I've just bought a new Octavia vRS - due for delivery in May - trading in my Fabia vRS LE which had leather seats.

I didn't get the leather on the Octavia though, and wondering whether I should have done. I'm concerned about how the wear will affect the standard seats.

Anyone have any view one way or the other?

Edited 13 February, 201115 yr by Mingbat

I wouldn't worry to be honest - there is a mk1 on ebay with 200k on the clock and the seats look fine!

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/191243-highest-mileage-vrs-ive-seen/

Standard seats are just fine. I've had leather before but these half leather are more than up to the job of comfort and mile eating.

Be aware the standard seats ruin jumpers. I bought a top drawer dale norwegian traditional jumper. Back is now dead bobbly. This is tough wool too. Even made fleece boble

Thanks, sounds like I've got to worry more about my clothes!

You're not missing too much by not speccing the leather in the Octy. I've got it my Octy, but it ain't even in the same league as the leather in my wife's Fabia vRS Special Edition. It looks slighty plastic compared to the Fabia's, and I'm led to believe that unlike the Fabia's, it's not on all parts of the seat, with the backs made out of some leather-a-like material. You're much better off getting it retrimmed by an outfit like Seat Surgeons in York if you get it and you feel like you're missing out on leather upholstery.

I've just bought a new Octavia vRS - due for delivery in May - trading in my Fabia vRS LE which had leather seats.

I didn't get the leather on the Octavia though, and wondering whether I should have done. I'm concerned about how the wear will affect the standard seats.

Anyone have any view one way or the other?

If you later find out you would prefer leather, for what ever reason, you could get the seats re-covered in quality leather for less than the Skoda option - Seat surgeons in York.

If you later find out you would prefer leather, for what ever reason, you could get the seats re-covered in quality leather for less than the Skoda option - Seat surgeons in York.

As I have just done

Top Quality Leather, Top Quality Job, Top Quality Service

What more need I say

Just buy a pair of leather trousers and a jacket instead. You'll save a fortune and you'll be able to use your leather "seats" in the house too.

If you later find out you would prefer leather, for what ever reason, you could get the seats re-covered in quality leather for less than the Skoda option - Seat surgeons in York.

Seat Surgeons charge £800 - £850 for a leather re-trim.

The Skoda option is £850 so not really anything to save.

You've then of course got 3 years of warranty on the factory fitted leather.

I've seen the leather in the new Octy and I was quite impressed with it.

So much so that I'm probably going to go for it when I'm looking to order in a little while.

I have leather in my 2 month old Octy and I love it! I was charged only £600 to go to full leather as it too was covered by the VAT free prices. Ask your dealer how much he will charge and then make your mind up

Good luck

Seat Surgeons charge £800 - £850 for a leather re-trim.

The Skoda option is £850 so not really anything to save.

You've then of course got 3 years of warranty on the factory fitted leather.

I've seen the leather in the new Octy and I was quite impressed with it.

So much so that I'm probably going to go for it when I'm looking to order in a little while.

Can you confirm that all the material used is leather, I've heard that the seat backs, door cards etc may be Vinyl made to look and feel like leather. The original Vrs seats contain very little leather

Seat surgeons seats/door cards are 100% leather.

I had a full re-trim, seats,door cards, head rests in grey/black leather which is Quilted in places........£850

I have leather in my 2 month old Octy and I love it! I was charged only £600 to go to full leather as it too was covered by the VAT free prices. Ask your dealer how much he will charge and then make your mind up

Good luck

As per the question aimed at me below - I don't have a car to hand with the full leather option, so can't go out and confirm.

Is it "full leather" on your car?

Seat backs, door cards etc are all leather, there is no vinyl pretending to be leather anywhere?

As per the question aimed at me below - I don't have a car to hand with the full leather option, so can't go out and confirm.

Is it "full leather" on your car?

Seat backs, door cards etc are all leather, there is no vinyl pretending to be leather anywhere?

Hello Stoofa, Question wasn't aimed at you, just a general question about leather in cars. You may think you have leather when in fact you dont

and yes I believe my full leather re-trim is full leather.

I understand that the Octavia is advertised with part leather, door cards, seat backs are Vinyl, as I believe are the head rests

Disclaimer:- I may be wrong

Auric

Hello Stoofa, Question wasn't aimed at you, just a general question about leather in cars. You may think you have leather when in fact you dont

and yes I believe my full leather re-trim is full leather.

