Why leather?

I've never owned a car with leather seats. However this week I had the pleasure of spending about 22 hours in on traveling to St Louis and back for work. They made my back sweat and my legs stick to the seat since I was in shorts. No fun at all. Somebody explain why they are so popular. Are they awesome in non summer months and that makes up for it? Or are leather seats like Nickleback and nobody likes them yet somehow they are wildly popular? Or am I a big baby that doesnt appreciate the finer things in life?

Good question! The only leather seats I have are in my vintage cars that came with them originally. I also don't like the hot-in-summer and cold-in-winter aspect. Not to mention the cost!

Since fabrics have become more durable and vinyl is no longer used for seats, it seems a couple of reasons to go leather have gone away.

It does look better typically, though. I was sorely tempted to go leather in the MINI 'cause those black seats with red piping looked SO good! I just thought $2k was silly money for them. Especially give the comfort factor.

Talking to friends with kids, they say they put leather in their cars because it is more resistant to stains and easier to clean. Other than that, I dunno.

Better looking, easier to clean, harder to get dirty, good for showing off how much money you have when showing off you new car to friends.

HOT in the summer, COLD in the winter, slide around on them in corners...

In reply to Basil Exposition: There's actually as much vinyl in a modern seat as there is leather. The sales brochures all say "Leather seating surfaces" for a reason. The sides,headrests, and back panels are usually vinyl, These days the leather is heavily coated so it looks like the vinyl ! I'd much rather have a good quality cloth interior.

So logdog, how does your experience is the leather seats compare with your considerable time spent in leather pants?

Leather seats are vastly over-rated... Over zealous marketing at it's finest...

I agree with you'all on leather.

However I owned a used 1987 Lincoln Towncar that had 140,000 miles that had worn in leather seats..

When I had a bad day at work there was nothing better than sinking into that buttery soft drivers seat and turning the ice cold air conditioning on and driving home using 1 finger on the steering wheel.

Leather smells good, too. Especially English leather. Mmmmmm...

We agree. Not the royal 'we', but my wife and I. I think really good leather seats are nice, but not more than really good cloth seats. Dried, dying leather seats smell terrible. They make my wife feel sick. I also disagree with the easier cleaning aspect, too. With cloth seats you can use a carpet steamer for super deep cleaning. My wife loaths her car's black leather interior (used car, only choice was this car or others that were mechanically unsound). I personally see no reason to buy leather except to line the manufacturer's pockets and to make a visual statement about your prestige, both of which are stupid reasons to buy anything.

If you want leather make it Corinthian Leather...

And it is hard to find a car without them!!

I hate leather seats, but I didn't have an option to even get a cloth seat in my S2000 or my F150.

Well, I could get them on my F150 but I had to have the most basic package alive. If you got just about any options leather was required.

But it is easier to clean the vomit smell out of a car with leather seats so I will give them that.

Ease of cleaning is the only thing I've found I like about them. I think they look better, but how the interior looks is so low on my list of priorities for a car, it might as well not even be on the list. How the interior functions, though, different story.

I like leather for cars that have kids in them etc because they dont really stain

Jaynen wrote: I like leather for cars that have kids in them etc because they dont really stain

easy clean up for sure.

Datsun310Guy wrote: When I had a bad day at work there was nothing better than sinking into that buttery soft drivers seat and turning the ice cold air conditioning on and driving home using 1 finger on the steering wheel.

and this.

But, I'm really impressed with the textile seats in my parents 2010 Jetta

DrBoost wrote: So logdog, how does your experience is the leather seats compare with your considerable time spent in leather pants?

Chaps. Not pants. I wear leather chaps. Duh!

fasted58 wrote: If you want leather make it Corinthian Leather...

How many Corinthians had to die to make each of those cars? Wont somebody think of the carnage?!?

logdog wrote:

DrBoost wrote: So logdog, how does your experience is the leather seats compare with your considerable time spent in leather pants?

Chaps. Not pants. I wear leather chaps. Duh!

But you wear the chaps AS pants.....

DrBoost wrote: But you wear the chaps AS pants.....

If he's wearing Chaps instead of pants won't that make him stick to the car seats when it's hot?

And I'm totally talking weather when I'm talking about being hot.

In reply to logdog:

How many Corinthians had to die to make each of those cars?

only the unlucky ones

Same reason I have a leather jacket. It feels better, smells great when new or reasonably new, and looks good. Easy to clean, and easier to maintain and keep up than cloth (I've yet to see an older used car with cloth seats where the cloth doesn't look like total crap, but with leather there's a good chance that it will still be good in a used car. My BMW leather looked like new when I got it with 143k miles on it).

Chris_V wrote: Same reason I have a leather jacket. It feels better, smells great when new or reasonably new, and looks good. Easy to clean, and easier to maintain and keep up than cloth (I've yet to see an older used car with cloth seats where the cloth doesn't look like total crap, but with leather there's a good chance that it will still be good in a used car. My BMW leather looked like new when I got it with 143k miles on it).

And that's been exactly the opposite of my experiences. Every older car with leather the leather's all cracked and the top layer's been flaking off.

My leather coats have also gotten scratches, gouges and tears that are impossible to fix but with a cloth coat it can be cheaply & easily stitched up without it being obvious.

The problem isn't with leather in general - it's a problem with cheap leather and vinyl.

Good quality leather that is take care of - conditioned every now and then is amazing durable and comfortable.

Pros:

• They smell really nice when new
• They don't absorb the stench that comes off my body after playing hockey
• They look nicer IMHO (subjective)
• They are simply more comfortable to me (subjective, and I don't wear short shorts)
• They are much harder to get dirty
• They clean up much easier
  .

Cons

• They are hot in the summer (until the AC gets going)
• They are cold in the winter (until the heat gets going)
• If too much vinyl is used, they don't breathe and cause my back to sweat (this is easily remedied by a towel, or sheet, or just a small piece of cloth between my back and the seat in the hot summer months)

mtn wrote: Pros: + They smell really nice when new + They don't absorb the stench that comes off my body after playing hockey + They look nicer IMHO (subjective) + They are simply more comfortable to me (subjective, and I don't wear short shorts) + They are much harder to get dirty + They clean up much easier . Cons + They are hot in the summer (until the AC gets going) + They are cold in the winter (until the heat gets going) + If too much vinyl is used, they don't breathe and cause my back to sweat (this is easily remedied by a towel, or sheet, or just a small piece of cloth between my back and the seat in the hot summer months)

Add to the Cons column that they don't breathe and that the salts from your body impregnate the leather it gets brittle and cracks and peels regardless of whether it is good leather or cheap leather.

carguy123 wrote:

mtn wrote: Pros: + They smell really nice when new + They don't absorb the stench that comes off my body after playing hockey + They look nicer IMHO (subjective) + They are simply more comfortable to me (subjective, and I don't wear short shorts) + They are much harder to get dirty + They clean up much easier . Cons + They are hot in the summer (until the AC gets going) + They are cold in the winter (until the heat gets going) + If too much vinyl is used, they don't breathe and cause my back to sweat (this is easily remedied by a towel, or sheet, or just a small piece of cloth between my back and the seat in the hot summer months)

Add to the Cons column that they don't breathe and that the salts from your body impregnate the leather it gets brittle and cracks and peels regardless of whether it is good leather or cheap leather.

You need to read the entire post. And if you take basic care of the leather (clean it once a year), you don't get the cracks and peels.