Hi All,

I wanted to get your views on the leather quality in the Superb, I've noticed that is marks far easier then any other leather interior I've had.

I use leather care once a month to try and maintain it, it does seem very delicate though, certainly more so then in the VW's and BMW's I've owned. Is this one of the areas they cut cost to get such a high spec car at a great price?

Any tips or recommend products for maintenance?

Edited 15 April, 201214 yr by Sw1

I have suspected that its not going to last as well as the leather in my BMW E39 (now on 115k). I think all you can do is treat it and try not to brush against the bolster when you get in.

The side bolsters do get marked up a bit from getting in & out the car, I put some leather cream on mine now & again. There's not much more you can do.

The side bolsters do get marked up a bit from getting in & out the car, I put some leather cream on mine now & again. There's not much more you can do.

Superb´s leather is quite all right, but it´s not very "premium", if you know what I mean. Because there is leather, and then there is LEATHER....at least superb´s leather is much better than it was in Chevy Epica....

Getting in and out.

On my Superb 1 I simply used the memory button (or the manual adjuster) to adust the seat so that it travelled back when I got in or out and I will use this when I pick up my new car tomorrow. This leaves the seat squab undamaged.

Frankly the quality of the leather IMO is quite poor. The leather in my Mk1 Superb had a really nice patina of age developing after ~90k miles like you see in an old Rover etc. I'm afraid I do not think that the Mk2 will manage this, I think it will wear quite quickly.

Is it actually even leather though or just imitation? I think the seat upholstery is where Skoda have saved some of that cash tbh - certainly the leather in my Yeti is way outclassed by the leather in the Tiguan I looked at a couple of weekends ago!

Every part that you sit on or touch (so seat squab, and backrest, steering wheel and gearonob) are real leather, the rest is imitation leather.

I always thought the squab was the base, but for info it's the backrest. So you mean squab and cushion, or backrest and cushion.

This leather care kit receives a lot of praise on the norwegian detailer's forum www.detailersclub.no:

http://www.swissvax.co.uk/product_detail/leather_care_products/leather_care_kit

Haven't tried it myself, but I will once the wear starts to show

This leather care kit receives a lot of praise on the norwegian detailer's forum www.detailersclub.no:

http://www.swissvax....eather_care_kit

Haven't tried it myself, but I will once the wear starts to show

Treat it before the wear show as it will be a bit late then.

I do - but with protective glaze as the car is only a couple of months old

http://www.swissvax.co.uk/product_detail/leather_care_products/leather_glaze

Edited 17 April, 201214 yr by quiz

Mine had 45K miles on it at just over 3 years old when I sold it. There was a tiny amount of wear on the side bolster where you get in / out of the car, and on the drivers seat base the leather had stretched slightly and that was all the damage showing.

I've started to condition mine everything few weeks with Gliptone - hopefully that will give it some protection.

Wasn't there a Superb driver having problems with his seats (Phil_pix ?) and had taken it to SKoda UK.

I'll be doing the leather care/cleaning in a few months' time, as the car turns half a year old.

However it gets dirty very easily.

How much does it cost to buy all these products and how much does it cost, just to get the high wear areas repaired with proper leather when it starts to look bad?

Yes look after it, btu I don't think you need to spend hundreds on expensive products, when something around £5-£10 for a bottle will do it.

Edited 17 April, 201214 yr by cheezemonkhai

Imitation leather? You mean plastic?

Modern leather does not need conditioner on it, in fact it will do more harm than good.

Modern leather has a clear lacquer as the last coating, conditioner will not penetrate this, so it will sit on top of it - gathering dirt, this dirt will scratch the lacquer resulting in 'worn' looking leather!!

Clean the oils and dirt off them once a month or so with a decent leather wipe (I am currently using Dr. Leather wipes and I am impressed with them), if the leather starts to go shiny then they are dirty and need cleaning.

The word ""leather"" is used widely in auto advertising when in fact it is sometimes not real leather at all. Skoda Superb brochure uses the following phrase which I have copied from the Skoda site:

The Elegance version is offered with the highly

comfortable glamour leather/artificial leather interior

Some cunning manufacturers (not sure about Skoda) have devised a re-manufacturing process where scraps of leather are reconstituted into what appears to be original leather once again. This practice is rampant in the furniture industy.

