[Aditya]

Fabric vs Leather upholstery for Indian cars

The largest contact point between you and your car is the seat. A good seat will keep you comfortable & happy for long journeys. Seating position, lumbar support and 12-way adjustments aside, the choice of material used to drape the seat is an important point too.

The two materials commonly used for upholstering car seats are fabric and leather.

Fabric Upholstery

Fabric upholstered seats are generally found in economy cars and lower variants of C and D segment cars. The main reason for this is that they are cheaper to produce compared to leather upholstered seats. They are practical and durable as well.

Advantages of fabric upholstery:

1. Cost-effective - The material cost of the fabric seats is significantly lower than leather, making them more pocket-friendly for the end customer as well. In case of replacement too, they will be cheaper to buy.
2. Wide choice of materials - There are many types of cloth available and an infinite amount of design patterns possible.
3. Less sensitive to extreme heat or cold - Fabric upholstery will not be as temperature sensitive as leather. Get in the car on an extremely hot or cold day and you will find these seats much more temperature neutral to sit on than leather ones.
4. Durable - Fabric seats are, in general, quite durable. They are resilient to wear and tear, and aren't prone to cracking or punctures either.
5. Washable - Fabric upholstery can be washed very easily and without professional help. This makes it very practical to live with.

Disadvantages of fabric upholstery:

1. Doesn't look upmarket - Fabric seats are the cheaper option compared to leather and look it. They will almost never look appropriate in a luxury car. Forget Mercs and Jags, they will look out of place even in higher-end Toyotas and Hyundais.
2. Prone to soiling - Fabric seats absorb dirt and mud and as a result, get filthy very quickly. This means you need to clean them more often.
3. Get smelly - Strong odors are difficult to get rid off when it comes to fabric seats. As an example, just like carpets in the monsoon, fabric seats can also give out a musty smell. One has to be careful to keep them from getting wet, or sweaty.
4. Can cause or aggravate allergies - Along with dirt, fabric seats can attract allergens which settle down on them. These can certainly cause or aggravate allergies.
5. Fade and get dull - Fabric seats, over a period of time get faded and look dull. This makes them look outdated. When you plan to sell the car, this will be a disadvantage.

Leather Upholstery

Leather upholstered seats are generally found in cars with higher price tags. They convey luxury and style and are necessary if certain features are to be incorporated. Leather seat are a lot more expensive to manufacture than fabric, mostly due to material costs. With various grades, leather upholstery gets more and more expensive. For those don't want to pay an exorbitant amount, or those who prefer a more 'vegan' approach, car makers are using synthetic leather instead.

Advantages of leather upholstery:

1. Upmarket - Leather seats look more premium than fabric ones. They make the interiors feel more plush too.
2. Necessary for ventilated seats - If you want heated or cooled ventilated seats, leather upholstery is the only option for you. Fabric seats aren't offered with this function.
3. Resistant to soiling and stains - Leather upholstery is not as prone to stains as fabric. Even if they do get dirt on them, it's less likely to lead to a permanent discolouration.
4. Durable - Good quality leather will last long with little or no signs of fading or wear and tear. In the long term, this will help in keeping the interiors looking new.
5. Fetches a better resale value - As leather seats look more upmarket, hold up well in the long run and indicate a higher variant, when you decide to sell the car, expect a better resale value compared to cars with fabric upholstery.

Disadvantages of leather upholstery:

1. Expensive - Leather seats are only used in luxury cars and higher variants of cars from lower segments. This is because they are a lot more expensive to manufacture when compared to fabric seats. Leather is not an option for people looking for budget cars.
2. More sensitive to extreme heat or cold - Leather upholstery is more sensitive to weather extremities compared to fabric. Get in the car on an extremely hot or cold day and you will find these seats scaling hot or freezing cold to sit on.
3. Slippery to sit on - Leather is more slippery and provides less grip compared to fabric. Unless support in the form of side bolstering is provided, one is likely to slide around on leather seats particularly when the car is driven hard through corners.
4. Difficult and expensive to repair - Leather upholstery is very durable, but like anything else in this world, it can get damaged. If that happens, leather seats will be difficult and expensive to repair.
5. Professional care required for cleaning - If soiled, it is best to get leather seats cleaned by professionals. It is also best if high quality products are used. All of this will, again, prove expensive.

[GTO]

We shouldn't judge fabric seats based on what the budget cars offer. Fabric - when done right - can feel soft & truly luxurious . My mid-90s Honda Accord had fabric seats that were very premium feeling & offered superb support! One smaller yet significant point is that some folk from my Jain community would buy fabric only, for religious reasons (related thread (Want to buy a luxury sedan / SUV with no leather used in it)).

That said, I'm a total "leather seat" guy. Leather seats look better + feel richer than fabric, especially the plush variety you see from high-end brands. To me, a top variant or an expensive car absolutely must have leather seats . Nothing quite like the experience of soft, well-curated leather.

