[raj_5004]

hey guys, i have one query in mind:

i have always been a fan of leather seats for the comfort & stylish look it provides. but i have avoided them in my car as they are not practical in indian summer.

now, i am a bit curious about this art leather. i have seen that it looks a lot similar to leather but is it practical like rexine? does it get hot if the car is parked under the sun, like original leather?

[JVH]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

does it get hot if the car is parked under the sun, like original leather?

Avoid it like plague. Especially for hot and humid climates. In fact fabric is much better than art leather. Original leather will not get hot as the art leather. In fact, with AC its very effective.

The combination of real and art leather is also good. But IMO, investment in real leather is really worth. Plz do consider it.

[Hypercar]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

hey guys, i have one query in mind:

i have always been a fan of leather seats for the comfort & stylish look it provides. but i have avoided them in my car as they are not practical in indian summer.

now, i am a bit curious about this art leather. i have seen that it looks a lot similar to leather but is it practical like rexine? does it get hot if the car is parked under the sun, like original leather?

Raj Indian summers are not exactly the harshest conditions on earth !!! There are plenty of places much hotter and most high end cars come with leather seats as a standard. What you are talking about is surface temperature of the material parked in direct sunlight. That quickly dissipates when you switch on your AC and move the car. The surface temp of synthetic materials like art leather is definitely more than real leather but that too will dissipate quickly. Fabric has a lower surface temp but leather seats have more advantages. Leather seats are simply more hygienic and easier to maintain. And it also protects your original seat foam much better than a porous fabric which will collect dirt and transfer any liquid internally onto your seat foam. So leather seat covers actually extend the life of your original seating foam and make it more durable on the long run. just my 2 cents.

[Hypercar]

Originally Posted by JVH

Avoid it like plague. Especially for hot and humid climates. In fact fabric is much better than art leather. Original leather will not get hot as the art leather. In fact, with AC its very effective.

The combination of real and art leather is also good. But IMO, investment in real leather is really worth. Plz do consider it.

You are right that there is nothing like real leather for durability and comfort. But on the question of surface temperature I have attempted to answer earlier.

[raj_5004]

thanks for the replies guys. okay, so that means, considering practicality in mind, fabric is the best followed by genuine leather followed by art leather.

but i think fitting genuine leather seats for my scorpio 7 seater will cost me around 30,000 minimum. am i right?

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

thanks for the replies guys. okay, so that means, considering practicality in mind, fabric is the best followed by genuine leather followed by art leather.

but i think fitting genuine leather seats for my scorpio 7 seater will cost me around 30,000 minimum. am i right?

Yes your estimate for 30K is correct in Bangalore Cerali would be little cheaper compared to stanley don't know if it is available in mumbai

Raj the word "art leather" is quite misleading there are several kinds of material which resemble leather and are conveniently termed as art leather.

If the material is Polyurethane based it is as comfortable as genuine leather and costs around 10K ( against 30 K ) and is more eco friendly.

Foam leather is another material which looks good and is in same price range as PU but gets hot in sun finally Poly Vinyl Chloride ( PVC) based is cheapest one and should be best avoided because PVC decomposes in heat and releases harmful chemicals.

I have PU covers in my Safari and also experienced Stanly leather in my friends Innova and can comfortably say that fabric is always better then both PU and Leather and this is in milder summers of Bangalore.

Only advantage of leather / art leather is that they are easy to clean as compared to fabric.

[raj_5004]

thanks amit. this is one of the reasons i avoided leather till now. i have fabric seat covers in my car but i must admit, i am very much tempted when i see some cars fitted with leather seats.

but i guess i should give priority to comfort.

[anandkumargb]

Originally Posted by Latheesh

Now my Spark is arriving this weekend
Seat cover (Art leather) + Steering cover (real leather) from Karlsson will cost ~ 10K. Quality of work seems to be good.

Do you suggest any other place in Bangalore who does good work @ cheaper price?

You can check out Ceralli (BSK 2nd stage), Marvin on Lalbagh road. Both of them are around 8K for the config you have mentioned. Marvin has some good designs.

[Hypercar]

Originally Posted by anandkumargb

You can check out Ceralli (BSK 2nd stage), Marvin on Lalbagh road. Both of them are around 8K for the config you have mentioned. Marvin has some good designs.

The fact of the matter is Marvin and Cerrali use locally made leather and call it Italian .....they are all Stanley wannabes without any proprietary leather and the workmanship is not that good. I have seen a couple of their jobs. But if price is more important than quality go ahead.

[Hypercar]

Originally Posted by amitk26

Yes your estimate for 30K is correct in Bangalore Cerali would be little cheaper compared to stanley don't know if it is available in mumbai

Raj the word "art leather" is quite misleading there are several kinds of material which resemble leather and are conveniently termed as art leather.