Even some leather conditioning products for sale here in Oz stipulate that there is no warranty offered for non original leather. How you are supposed to know is the problem. There is no doubt that modern leather seats in cars cannot hold a candle to an old Jag or Merc.

The word ""leather"" is used widely in auto advertising when in fact it is sometimes not real leather at all. Skoda Superb brochure uses the following phrase which I have copied from the Skoda site:

The Elegance version is offered with the highly

comfortable glamour leather/artificial leather interior

Some cunning manufacturers (not sure about Skoda) have devised a re-manufacturing process where scraps of leather are reconstituted into what appears to be original leather once again. This practice is rampant in the furniture industy.

Even some leather conditioning products for sale here in Oz stipulate that there is no warranty offered for non original leather. How you are supposed to know is the problem. There is no doubt that modern leather seats in cars cannot hold a candle to an old Jag or Merc.

I think in the trade this is known as "bonded leather" which does not have the strength of a natural hide, although there are many differing qualities of bonded leather.

Hi,

interesting.... this is my first car with "leather" seats & we've got the Ivory ones too, so they do need a little looking after. We've had our car for nearly 1.5 yrs & about 2 weeks ago I used some Autoglym leather conditioner.... only reason was because I felt that I should have done this a long time ago!

I normally just use a damp cloth to wipe down or very occasionally use Autoglym's leather cleaner "spray" (which I find very runny) & not much use TBH. I almost think a little more elbow grease will do the job just as well.

The reason for my post is... what should I be doing for the best?

1. Hoover regularly

2. Wipe clean damp cloth (only water)

then.....?

Use any cleaning agents? (obviously only if required)

Condition leather to keep it maintained & prevent from drying out? Should I do this or not? Gizmo's comments indicate not.... & Gizmo - I normally agree with just about everything you post so you've thrown some doubt in the mix for me....

& finally, not sure how important this is but I did agree to have the Lifeshine package - does that change anything for me? Will the dealer have done anything??? or just take my money??? LOL

Thanks

Stef

Edited 19 April, 201214 yr by sk8tergirl

Stef, I asked the question about conditioners on Detailing World, all of the suppliers and many detailers agreed that due to the lacquer used on modern leather a conditioner would not be able to penetrate this lacquer, resulting in the conditioner sitting on top of it rather than being absorbed, this means that dirt will stick to the leather more easily causing premature wear.

The conclusion was not to use it.

Stef, I asked the question about conditioners on Detailing World, all of the suppliers and many detailers agreed that due to the lacquer used on modern leather a conditioner would not be able to penetrate this lacquer, resulting in the conditioner sitting on top of it rather than being absorbed, this means that dirt will stick to the leather more easily causing premature wear.

The conclusion was not to use it.

HI Gizmo,

It does surprise me but I guess it makes it easier when cleaning in the long run.

Having only just given my front seats their first and sparing application of conditioner I'm not going to worry but will give the seats a good wipe next time, see if any comes off again

Thanks

Stef

Stef, I asked the question about conditioners on Detailing World, all of the suppliers and many detailers agreed that due to the lacquer used on modern leather a conditioner would not be able to penetrate this lacquer, resulting in the conditioner sitting on top of it rather than being absorbed, this means that dirt will stick to the leather more easily causing premature wear.

The conclusion was not to use it.

Hi Gizmo,

I think this discussion could be as debatable as to what oil to use in our vehicles or what polish is best...

I am lead to believe there are products out there to maintain our "finished" leather seats.

In my previous car I replaced the cloth side squabs with pure aniline auto leather and the leather creme/conditioner I used would absorb into the leather.

"Remember, to find out if the leather has a finish (semi-aniline/pigmented) or not, simply place a drop of water on the surface. If it is absorbed and darkens the leather, it is aniline and does not have a finish. If it rolls off, it has a finish."

The finished (probably pigmented) leather on the "body contact surfaces" of the seats would still need some sort of cleaning (and this is probably just water in general and certainly not harsh chemicals) together with some conditioning annually.

I am no expert here but every surface in our vehicles needs some sort of maintenance, I am just not sure what to use in this case...

My 2 cents...

hello all ! I use my superbs as taxi. Have had 4 in a row. Here is my advice for general maintenance. I use autoglym cleaner now and then when its dirty. And use spesial leather oil two times a year. When oil is used its important to wipe off the leftovers. For a private car should be enough onca a year with oil !