[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 :-)

[abhishek46]

Fabric Seats, if chosen in dark shades are the most easy to maintain, can take abuse and will last the lifetime of a car.
On long drives, these are the most comfortable too, as the fabric is breathable, and there is no sweating-in-the-pants effect.

However, in terms of appearance and aesthetics, these are simply no match for quality perforated leather seats.

[Vid6639]

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

Tata's Benecke Kaliko, BMW's Sensatec and Mercedes Artico / 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.

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 :-)

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

The higher M sport or luxury uses real leather.

[RavSam]

I like the "look" of leather seats but Fabric seats are the best.

Less hot when under the sun, better ventilation and strange as it may sound, the sound that movement on leather seats make kind of irks me.

The cracks and ageing of leather seats also put me off.

[fiat_tarun]

I think there should be another option - Fabric + leather combination.

Full leather seats are bad in the summers and makes one sweat a lot. I think cooled seats should be offered with full leather seats.

I don't mind good quality fabric seats as well. In fact I really liked the OEM fabric seats on my Figo and it was in super condition even after 5 years.

My preferred option is the fabric + leather combination as in my Ecosport now. All contact portions are fabric, hence comfortable in the summers and the leather adds to the premium look and feel.

Originally Posted by ChiragM

...
While the Titanium+ variant gets full leather seats (reference image), the S variant comes with partial leather + fabric seats and orange stripes:

[IP_Man]

I hate the glossy look and feel of leather seat. Fabric seat especially dark coloured look very premium.

[poloman]

Only fabric seats for me purely due to ethical reasons. This can even affect my purchase decision. If a car which I like, comes only in leather seats, I will not buy it.

I even use only fabric wallet for that matter.

[Red Liner]

Heres something interesting: https://elegantautoretail.com/collec...12819183829036

Elegant brings to you the latest trend in car seat covers. Get the rich feel of suede leather without the stress of cracking and heating up with Elegant's latest Nubuck Patina seat cover. They are made using a premium fabric which will keep your car cool and feels like leather. They have a sporty appeal with designer seams and are easy to clean.

I am not a big fan of leather unless its for hard wearing shoes (like riding boots for motorcycles). Synthetic Art leather belongs in the dustbin.

[WhiteKnight]

I'd anyday prefer fabric apholstery. Unfortunately, all my cars have leather. That's because there are few sources who could do a superlative fabric work. You take leather apholstery, there are proven service providers available, including mass manufacturers.

[Jeroen]

I really like real leather seats. But don’t knock fabric either.

The seats in my 1982 Mercedes W123 are fabric and even after all those years and some 170.000 km still look like new.

What I do not like are those cheap plasticky type of covers. We call them skai here. They stick to your bottom, and wear quickly at which point they start tearing as well.

All our many Fords over the years had excellent fabric covers on the seats too, no complaints.

But good leather will generally last longer and I just think it looks nicer. Not necessarily just in high end cars. It was one of the very first thing I did 25 years ago when I bought my Alfa Spider, had the seats upholstered with real leather, including the door panels. Looks smashing and feels very comfortable. I even replaced the gear- and handbrake lever boot with proper leather ones too.

Which one is easier to clean is a bit dependant on what happened to it in the first place. But I would say in general, with typical car related spillage (e.g. food, candy, drinks, kids/animals being sick etc) fabric might be very difficult to clean and getting the smell out can be a nightmare.

In that respect I find leather a bit more hard wearing. You do need to take care of your leather seats regularly, especially if your car spends lots of time standing out in the sun. I have some special leather car treatment products. Usually once, maybe twice a year. Also, gets you that leather smell, which we like.

Leather seat can be upholstered and repaired fairly easily. Including colouring. I had it done not so long on my Jaguar seats.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-d...ml#post4587777

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-d...ml#post4595043



Purely personal and highly debatable; I find poorly maintained, scruffy, leather seats look a lot worse, than neglected, worn fabric seats.


Jeroen

[sv97]

Even though I prefer leather but I think what is more important than the seat material is the correct foam.

The seats in my Fortuner which has genuine leather on the touch/contact surfaces and synthetic leather for the upholstery even though looks good but the firmness of the seats is something which I desist even though my back maybe thanking the seat for the support it provides but it is just too firm and not comfortable at all and also during summers provides heating without heated seats

Where as if I talk about my Creta which even though had fabric seats was a lot more comfortable as the seats foam was not too firm and was on the softer side and even my Civic which has leather seats but softer foam gives sofa like feeling.

[vb-saan]

Nice fabric seats are alright but if there is an option, I would go with leather seats. Not just in cars even at home I prefer a good leather chair/couch instead of fabric ones. I really like the way (real) leather seats age and develop that nice patina.

[Mountainman21]

Fabric seats are good but very difficult to clean for dust/ shoe prints (families with small kids/ toddlers will understand). Leather/ Leatherette seats on the other are better to maintain (can be wiped clean if done on time).

Dark shade leather seats win my vote.