

[97tbird]

^^^ LOL - don't forget undewear

 

[hypervish]

I prefer leather, it's easier to clean. Plus, heat seaters and cooled seats!

 

[G-MAN]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Cloth isn't comfortable to me.

Do you wear leather pants and shirts also?

When I was at Princeton Seminary in the 80s there was a female student in her mid 50s who always wore black leather pants.

 

[BISCUT]

Originally Posted By: 67Customs
I personally prefer leather because it is easier to clean when the kids spill stuff all over it. Although, I did enjoy the winter package leather delete option in my 2001 Audi A4.


+1 kids kill fabric so quickly!!! I'm partial to heated/cooled leather seats. My F-150 only heated though.

 

[Jarlaxle]

I despise leather seats. I would wilingly pay a premium to NOT get it. I'd rather have vinyl. Happily, my Jeep has cloth seats.

 

[hattaresguy]

Yep I prefer cloth too, leather is for the help up front.

My last Mercedes had velour and it was fantastic. I'd pick it over leather again if given the option.

 

[earlyre]

minimal experience w/ leather seats myself, but the ones i've liked the beast are the ones in my uncle's Lincoln Zephyr. Heated & Air Conditioned. Nothing on a hot a$$ summer day like a cool breeze up your keister.

 

[Spazdog]

Leather. More proof that one of my brothers in law is insane.

He had to special order his E-350 4Matic with leather and without seat heaters.

Yes, you read that correctly.

He did not want MB Tex. Specifically did not want MB Tex because he would know that it was not leather.

I'm still not entirely certain of the reason for not wanting seat heaters. I don't get it either.

He probably could have selected from dealer stock and gotten the color he wanted with the Harmon Kardon stereo and nav for the same amount of money as he spent special ordering a base stereo with leather and no seat heaters. Pretend that the MB Tex is leather and ignore the seat heater switches. 90% of the women he dates would not know that it is not leather. 5% would be PETA impressed that no cows were sacrificed to cover the interior and the remaining 5%?.... stuck up gold digging [ explicit derogatory to females word]

 

[MarkM66]

Not a fan of leather either.

Myself or my kids rarely eat in the car.