Leather Interiors versus Cloth Interiors

- by Atul H. Patel, Editor-in-Chief

There was a time when only the most luxurious vehicles were offered with leather interiors.  It wasn't that long ago.  I was old enough to remember.  But today, even compact vehicles have leather available as an option and leather is standard on some entry luxury vehicles.  Really nice synthetic leathers make the situation more complex.  But is leather all it's (not) cracked up to be?  I would argue that leather is severely overrated.  Sure it smells great, looks luxurious, but it's  not worth the extra $800 to $2,500.  First of all, you slide around a lot on the leather.  As a result, in spirited driving, you aren't held in your seat as well unless you have mega side bolstering.  Your belongings can also slide around like crazy when you drive in a spirited fashion around turns.  This doesn't happen nearly as much on cloth, regardless of the type of cloth.  And then, with leather, there are temperature issues.  In the winter, it feels cold.  This makes heated seats almost necessary.  In the summer it feels hot, and then you sweat and stick to it.  That's no good and fan ventilated seats make noise.  Cloth on the other hand, grips better, absorbs moisture and stays more temperate.   

Leather is thought to wear better than cloth, but this is not always true if the leather is of a cheaper variety.  I've seen reliability test results that proved this out.  Even if it does wear better, it gets wrinkles and eventually cracks without proper maintenance.  Cloth is more difficult to wrinkle and it doesn't require care and feeding.

Regardless of where your ethics lie, leather is dead animal skin.  I don't like that fact so when I have a choice, I choose cloth.  It's interesting that in Europe, even luxury vehicles are offered with cloth.  I wish that model was followed here in the U.S. as I was forced to get leather on my latest Saab vehicle.  I indirectly paid for it as well.  The synthetic leathers are not cheap, but at least they don't have all of the same issues as real leather.  Nor do they have all of the same advantages.

I doubt that you all agree.  What are your thoughts?  Feel free to comment.

Comments

[Josh]

Ha. I quite agree, but I am sure that we are in a minority.

Leather looks nice and is easy to keep clean. But, it seems to show it's age very quickly. Cloth can go both ways. I had a VW with cloth and the upholstery started to show wear after only one year. It also seemed to attract dog/cat/human hair like a hair magnet. My 91 Saab has this nice velour stuff which still looks great and feels very nice too. No hair attraction problems. I would be happy to pay less for a car and get cloth, especially the nice Saab cloth. My new Saab has leather/vinyl. It looks nice and feels ok but it just doesnt feel as luxurious as good cloth upholstery. Too bad.

Some cloth looks *really* chintzy (think 1997 Subaru).

[Ken Milan]

Does anyone know if the new 2008 Saturn Astra will have a BEIGE interior available?
It appears from my reading that "Gray" is probably the only color. I think its a major marketing error not to have a Beige interior available. Please let me know your thoughts: kmil123@msn.com

Thanks!

[Atul]

Ken,

I don't know for sure but based on the way the AURA is currently spec'd, I wouldn't be surprised if grey is the only color available on the ASTRA. I would recommend that you check with www.saturnfans.com. There are lots of people on that site who follow Saturns closer than we do.

The ASTRA is a sweet car, isn't it? If I was in the market, I would consider buying one.

- Atul

[Cheap Supra Skytop]

What is rich and poor, what is the second generation in life, as long as one should do something, brave, a person should simply happy life, don't consider so much, let oneself so trouble!

[Los Angeles Subaru]

Honestly, I prefer leather just because it looks better. I don't care if it's hotter or stuff slides around on it; I like the way it looks. A car with cloth seats looks cheap even if it's not. Sorry.

[muska supra]

so pretty.You are a good teacher. Lucky student!

[Tory Burch Shoes Outlet Sale]

Liked you on Facebook, too. =)

[elliptical reviews]

No offense, but i suggest admin adding a google+ button for easy share!