Why bother with leather?

Hello all:

I've been reading on the forums here about how the GIII "leather" seats are not actually 100% leather, but only the actual seating surfaces. The remainder are high quality vinyl. And also that even the leather surfaces are vinyl coated, to protect the leather from stains, wear, lack of proper maintenance, etc.

So my question is: why bother? Why not go with a good quality plush cloth/microfiber/whatever, put on a long lasting stain repellant, and be done with it?

Some history:

I grew up in the 60's. Back then, unless you had a "luxury" car, the cars here in the U.S. had vinyl seats, or vinyl and some non-plush synthetic cloth. Most of the cheap cars were just vinyl.

In the Northeast where I lived. those vinyl seats were absolutely miserable in the winter (your butt froze when you first got in); and in the summer (your legs could actually get a burn if you wore shorts and got in the car when it had been sitting out in the sun).

Enter plush cloth seats. Wow! We've been saved! No more sitting on my hands in the winter or summer until the interior temperature became bearable. No more vinyl cracking after a few summers and winters. Less sliding around on those vinyl coated "bench' seats. Life was good. :cheer2:



Now "leather", real and fake, have become popular. And now people want their "leather" seats to have:

• "heating" to warm them from the ravages of winter.
• "cooling" to protect their backsides from the blistering heat of the summer
• "ventilation" holes to keep their skin from sweating

Why? because leather and vinyl are nowhere near as comfortable as good cloth seats. Because just like vinyl, todays "leather" seats need to be heated in the winter, and cooled in the summer to make them comfortable. And ventilation, since leather/vinyl naturally don't ventilate the human skin very well unless you put holes in it.

I don't have anything against leather. Actually love the stuff for some applications. Just not car seats!

So what kind of logical argument can be made for wanting leather car seats (or, as the Prius and other cars have, leather/vinyl car seats)??

 

A good cloth seat with a good stain repellent is actually pretty easy to clean.

Wear factor is partly dependent on the quality of individual material and constructions (such as quality of seams). There will be some types of cloth that will outlast some leather seats. And vice versa.

Cloth generally hides holes better. Such as when someone sits on your leather seat with a sharp object in their rear pocket!

I think that your last reason really is the issue for most people: "looks". As looks are totally subjective, there is obviously no "best" here.

 

Hello MaggieMay:

That's a great reason for leather! I hadn't thought of this!

 

I live in the Midwest also. Temperatures down to single digits sometimes in the winters here. My van stays parked outside all winter. Since it has cloth seats, I don't need the bun warmers. They would be a nice "luxury", but not necessary.

But if it had leather, I'd definitely want them. Brrrrrr......!

 

Good point, Blauer. I don't carry my dogs often in the car, but I can see where that issue would definitely be minimized with leather versus cloth.

My comments were directed towards cloth seats in general, not the Prius specifically. But I definitely agree that it seems like the Prius GII cloth is not as "robust" as I'd like to see.

Thanks for the comment on this. It seems like others have the same comment, that leather warms and cools more quickly than vinyl. I wonder how well specifically the Prius does in this regard, seeing as how it's seating surfaces are possibly leather with a vinyl coating?

After you've had a chance to experience it for a while, please report back, if you don't mind.

Best wishes,

 

Thanks, Midpack. I only learned this reading other posts on the forums recently. I've rode in cars with leather seats (and rented them), but never owned one. I did not realize that usually only the seating surfaces are leather.

 

True. Our Volkswagon Beetle used to have cloth seats with heaters. They were a nice "luxury". But almost unnecessary until you get down to the sub-zero temperatures that you are mentioning. Then I could see them as a definite plus.

Of course, by the time the temps are down that low, I've started wearing my thernal underwear! Those usually go on when we get down below 10 deg. Farenheit and the wind is blustery.