[dragonfire]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

I cannot stand the leatherette upholstery that brands use especially the cheaper ones.

Tata's Benecke Kaliko, BMW's Artico and Mercedes MB-TEX are pretty good though not close to real leather, they can be passed off as acceptable.

I also like alcantara cause it feels like suede yet it is synthetic. Premium feel over vinyl/PU leather and PETA friendly over real leather.

Today brands like Hyundai, Kia, MG just pass off leatherette as pure leather. Only after you have sat in a car with pure leather do you know how much better it is than letherette which gets hot and sticky. So now the brand needs to add in ventilated seating cause they are using cheap leatherette.



The Sport series of X1, 3 series all use artificial Artico not real leather. No allergies in that.

The higher M sport or luxury uses real leather.

Damn! I used to believe that all the OEMs gave us real leather. At least the premium ones.

Anybody have an idea about the Jeep Compass? All the while, I thought it was real leather, but now I am having doubts.

[TrackDay]

I voted for Fabric seats. But only for the black color ones. The beige ones are a nightmare to maintain.

Overall for our Indian conditions and weather I prefer fabric over leathers. It could also be because I am from a middle class background meaning most of the time I self drive my cars, they are parked in the open etc.

However for a luxury vehicle with a driver and designated shaded parking, things might work in favor of the leather option. Entering your pre cooled car cabin and sliding into that luxurious leather might be the icing on the cake for the luxury experience.

[sagwal]

I love leather seats and it is easy to clean leather seats. ColourLock site contains valuable information about car leather.
I found these videos very helpful for leather care.

HOW TO CLEAN AND PROTECT LEATHER SEATS

How To Super Clean Cloth and Leather Seats

[Sanidhya mukund]

I love leather seats for the premium feel and look. But here in Delhi, the 40 degree heat of the summers, coupled with the black interiors and large sunroof have forced me to go for this jugaad. The seat heats up real bad, to the point of being unbearable. I also can’t get a proper seat cover thanks to the seat airbag, so have to put up with this sagging fabric cover for now:

[condor]

Voted Fabric.

Leather is good, has a rich feel, but is expensive, and is leather.

2013, when getting seat covers for my Storme, I went in for the "Chetak Gati (Elegant Seat Covers)" Beige color from Elegant auto. It gave me a fabric feel with in synthetic material, and at close to 8 years and 93k km, the covers have never been uncomfortable.

Very recently, @Red Liner posted about the Suede covers (Elegant Seat Covers) from Elegant Auto. This looks a good balance between Fabric and Leather.

Art leather ? No way.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by Sanidhya mukund

I love leather seats for the premium feel and look. But here in Delhi, the 40 degree heat of the summers, coupled with the black interiors and large sunroof have forced me to go for this jugaad. The seat heats up real bad, to the point of being unbearable. I also can’t get a proper seat cover thanks to the seat airbag, so have to put up with this sagging fabric cover for now:

Agree on this.I find good quality fabric seats best in terms of comfort. They almost never heat up and No sweaty back. If leather, it has to be perforated and has to have cooling function in India.

[gopaneel]

Voted for fabric. I like how a good leather upholstery looks. But I feel much more comfortable on fabric seats. Art leather is the worst, especially with how it feels sticky in our weather. But beige fabric is a little worrying. I was very glad my Glanza came in dark blue and black fabric.

[HKap]

Originally Posted by CosmicWizard

My wife is super allergic to leather smell and even asked the BMW salesperson if there was an option to go for fabric seats by paying extra money and is very disappointed to hear that upgrading to the germans would mean no fabric seats anymore :-)

Have you checked if they have synthetic leather options? They've gotten so much better now that you wouldn't be able to tell the difference in touch. Also an animal doesn't need to die for us to have a good seat.

[Slick]

Voted Fabric

I have first hand experience of

Art leather seats + very weak AC + Mumbai summers = Hell !

If I add guests in the equation then add embarrassment as well.

My Esteem (bought used) came with art leather covers and a weak AC, which I never managed to repair.
Whenever it was parked in sun, there was no way we could travel in it before cooling for sometime.
It gave you the tawa fry experience.

My Zest and Wagon both have fabric seats. My future cars would also have fabric.

I am sure for a powerful car with good AC leather should work fine as well.

- Slick

[Storm2.0]

Fabric seat covers (the removable ones) are easy to clean by removing them, putting them in a bucket of hot soap water, dry it under direct sunlight and viola you have a fresh upholstery with pleasant smell of detergents as well.

One may wash it in water with some fragrance added to it to enhance the good smell within the car.

In our Santro, which we had in early 2000s, we used to follow the same thing.

[ruzbehxyz]

Have voted for genuine leather upholstery. The major reasons are good looks for longer duration.

One point that is missing, is that leather needs to be conditioned roughly every 6-12 months depending on the area of usage eg. Moisture areas, very hot areas, area of parking etc. A good quality leather conditioner is Meguiars made in USA.

[aniyo]

If cost is not a constraint, I would chose genuine leather. I have synthetic leather in my car owing to cash constraint.
I rarely drive with AC off, so fabric really does not add much value. It is far more difficult to maintain than the other 2

[SnS_12]

Voted for fabric as for our climate conditions it is best suited and comfort is more important than looks especially in those long summer drives. I don’t like stepping out of the car after a long drive with a sweaty back or bottom

Wool is also a good option and is used by Toyota on the Century for decades and continue to do so even today.

Quality wool is actually a fantastic material for car interiors because it’s naturally breathable, naturally moisture-wicking and it does not become ass-searingly hot in the summer or ice-cold in the winter as leather does. It doesn’t squeak, and it doesn’t rumble when you sit in it. Despite this, wool is all but non-existent in the auto industry while leather continues to be the fancy, de facto choice.

[chinmaypillay]

Voted for Fabric seats, looks natural and is more pleasing to sit on in our climate. But for people with families, especially Kids I advise them to go for PU/Leather seat covers since maintaining Fabric is a pain (spillages, jumping around, etc).

Fabrics can be easily replaced after few years and we can experiment with a new look too when bored. If the weather was any better, a leather would be highly desirable to have, personally love the dark (coffee?) brown leather seats you see in BMW and red ones

Realistically, Fabric for me.

[aravind.anand]

Voted for fabric seats. Simply because the practicality it provides in a hot and humid country like ours. Also, with skilled workmanship we can make the fabric seats look quite appealing

Leather seats are much like the full suit, looks sharp, feels premium, makes a statement and all that. But in hot weather, it just doesn't make much sense