Leather vs cloth

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
Ooooh, I remember the blue jean stains on the tan leather of my Rendezvous, made me never want tan again, for sure.
I swear the leather in DH's Escape is pleather or vinyl or something, or just the most horrible quality cowhide you can fathom, it even smells like a funky vinyl 70's car, it didn't hold up as well as my Honda's leather. (Now vinyl, THAT was bad, I still remember the indents my grandmother's Malibu seats left on my thighs when I was a kid, and it was HOT!)

Wish I knew more about Subaru leather or cloth quality, Steph, might be worth it to check one of their boards to see if their owners have strong opinions either way? (I used to be all into my Odyssey board, probably because Darren mentioned it, lol)
 
ADS

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
I agree. If I have a choice, and sometimes there isn't a choice with options packages, I will never buy leather seats again unless they are ventilated/cooled.

Never had a problem with cloth seats, but every review vehicle I get has leather, as did our last minivan. I'm not a "sweaty" person, but my back and butt sweat in the summer in all of the leather ones. The 2016 Pilot Touring didn't have ventilated front seats and was awful. You have to get the Elite trim to get that feature. Very disappointing.

Higher end cloth seats clean up pretty easily and don't absorb spills readily. "Yes Essentials" is one trade name but there are various branded and unbranded ones that are easy care also. The Yes Essentials cloth in my Highlander looks new after over 4 years.
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
My Odyssey leather had scuffs, scrapes and long wear spots where the posts on the footrest of the Recaro Start rubbed it, and I didn't use that booster for all that long. Plus, the stretch marks from the depressions carseats make don't go away, even though the depression is no longer there. I think it was perhaps just thinner or lower quality than other leather seats.
 

steph

New member
I agree. If I have a choice, and sometimes there isn't a choice with options packages, I will never buy leather seats again unless they are ventilated/cooled.



Never had a problem with cloth seats, but every review vehicle I get has leather, as did our last minivan. I'm not a "sweaty" person, but my back and butt sweat in the summer in all of the leather ones. The 2016 Pilot Touring didn't have ventilated front seats and was awful. You have to get the Elite trim to get that feature. Very disappointing.



Higher end cloth seats clean up pretty easily and don't absorb spills readily. "Yes Essentials" is one trade name but there are various branded and unbranded ones that are easy care also. The Yes Essentials cloth in my Highlander looks new after over 4 years.


So would a Subaru fall into higher end cloth ;)?

I went to the forums but I left. Lol. People were nitpicking apart the outback. I'm all for being informed and all but I think we have made a good choice :).

I'm so torn! The sucky thing is to get leather you have to at least go up two models from the base which increases the price a lot. And to be honest the base model has almost everything we want so it's hard to justify the extra $$ for just a few things. I so wish we could add stuff to the base model but it isn't optional :(.


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jjordan

Moderator
I wouldn't spend an extra $4k (the figure you mentioned upthread) unless you were REALLY sure that it was worth it. It sounds to me like you are on the fence. What are the other features that you wish the base model had?
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
So would a Subaru fall into higher end cloth ;)?

I went to the forums but I left. Lol. People were nitpicking apart the outback. I'm all for being informed and all but I think we have made a good choice :).

I'm so torn! The sucky thing is to get leather you have to at least go up two models from the base which increases the price a lot. And to be honest the base model has almost everything we want so it's hard to justify the extra $$ for just a few things. I so wish we could add stuff to the base model but it isn't optional :(.


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Cloth fabric seems to vary a lot even within brands. Our 2000 Outback cloth seats seemed to hold up pretty well after 10 years, but I don't think it was as plush as my Highlander. I doubt they use the same fabric on the new Outbacks as they've gone through a couple generations now. Sometimes on the manufacturer product specs they will tout if the cloth fabric is of a particular brand or stain resistance treatment. I wish I knew how to tell high end from cheap for cloth upholstery, but leather definitely varies the same way in my experience and I can't tell that from looking or feeling either:-(
 

teekadog

Active member
My mom has had a light cloth interior in her new forester for the past couple years and it has held up well so far. She eats and travels with pets- carsick ones- and no stains.
 

NVMBR02

New member
we have black leather in our Pilot and sunscreen leaves behind a white shiny residue sometimes, even when we put it on and let it sit for a good 20+ mins. It also does leave oily spots sometimes, if the kids put it on and get right in the car. So far, it has always wiped off with a leather wipe or two.

