Leather vs cloth car seats

[Inkz]

What do you guys feel about the different car seats? I think leather look nice but personally I  have always preferred cloth, they don't feel as hot in the summer, they don't crack as much, and my skin doesn't stick to them like leather. But what do you guys think?

 

[Sarra]

Leather, especially black, is an absolute bitch in the summer. Cloth, on the other hand, even when it's black, isn't nearly as bad.

 

That said, I would take really high quality leather over cloth.

 

I'd take cloth over everything else.

 

And Vinyl can die in a freaking fire.

[PlayStation 2]

My Saturn's got grey cloth seats and honestly, I cherish them. Yes, they can get cold, but it's not as bad as leather in that regard. More notably, in the Alabama sun, it doesn't get nearly as scorching hot as leather can get. And coming from someone who's been in many cars with leather seats, especially black ones, I'd take cloth over leather any day of the week. Hell, if I end up with a Regal TourX, I'm gonna intentionally scout one out with cloth seats but with the good sound system in it lol. 

Don't forget about velour seats, a la those B-bodies and Buicks from the 90s.

[TempestCatto]

I have an SUV with a leather interior (1997 Ford Explorer Limited). I cannot stand the smell of leather in the hot summer sun, gives me one helluva headache. Can't say whether it keeps me hotter or colder in the summers, mostly because I sweat regardless.

 

Not to mention they are a bitch to maintain. My interior isn't too bad. But I really gotta pay someone to fix it up a bit and then maintain it for me (but gotta fix the rust first )

[nbrowser]

Cloth, I've had both cloth and leather interiors and honestly, cloth for the win. Doesn't burn your legs on a hot day, doesn't freeze your rear end off in the cooler months. Also it isn't as susceptible to cracking like leather when it gets real cold out. 

[handymanshandle]

Im going to re-iterate what @handymanshandle and @nbrowser said, but cloth is better. My current car has leather, it's an 18 year old car but the leather is actually in fantastic shape only just the smallest hint of cracking on the side of the driver's seat (it's about half an inch or less across and like 3-4" long), without fail if my next car is a second gen Chevy Volt, I am specifically getting one that has heated cloth seats because my current car a 2003 Saab 9-3 has heated leather and I really like having heated seats and I was surprised to find out from my grandma's 2018 Chevy Equinox that you can have cloth seats and have seat warmers too which was actually an option in the second gen Volt too!

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

 

[Moonzy]

I never owned a cloth car seat because leather doesn't stain as easily, so if there's children and women in your family, it really helps

[Mling]

iv owned both. cloth is def better if you live on an island and dont wear shirts much. Sheepskin covers are best. Neoprene is a new thing I have not tried.

[GDRRiley]

sheepskin>great cloth> great leather (unless you live where its hot then its always cloth) >good cloth >good leather

By far the most comfortable cars I've ever been in are a 2000 Toyota Avalon and a 2014 MDX both were leather.

I've spend plenty of time on modern sh*ty cloth seats and is meh. On the other hand even older Hondas cloth seats feel decent

My daily is cloth covered by sheepskin for the front 2 seats.

[Monkey Dust]

A lot of leather in cars is rubbish, mostly vinyl with the thinnest outer coating of leather they can get away with and still legally call them leather seats.

 

I have leather in my Subaru, and the kindest thing you could say about it is that it's hard wearing. It feels like vinyl, it's sweaty like vinyl, it's black and with no design flair. I would have preferred cloth if that would not have meant giving up the big ass glass sunroof. Flip side I used to have an Alfa Romeo, it had leather, it felt like leather, it was red, and the seat centres were ribbed and perforated, it looked and felt glorious and sold the car to me. Leather done properly is very nice, but it's pretty rare in the cars most of us can afford unless you're brave enough to take on something like an old Maserati, Jag or Range Rover.   

 

I would also say in cloths favour, it gives your arse more seat adhesion under enthusiastic cornering.             