If the material is Polyurethane based it is as comfortable as genuine leather and costs around 10K ( against 30 K ) and is more eco friendly.

Foam leather is another material which looks good and is in same price range as PU but gets hot in sun finally Poly Vinyl Chloride ( PVC) based is cheapest one and should be best avoided because PVC decomposes in heat and releases harmful chemicals.

I have PU covers in my Safari and also experienced Stanly leather in my friends Innova and can comfortably say that fabric is always better then both PU and Leather and this is in milder summers of Bangalore.

Only advantage of leather / art leather is that they are easy to clean as compared to fabric.

Cerrali is cheaper than Stanley because they use locally made leather which smells bad. Their finish is on that good either. The term art leather is short artificial leather so most people will know the difference. Fabric has too many disadvantages in my view and it is really unhygienic.

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by Hypercar

Cerrali is cheaper than Stanley because they use locally made leather which smells bad. Their finish is on that good either. The term art leather is short artificial leather so most people will know the difference. Fabric has too many disadvantages in my view and it is really unhygienic.

FYI sir Italian leather is also made locally ( Kanpur , Chennai are main centres) the word Italian refers to the processing done and not exactly something imported from Italy.

Trust me any leather Stanley or someone else will smell once upper surface wears out and it starts absorbing sweat / water.
Now I am not defending quality of Cerrali or others may be they are bad as you say ( I simply don't care) but Stanley is not godsend either just they were first in business and now have enough money to open Stanley boutiques on main roads in Bangalore.

Now coming to artificial leather it is a term invented by people in business to sell , Polyurethane based material is best and even better in terms of durability and comfort then genuine leather. A high grade PU can outlive genuine leather.

So if you wants something which can be easily cleaned and never smell bad (read if you have small kids ) then go for PU.

Fabric is not unhygienic just that you need to spend some 600 - 800 rupees for interior cleaning once it gets dirty. Do you know how many colonies of bacteria and fungi get developed on leather ?
In any case Fabric is more hygenic then genuine leather just because it can be cleaned.

So in terms of hygene PU > Fabric > leather provided you clean PU with soap and water once in a while and get your fabric upholstery cleaned regularly

[f1fan]

Originally Posted by amitk26

So if you wants something which can be easily cleaned and never smell bad (read if you have small kids ) then go for PU.

I can vouch for PU seat covers and the ease with which it can be cleaned. I have two small kids and whatever spills on the seats can be easily cleaned with little soap and water and the seats are back as new

[VahanPujari]

Originally Posted by amitk26

So in terms of hygene PU > Fabric > leather provided you clean PU with soap and water once in a while and get your fabric upholstery cleaned regularly

Originally Posted by f1fan

I can vouch for PU seat covers and the ease with which it can be cleaned. I have two small kids and whatever spills on the seats can be easily cleaned with little soap and water and the seats are back as new

Over to you, HyperCar / Kaarlsson for solution of this issue. This is very important & applies to most of the customers

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by VahanPujari

Over to you, HyperCar / Kaarlsson for solution of this issue. This is very important & applies to most of the customers

Ohh so is Hypercar a leather seat dealer ? That explains a lot
I think we do have a commercial involvement declaration thread somewhere which must be used for reason of ethics. T-BHP is not a forum to push products in disguise of advice.

In case I am wrong and poster hypercar has no commercial involvement I would take my words back.

I just searched for other posts on one beige Linea art seat covers he could spot crease and sogginess whereas on another Linea fitted from Karlson this fitting aspect was ignored and only praises were showered.

[VahanPujari]

Originally Posted by amitk26

Ohh so is Hypercar a leather seat dealer ? That explains a lot
I think we do have a commercial involvement declaration thread somewhere which must be used for reason of ethics. T-BHP is not a forum to push products in disguise of advice.

In case I am wrong and poster hypercar has no commercial involvement I would take my words back.

I just searched for other posts on one beige Linea art seat covers he could spot crease and sogginess whereas on another Linea fitted from Karlson this fitting aspect was ignored and only praises were showered.

I actually addressed that query to both - Hypercar & Karlsson - both are 2 different t-bhp handles. Karlsson seems to be the seat cover mfr & started his posts in "Stanely Leather seats - your views please" thread. From the point in that thread that Karlsson stopped posting (for whatever reason), Hypercar started from that point in that thread:

• Location of both user handle is Bangalore
• Both advocates Karlsson make aggressively (it's an excellent product & I believe top-notch amongst what is available in India)
• Both gets aggressive sometimes with their views hurting some bhpians'.
• Some exact words - "Lifestyle choices", scandinavian swedish leather etc & some typical statements like "sorry to say but those covers look ugly/ misfit/ slip-on pajama-type & are cheap etc etc" - are commonly used in posts

But, both are different t-bhp User ID's & might be separate than each other