Dh's Fusion has a beige cloth interior and it has left stains from dark jeans before, but again it luckily came out when we cleaned the seats. We did pay for the stain guard when we bought the car though, so if the dealership can clean in they are supposed to replace the area affected. Honestly, so far nothing has not come out though.

I think I have a slight preference for leather seats. I'm not sure that I would pay $4000 for just leather though.
 

steph

New member
I wouldn't spend an extra $4k (the figure you mentioned upthread) unless you were REALLY sure that it was worth it. It sounds to me like you are on the fence. What are the other features that you wish the base model had?


Power seats with a memory function (so DH and I can each program our settings and just push it), power lifted tail gate and blind spot technology (not to be confused with Eye sight technology).

Eta: if we get this trim level though we have to get leather, cloth isn't an option.


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steph

New member
The one negative about the higher trim level (besides price), is in addition to leather you have a wood trim on the inside dash/door area (vs a silver color). It's considered an upgrade but I've never liked wood trim on cars.


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msg221

Well-known member
We just bought a Hyundai Sonata Sport last month to replace DH's totaled Accord. It has leather with the cloth insert (black). It's not as hot as I thought it might be. It is the first vehicle we have bought that was leather.

Two days ago, we bought a 2015 Odyssey EX-L. I would have been fine with cloth interior, but in order to get the extra safety features, you had to move up to the EX-L. Well, yesterday DH was driving and I think the high temp was around 108 yesterday. I was wearing shorts and by the time we got home after a 25 minute drive my legs were all sweaty and the seat was visibly wet from my sweat! At that moment, I regretted getting the leather. It has the heated seat option, but doubt I will ever use that in Phoenix! Wish it had the cooled seats instead!
 

steph

New member
We just bought a Hyundai Sonata Sport last month to replace DH's totaled Accord. It has leather with the cloth insert (black). It's not as hot as I thought it might be. It is the first vehicle we have bought that was leather.



Two days ago, we bought a 2015 Odyssey EX-L. I would have been fine with cloth interior, but in order to get the extra safety features, you had to move up to the EX-L. Well, yesterday DH was driving and I think the high temp was around 108 yesterday. I was wearing shorts and by the time we got home after a 25 minute drive my legs were all sweaty and the seat was visibly wet from my sweat! At that moment, I regretted getting the leather. It has the heated seat option, but doubt I will ever use that in Phoenix! Wish it had the cooled seats instead!


Yeah heated seats here are about as useful as they are in AZ! The only thing I do like about them is if my back is sore (which happens) it feels good but then I'm sweating so....it's a trade off.

They should have a cold seat option for all cars so those of us in hotter areas can opt for that over heat.


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msg221

Well-known member
Yeah heated seats here are about as useful as they are in AZ! The only thing I do like about them is if my back is sore (which happens) it feels good but then I'm sweating so....it's a trade off.

They should have a cold seat option for all cars so those of us in hotter areas can opt for that over heat.


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My friend has a 2012 Kia Sorento and it has controls to heat or cool the seats! Why oh why couldn't Honda have done that?? The seat will be fine as long as bare skin doesn't come into contact with the leather! I wonder if it would be okay to sit on top of something super thin, like one of those muslin Aden & Anais swaddling blankets? Those are nice and breathable and it would make sitting on those seats much more tolerable!
 

cookie123

New member
We've had leather for a long time. I've had blue on my seats from new jeans. I've burned my butt and froze it. I feel like they suck for car seat installs, as least in the vehicles I've had. I also feel like the cloth seats have gone downhill over the years. They were great in my dd's old minivan! And our friends' old Santa Fe. We rented a cadillac in Phoenix that had cooled leather seats and I wasn't impressed.

Don't get a Chevrolet! No middle head restraints!
 

jwilliams

New member
I don't like plush cloth, but I love Honda's non-plush cloth. I'm not sure what models have it... our 2011 Insight EX did and 2014 Accord Sport does. It wipes up wonderfully with a damp sponge. Even if you spill apple dumpling juice all over it [emoji10] Maybe other brands have a similar option?

I don't like leather on account of the source, plus the sticking to my legs action. I've only ever had cloth seats with kids and it's been fine, even my mom's plush interior where she lets my kids snack is holding up well.
 

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