Do you find the leather seats comfortable?

The leather is fine. The lack of a power seat adjuster is almost unforgivable.

 

Does anyone know if leather interior in Prius III also include leather-trimmed door panels?

 

PriusRos - I love leather seats because you can get in the car in a skirt and pivot into the car without your skirt bunching up under you. Okay - that's the true girlie secret of it and the advantage of slippery seats. As to comfort, every body is different. It took me a bit of noodling with all the adjustments to find my happy place, but now I'm finding the seats very comfortable - even on long rides.

 

The III isn't offered by Toyota with leather, that I recall. And leather in the IV and V is probably just the seating surfaces.

 

Tony is in Norway so who knows if it's different in that country, but IV and V in the US come with leather-trimmed door panel inserts and center console. On the seats themselves, yes it's just the seating surfaces (including headrests); however, the undersides and back of seats/headrests have synthetic leather. This is expected as it's not a Lexus.

 

The IV and V do include leather (or fake leather) door panels and center console. Also they include leather wrapped steering wheel.

 

It's real leather. The undersides and backs of the seats are fake.

 

How much of this is because the bottom seat cushions are made of special "eco-plastics?"

 

I find the leather seats quite comfortable.
Yes, they are a little firm, but all in all quite comfortable. The lumbar support feature is top notch and really contributes to making the seat comfortable on extended drives.
A power adjustable seat would have been nice, but I'm sure the weight of the operating mechanism precludes its use in a Prius.

 

No, it's more to do with being a Toyota vs. a Lexus. A material covering has nothing to do with the eco-plastics underneath.

 

I agree. I am not thrilled with that bar thing under the seat that you have to push to move the seat. Also, I still have no idea what the leavers on the side of the seat by the lumbar adjustment switch do.


I rented a Camry with power seats to go to Florida 3 weeks ago. I liked the fact that I could adjust the seats with the touch of a leaver. However, I could have really used the lumbar adjustment!

 

Power Camry seats have a power lumbar switch, set way behind the other switches.

 

People were complaining about the softness of the seat, which has more to do with the cushioning than the material covering it. There were even some pleas for Toyota to look to Saab for cushioning. That's why I mentioned it.

 

I will say I loved my Saab seats - really yummy leather, electronic adjustments every which-way, and they seemed bigger (don't know - didn't measure). I'm happy that quirky car has been returned to its homeland and is out of the clutches of Generalized Motors.

 

I stand corrected. Thought you were talking about leather.

 

Thanks! It helps to be reminded that this is an international crowd.

 

I have a '98 Saab w/leather seats and oh yes, they are soooo comfy. Power everything, lumbar support. It's going to be sad when I give that car up for my future Prius (next yr).

 

Thank you all! I will receive my car with leather, hopefully no later than in septermber. I will then let you know how I like my car.