what is it with this trend towards leather seats? Years ago, only
the big boats (cadilac, lincoln, etc) came with leather seats, which is
fine, cause only the stuffy old people bought those cars. Now, it seems
like every maker in every market segment, including honda, is jumping
on the bandwagon with a 'me too' attitude and building more vehicles
with leater seats, perhaps assuming they are offering a premium, luxury
feature. I, personally, disagree with this thinking. We don't buy new cars
any more, instead I look for a recent used vehicle to avoid the huge
loss of initial depreciation. I recently started looking for a used honda to
replace our aging '94 and find there are much fewer cloth seat hondas
available than the leather ones. I think leather seats are disgusting.
They are cold, hard and slippery in cold weather and sweaty and
clamy in hot weather. They are also very easy to damage, difficult
to maintain and look real bad after normal use, when compared to cloth.
Replacements are needed much sooner than cloth and significantly more
expensive. And the heated leather seats? That is the weirdest feeling. My butt deserves better!
They are not very comfortable at all (you wouldn't sleep in a leather
covered bed, would you?). Manufacturers wouldn't install them if there
no demand, so I am starting to think that most people prefer leather
seats and I am the exception. What does everyone think about this?

 

I don't know, me personally I would never buy a car without leather seats. Leather doesn't stain like cloth, it doesn't get cigarette burns like cloth, it doesn't rip like cloth, its very easy to clean and maintain. If you use proper leather cleaners and conditioners, it will not crack and will stay soft and nice. And the bigest reason, it doesnt absorb odors like cloth. Right now I have a beater Honda Civic with cloth seats, and when I get out of gym after a work out, all sweaty and stinky, these seats absorb all the sweat. Doesn't happen with leather.

 

I guess it's a matter of personal preference. But I disagree with your maintenance theory. I had a corvette with leather. Had to "maintain" it about 2 times a year. After 50k miles, it was still worn on the left side where you slide in, had cracks and basically looked terrible and needed replacement. On the other hand, my jeep has the cloth. It has 120k miles on it. No maintanance on it all and it looks great. For the first time in about 4 years, I did a quick shampoo and it's just like new again.
I also don't agree with the sweat observations either. If you are sweaty with cloth on a hot day, you dry out after a short while. However, with leather, the sweat never seems to go away as it doesn't breath and traps the moisture. Even if your not sweaty, on a hot day, you soon will become sweaty. Besides, most of us take a shower after a workout at the gym, and don't climb in the car covered in sweat.

 

Because it's a corvette. In most GM vehicles, or in fact in most domestic vehicles they use cheap crap for leather that looks fugly to begin with and wears out really fast. Besides the civic I also have a 2001 GS430, and the leather look brand new. I maintain it every tho months or so - basically put some leather cleaner onto a microfiber cloth, clean the seats, apply the conditiner and its all done in matter of 30 minutes. Shampooing cloth seats on the other hand is a pain in the ass, and then u gotta wait for several days until they are fully dried out, and you still never take out most of the stains. Also, cloth gets discolored very fast.

Well I go to the gym late at night, and finish when they are closing up so I have no time to shower in the gym, I come home and shower at home. And these seats absorb all the sweat before you even have a chance to dry out, and they actually keep the moisture in. Sometimes I get into the car the next morning and the seats are still wet. Leather dries very fast because it doesn't absorb the moisture.

Same if you go to a park to play ball, or whatever else - your just can't help it but once in a while you will get into your car all sweaty. Also, if you go to the beach, the sand really sticks to the fabric, impossible to vacuum it all out, and with leather its a relatively easy clean up.

 

I personally Hate leather. During the summer it is steaming hot when you get in, during winter it is freezing cold when you get in. The leather Honda uses in it's vehicles is very hard, and very un comfy. Instead of sitting in the seats, you slip and slide around on leather seats. Unless you are messy, there is no need to worry about spills. My cloth seats don't have a spot on them.

 

My whole problem with leather starts with me feeling very uneasy about sitting on a cow.

The cow was once happy, and now it is not. Yay.

 

yea, i borrowed a friends acura for a few days and the leather seats felt so weird and creepy. i couldn't wait to get my car back.

 

A friend of mine said she gets car sick in leather seats. I don't know about that. I kinda of like leather's feel, it's too slippery. And yeah that dead cow thingy, doesn't make it feel all that cool. Maybe somewhere else with dead animal in the house is a cool thingy, but...

and vinyl has the best of both worlds.


A lot of features used to be only in "high end" cars but now all pretty common. Roof, abs breaks, disc breaks, this and that, are just a common feature. And leather is only a 1k to 2k "upgrade."

Dude, your problem is not cloth seats. It's your hygiene.

 

None of my cars have leather seats.. In Texas.. no way. Maybe other parts of the country.. it is way too sticky and hot at times.. and hate the upkeep on the seats.. Oh yeah, the sun bakes the seats also, and makes them crack. =(
Only cloth for me!

 

i don't get the slippery claim. my leather seats hold onto me just fine, maybe you guys use a little too much conditioner?