Why bother with leather?

Yeah, I had a car with cloth seats that still looked about new after nearly 100K miles. I've seen leather seats look more worn faster.
As far as bun warmers, I only feel like they are needed with leather seats because they get so ice cold in the winter whereas the cloth seats still felt OK on cold mornings.
Seat heaters are offered in some cars that have cloth seats so you don't have to suffer through a couple minutes of sitting on freezing leather while you wait for the seat heater to kick in.
In the2010 Prius, you are forced to get the leather seats if you want the adjustable lumbar support.

 

No bother with leather here. Call me boring, but I make it a habit to not eat or drink in the car. It's not a restaurant or kitchen table. Water is fine.

No qualms about using decent seat covers.

 

For people who wants bun warmer, you can get after market seat covers/toppers with heating for under $40, some even with vibrating massage feature. Those are also easily removable for summer when you don't want the leather burning your buns

 

OK, I just have a note of caution on heated seats. This is not advertised by car companies and surprisingly the NIH or whatever agency would be responsible for it has never made big deal about the potential issue. Heated seats are not recommended for men in my opinion. I have always told this to friends, but few believe. Now, at least there is reliable scientific sources of decreased men fertility caused by its use (http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19926714.700-heated-seats-may-be-frying-your-sperm.html), but, in my opinion, the problem is not limited to fertility. Excessive heat is a common cause of degenerative changes in “boys partsâ€, and prolonged and/or recurrent degenerative insult could result in more serious problems down in the road. Of course, this is only my theory, and not endorsed by any major scientific publication yet. I have heated seats in both of my cars right now because I opted for leather, but when needed, I just turn it on briefly just to get rid of the cold, I do not warm the seat.

 

Most people wanting leather appreciate the look as well and really don't want to have some padded contraption with wires to fool with. I certainly don't.

Any, while they may get hot, leather seats are a whole lot different than the vinyl's when it comes to sitting in the sun. I've never had the seat burn me and I can remember as a kid the vinyl seats being really hot and not cooling down any time soon after you sat on them. I would have preferred the leather also have the air conditioned ventilation, but like those of you wanting the SR in a V, I can't have everything

Bottom line is some people just don't like leather and others love it. It's pretty simple.

 

LOL, That's why older men like them. I seldom use them and then only briefly to warm up the seat. My wife loves them and uses them year round. many times I have my A/C ventilated seat on while she has the heat on her seat.

 

I don't recommend it to pregnant women either... my wife says I'm just a exaggerated, but she did not used it when pregnant...

 

LOL, welcome neighbor. I believe if you're going to eat them then we should make good use of the by-products. Not sure what I like best, a good NY Strip or leather seats. I am pretty picky though about my leather. I really believe it should be brown. Then again I didn't grow up on a farm with black cows (nor charcoal or grey).

 

LOL!! I was wondering if any vegans would step up for cloth. I guess if you're intent on eating the beast, I may as well use his skin for my car seat.

 

Being from Kentucky you may have already noticed that the new opening under the console looks like a good spot to mount a holster. I'm glad they added this area since I understand they eliminated the side pockets in the front doors.

Need that for discouraging current Prius haters. Eventually though will need it to ward off people wanting my Prius when gas hits $5/gallon. It will be the same people.

 

Especially for those with big bearings.

 

What are most vegans shoes and belts made of?

I am in fact a vegan in that I rarely eat anything but fruits, vegetables and vegans (cows, pigs, chickens, etc.). It's not as much of a sacrifice as many think...

 

What?! Buying leather for the next owner when you don't even want it yourself?
Unless you expect the leather to raise the resale value a higher dollar amount than you spent to add it at purchase time, that makes no sense especially if you personally prefer cloth yourself.
Getting a percentage of the money back is still losing more money to depreciation than if the car didn't have leather.
Leather is a turn off to some people especially in places with very hot summers.

 

It's easy enough to manufacture perforated vinyl that breathes and even has ventilation, but I'm not really recommending vinyl either.
Both leather and vinyl are horrific when sitting in the summer sun.

 

I had leather seats in my previous two cars, and wound up putting sheepskins on them.
The sheepskins are now in my Prius--over regular cloth seats. The leather seating these days in even expensive cars is thin--not like the more plush, sofa-type leather you'd get in the older cars 20 years ago. I wonder if it's that "bonded" leather, which is a urethane-coated leather product. That's used a lot in furniture these days, and it can be identified as leather in this country (not so in England).

In my experience, leather tends to wear at the seat edge, where the driver gets into the car. The microfiber cloth seats may be more durable--and a lot cheaper. I say, beware of high ticket options (leather, navigation, etc) that price your Prius into the BMW range.