Leather vs cloth

steph

New member
Not really a safety question but more a kids and cars question.

DH and I differ in what we like. He likes cloth for comfort because it gets hot here (so do I in that regards) but I prefer leather for ease of cleaning split liquids/etc.

Obviously cloth is cheaper too so it depends on what we decide our comfort level is on price but that aside, tell me the negatives of cloth interior and kids?


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katymyers

Active member
I hate leather seats in cars. Yes I know you can just wipe up spills but there's so much more maintenance. I'd much rather have cloth and just vacuum when I need to and not have to worry about cleaning the right way or conditioning the leather and whatnot.


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lgenne

New member
I have never once conditioned the leather in any car. For cleaning, I just wipe. Seats look and feel great. (Well, DH's 14 year old car doesn't have great looking seats, but they look at least as good as the cloth seats in my old car, which was several years younger.)

ETA: and he just vacuumed/wiped as needed.
 

steph

New member
I have never once conditioned the leather in any car. For cleaning, I just wipe. Seats look and feel great. (Well, DH's 14 year old car doesn't have great looking seats, but they look at least as good as the cloth seats in my old car, which was several years younger.)

ETA: and he just vacuumed/wiped as needed.


Yeah I've got leather in my Pilot and haven't done much upkeep (wiped them a few times with "leather" wipes). My biggest issue is the driver seat has a rip in the seam.

I'm not really worried about getting leather as much as I'm worried about getting cloth and regretting it with having kids in the car.

I should also add this will be our recreational vehicle (take it to the beach to surf, mountains to snowboard, etc). So beyond kids, we have that to consider.


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sarahknavy

New member
The sales people all thought I was nuts for wanting cloth with my three kids. I hate installing car stardom leather, I hate sitting on leather.... I hate leather .... I just told them that the car was going to get dirty and I planned on runnng it into the ground so I prefer comfort.
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
I hate sitting on cloth vehicle seats for the same reason I hate carpeting in homes: I always wonder how clean it really is. Leather all the way for us.
 

gigi

New member
One benefit to leather is lice can't walk on it, so they can't spread back there.

Otherwise I HATE leather but my vehicle was only offered in leather. It is too cold, too hot, if it rips or gets punctured it is VERY expensive to replace (one seat cover for my vehicle was $800).
 
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jacqui276

New member
I like cloth seats. I find that they wash up quite well too from kid muck (just take a cloth and wipe them down like you would with leather). DH has leather seats and prefers them, mainly due to his heated front seats that were not an option with my cloth seats (but they don't get as cold). I prefer installing our car seats on cloth seats too.
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
I hate how my cloth seats would really cause a lot of static electricity when I'd get out of the car, leather isn't as bad. Neither one of them seemed to be any harder to clean or maintain, or feel colder or hotter in summer, honestly (tinted windows are an absolute must for me, that probably helps...)
 

steph

New member
Sounds like it just comes down to personal preference then really. The cloth would be black (so would the leather), which would hide more but I'm still not sure.

Although depending on price it might not be an option. It's hard to justify $4k more for leather (though that does come with some other features I like).


I hate sitting on cloth vehicle seats for the same reason I hate carpeting in homes: I always wonder how clean it really is. Leather all the way for us.


This has run through my mind. I love being able to wipe down my leather.


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teekadog

Active member
I prefer cloth. It's cozier.

But I hate my black cloth interior. We had two cars (both cloth interiors) one grey, one tan. The tan was much harder to keep clean than the grey so I was thrilled to trade that in for a car with black interior. I thought it would be easier than grey! No. It shows every speck of sand, every bit of fur or lint, every piece of food, and when it gets soiled with something wet it waterspots horribly and even if you get the stain out the cleaning solution leaves a spot. I'm so glad I have every seat covered with a restraint so I don't have to look at it too closely.
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TechnoGranola

Forum Ambassador
Not really a safety question but more a kids and cars question.

DH and I differ in what we like. He likes cloth for comfort because it gets hot here (so do I in that regards) but I prefer leather for ease of cleaning split liquids/etc.

Does the vehicle in question offer cooled seats? We've got AC in our leather seats and it rocks. No more legs sticking to the leather and if the kids are too cold, you can make the vehicle temp less cool but turn on your cooled seat to keep you cooler than the kids. One of those features that I thought was useless before I had it, but now I think rocks!

We've got remote start as well that if you start the vehicle with it prior to getting in, not only will it adjust the inside vehicle temp, but it will heat/cool your seats depending on season so when you get in and sit down your seat isn't too cold or hot for you.

I should also add this will be our recreational vehicle (take it to the beach to surf, mountains to snowboard, etc). So beyond kids, we have that to consider.

I hated hot leather on sandy beach days. With sunscreen and/or bug spray on me and shorts or suits, we'd always stick to the damn seats. Although the cooled seats have pretty much resolved that (see? cooled seats rock!).

We had a leather option for our vehicle with cloth but the vehicle didn't offer heated rear seats (just front) so my daughter said, "let's get the cloth so I don't torture my friends with freezing leather seats in the winter!" (her and I share the driving of that vehicle). She's had experience being a rear passenger in the wintertime with leather seats that weren't heated and she always complained how freezing it was. Our next vehicle after that had heated rear leather seats and same with this vehicle.

Neither one of them seemed to be any harder to clean or maintain, or feel colder or hotter in summer, honestly (tinted windows are an absolute must for me, that probably helps...)