[HM-2]

29 minutes ago, Monkey Dust said:

A lot of leather in cars is rubbish, mostly vinyl with the thinnest outer coating of leather they can get away with and still legally call them leather seats.

This. Decent Nappa leather is a beautiful thing but sadly it's either a hilariously expensive option or reserved solely for flagships these days.

I'm a big fan of alcantara seats.

[mousesnob]

Leather is cold as fuck in winter. My steering wheel has it too

[Skiiwee29]

cloth 100%... dont need icicles on my bum in the winter, or swamp ass in the summer  Cloth keeps it at a near perfect temp almost all year round. 

[NineEyeRon]

Mine are cloth, removable and machine washable.

 

What more could you want?

[Rocketdog2112]

I've owned Toyota Tundras with both cloth and currently leather seating. The leather beats the cloth hands down as far as comfort, support and wear resistance. Cold bum?... turn on the heated seat. My shorts are long enough that bare skin never touches the leather in the summer.

[YellowJersey]

Cloth. Warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.

[WhitetailAni]

Leather. I've used leather seats forever, they're easy to clean up messes on, they don't get as hot, etc.

There is nothing that cloth has that leather doesn't.

[airborne spoon]

So i am currently on my 7th car since i started driving about 20 years ago and have driven countless cars from friends/family over the years and IMO leather is far better even fake leather over cloth all the time.

 

Leather is super easy to clean and it doesn't stain if you spill stuff on it or anything.

 

Yeah it may get a little warm in the summer but i live in the middle of the damn desert and it gets 115f (46c) here for a few months straight and like i said it's a mild annoyance but i've never burned myself on it or anything and once you sit down it cools down reasonably quickly to your body temp.

 

In the winter i travel north the the mountains and yeah it gets chilly up there but seat warmers are nice and even before i had them i didn't really notice the leather being any colder than old cloth seats.

 

For comfort its more about the seat filler for that, depends on the type of foam and springs and shape that make it comfortable not the outer covering. the only caveat to that is some older cloth seats i've sat in the armrest and headrest sometimes get really rough and if you move to quickly can actually scratch you.

[infigo]

I like a half leather. A nice pattern on the cloth which I sit on but other parts such as the seat bolster (sides) and other parts where one would slide into get in and out in leather. 

Alcentara/suede is banned, shit material for regular cars. Breathe bad, scuffs easy and manufacturers charge a lot of such a cheap material (yes it is most often cheeper than cloth). 

I love this Volvo seat design. No black on black design for me.

 

[Guest]

Cloth is soft and stuff. 

 

Leather is nice but I think it's more expensive and feels kinda weird sometimes. 

[PlayStation 2]

16 hours ago, infigo said:

Alcentara/suede is banned, shit material for regular cars.

I can personally confirm this. Suede (and Alcantara) look good and feel okay for the first couple of years, then they get fucking disgusting fast. Not to mention, they're a terrible material for seats specifically when it's not only on the driver's seat.

[atxcyclist]

Here in Texas I will never own a car with leather seats, way too hot in the summer. The upkeep is really significant too, on real leather. Detail cleaning and conditioning all your seats multiple times a year is a big process.

 

Even the cloth seats in my cheap car only have one little scuff on the driver's entry bolster after a decade and a half. Unless you're willing to put the time into upkeep and you want a really nice car, cloth all the way. Also, leather is crazy slippery when it's cleaned and conditioned properly.

[WaggishOhio383]

I prefer cloth. I'm fine with leather seats getting hot in the summer, but what I absolutely hate is when they get cold in the winter. Sure, you can have seat warmers with leather, but cloth doesn't get cold in the first place so you don't need it. Also you don't slide around on cloth seats like you do on leather.

[Tristerin]

Cloth - because cloth seats are much cheaper to replace than leather.  Between my 90 lbs pitbull, and 2 kids - oof.  Last two cars (last one and this one) that I have gotten have leather seats.  Not again