I understand that the Octavia is advertised with part leather, door cards, seat backs are Vinyl, as I believe are the head rests

Disclaimer:- I may be wrong

Auric

That's why I was deflecting to the question to gatsby

I saw an Octy vRS with leather in the showroom a couple of weeks ago.

From what I could tell it was all leather and that included the backs, the headrests and the door cards.

Now Gatsby actually has the leather interior - so I was hoping as he actually has it he could confirm one way or the other as to how much of his seats are leather.

The Octy is indeed advertised as "Half Leather".

So that is what makes me believe that the leather upholstery options does include everything.

If the standard car is "half leather" and then you pay £850 and you still only have "half leather" and "half vinyl that looks like leather" I'd believe we have a trades description issue - just my thought.

Edited 14 February, 201115 yr by Stoofa

If you read the options list in the catalogue it clearly states that the "full" leather option is indeed a mixture of real leather and some "artificial" leather.

It does in the Irish version of the catalogue anyway!!

I'm just reading through the catalogue online:

http://www.skoda.co.uk/pdf/brochure_octavia.pdf

Under the Elegance options we have:

Full leather upholstery incl. heated front seats

(contains some artificial leather)

However under the vRS options it reads:

Black ‘vRS’ leather seats

Is it possible that the leather option is different on say the Elegance than on the vRS?

I would be surprised, no, amazed, if the seats are 100% leather in any Octavia at the price they are.

It's not all 'proper' leather. If you visit the online configurator, in the more info section when you look at the leather option for the vRS, it mentions about parts of it being synthetic.

To be expected in my view, for the price charged.

not many cars do have full leather these days, i think they call it leatherette

That's why I was deflecting to the question to gatsby

I saw an Octy vRS with leather in the showroom a couple of weeks ago.

From what I could tell it was all leather and that included the backs, the headrests and the door cards.

Now Gatsby actually has the leather interior - so I was hoping as he actually has it he could confirm one way or the other as to how much of his seats are leather.

The Octy is indeed advertised as "Half Leather".

So that is what makes me believe that the leather upholstery options does include everything.

If the standard car is "half leather" and then you pay £850 and you still only have "half leather" and "half vinyl that looks like leather" I'd believe we have a trades description issue - just my thought.

I would say that the tops of the seats, the headrests and possibly the doorcards are leather....the backs and sides (thats from the stitched bits)are not leather....I know quite a bit about leather as I worked with it many years ago-and the bits that aren't leather are very convincing to the point where I'm not sure about the doorcards.

I would also asume that when they say 'full leather' they probably mean as opposed to the standard white bits....there's nothing wrong with having plastic parts as long as they look good-which in this case they do. A number of manufacturers do exactly the same-as long as your bum and head rest on real leather!(My old X Type Jag was exactly the same-but you could tell easily on that which is leather and which is plastic)

As I said, I love them....they feel good, they smell great and I would say that they would be easier to keep clean than the standard white ones. In the brochure they are £697 plus VAT and I managed to get them for £600....in fact I didn't pay VAT on any of the extras-and before anyone says otherwise-I got the equvilent of VAT plus a little extra knocked off eg £820 full price but paid £600.

By the way, I ordered mine with the normal seats and rang the dealers a few days later to change to leather which he was able to do.

I must have spent some 600 hours in my leather seats this year, glad I got them now. They are well worth it once you factor in the logic that leather seats are expensive on any car. I think the normal seats are good too but I thought they would be difficult to clean.

Thanks for all the posts chaps.

I was seriously considering the leather option in a potential vRS purchase later this month.

Then I was put off a little bit, but after reading a few more opinions from people who have them I think I'll probably still get them.

Dealer says it's really worth getting the heated option at around £200 as they are cold in the winter - yer I know, he's a dealer.

Worth getting them heated?

I didn't go for the heated option and regretted it when it snowed brrrrr.....but got used to them now. The reason I didn't go for them is that someone told me that the leather dries up and cracks easier with the heated option (and as I plan to keep the car for years I didn't want to risk it)anyone else heard of this?

I didn't go for the heated option and regretted it when it snowed brrrrr.....but got used to them now. The reason I didn't go for them is that someone told me that the leather dries up and cracks easier with the heated option (and as I plan to keep the car for years I didn't want to risk it)anyone else heard of this?

It would seem likely, but TBH I reckon the aircon contributes more to drying out the leather?

Either way, regular treatment with a leather feed/cream (as opposed to just a cleaner) should help keep it right.

Anti wrinkle/ageing cream, if you will....