We've got tinted windows in our leather vehicle and less tinted in our cloth vehicle. I drive both and I do find the cloth cooler overall *if* I don't have the AC seats turned on for the leather.
 

steph

New member
Does the vehicle in question offer cooled seats? We've got AC in our leather seats and it rocks. No more legs sticking to the leather and if the kids are too cold, you can make the vehicle temp less cool but turn on your cooled seat to keep you cooler than the kids. One of those features that I thought was useless before I had it, but now I think rocks!



We've got remote start as well that if you start the vehicle with it prior to getting in, not only will it adjust the inside vehicle temp, but it will heat/cool your seats depending on season so when you get in and sit down your seat isn't too cold or hot for you.







I hated hot leather on sandy beach days. With sunscreen and/or bug spray on me and shorts or suits, we'd always stick to the damn seats. Although the cooled seats have pretty much resolved that (see? cooled seats rock!).



We had a leather option for our vehicle with cloth but the vehicle didn't offer heated rear seats (just front) so my daughter said, "let's get the cloth so I don't torture my friends with freezing leather seats in the winter!" (her and I share the driving of that vehicle). She's had experience being a rear passenger in the wintertime with leather seats that weren't heated and she always complained how freezing it was. Our next vehicle after that had heated rear leather seats and same with this vehicle.







We've got tinted windows in our leather vehicle and less tinted in our cloth vehicle. I drive both and I do find the cloth cooler overall *if* I don't have the AC seats turned on for the leather.


I didn't know they made those!! I know it has heated seats but not sure on the cool, so I'll have to look into that.

It doesn't get cold enough to snow here (so the cold factor would only apply to is going to the mountains in the winter).

Sunscreen and sand are real possibilities though. But with cloth it worries me too because sunscreen can be greasy and soak into the cloth leaving stains.

One of my biggest concern with cloth seats is sports though. DS plays baseball and now soccer. Soccer wouldn't be as bad but the baseball diamond dirt? It's red clay and he slides as often as he can. Add that to if we have another kid, toddlers are brutal on cars!!!

I know I'm probably totally overthinking this but this car is going to be kept for a long time so I want to be happy with it.


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TechnoGranola

Forum Ambassador
Sunscreen and sand are real possibilities though. But with cloth it worries me too because sunscreen can be greasy and soak into the cloth leaving stains.

Sunscreen can also make grease spots on leather.

If it's a car that is going to have kids in on a regular basis, I'd personally go for leather. The only reason we got away with cloth in our second vehicle is because it's mainly 18+ in it. The little girls get a ride home in it maybe 2-3 times a week so it's not a long enough ride to matter.
 

steph

New member
Sunscreen can also make grease spots on leather.



If it's a car that is going to have kids in on a regular basis, I'd personally go for leather. The only reason we got away with cloth in our second vehicle is because it's mainly 18+ in it. The little girls get a ride home in it maybe 2-3 times a week so it's not a long enough ride to matter.


It can? Ugh. Guess I've just been lucky with the Pilot's leather not having any real issues (except the driver side rip in the seam). But no stains/problems from carseats/ etc.

I'm guessing it might also vary depending on what make of car you get. I know the black cloth in my moms Honda Civic (which is 15 years old), still looks good but DH's old truck was totally trashed. The cloth was completely different material though.

So if it matters we are getting the Subaru Outback, any experience with their cloth and leather?


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krasota

Well-known member
Leather. I have allergies and it's just better for me. It's way easier to actually clean. I let my kids eat in the car and we live in red clay mud country. I can't do upholstery soaps, so leather is the way to go as I can clean it without getting sick.

I don't much like sticking to it when I'm wearing my swimsuit, but I do have the option of changing into something longer. ;)
 

Meg

Well-known member
I've never had leather, but I think I'd prefer it. I also think there's an issue of not all cloth being created equally. I had a Matrix with cloth seats ten years ago and those seats cleaned up so easily and nothing showed. My past two cars (a Hyundai Tucson and Honda Pilot), both have horrible cloth seats. The fabric is awful and everything shows. I don't allow food or drinks in my car, yet still have stains on them. It's impossible to get the marks out too. It drives me nuts how awful the cloth looks!
 

TechnoGranola

Forum Ambassador
It can? Ugh. Guess I've just been lucky with the Pilot's leather not having any real issues (except the driver side rip in the seam). But no stains/problems from carseats/ etc.

Ya, and it's typically the more expensive, higher quality leather. They are butter soft, not shiny, and suck up everything. Like colour from jeans, etc. (obviously not noticeable on black, but on browns or taupes, they turn blue, just ask me how I know. :p)
 

steph

New member
Ya, and it's typically the more expensive, higher quality leather. They are butter soft, not shiny, and suck up everything. Like colour from jeans, etc. (obviously not noticeable on black, but on browns or taupes, they turn blue, just ask me how I know. :p)


Maybe that's why, I've only had black leather (Audi) and dark grey (Honda). Me and tan interiors do not mix. I inevitably spill something ;)!


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TechnoGranola

Forum Ambassador
Maybe that's why, I've only had black leather (Audi) and dark grey (Honda). Me and tan interiors do not mix. I inevitably spill something ;)!


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Could be. I've seen oily spots on dark grey leather interior before. And it wasn't any special upgraded leather or anything either. It could depend on whether or not you wipe it quick enough though. With the blue jean colour, if I cleaned the leather frequently (with special leather cleaner, not just wiping), I could get it off. But with 3 kids, who has that time? I gave up and 7 years later I finally cleaned it when we sold the vehicle. Can't say I got it all off, but the people that bought it weren't as picky as me so they didn't notice. LOL
 

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