Elegance leather seats durability?

[kibby]

How durable and wear resistant are the leather faced seats (I understand all except the seat top

facings are imitation leather...vinyl which is a bit of a turn off).

Does it wear well and keep its shape?

Generally we look after our Yeti's interior well but will occasionally be carrying 2 youngsters in

attached child seats in the back.

Any user experience with leather in Yeti appreciated especially over a longish period of use as we

may keep next Yeti longer or maybe go for a bigger CRV as they are on a special model run out price

offer currently.

[threeshoes]

How durable and wear resistant are the leather faced seats (I understand all except the seat top

facings are imitation leather...vinyl which is a bit of a turn off).

Does it wear well and keep its shape?

Generally we look after our Yeti's interior well but will occasionally be carrying 2 youngsters in

attached child seats in the back.

Any user experience with leather in Yeti appreciated especially over a longish period of use as we

may keep next Yeti longer or maybe go for a bigger CRV as they are on a special model run out price

offer currently.

I hope that more than the seat tops are leather. Thanks for mentioning this.

Chris

[kibby]

The sides and backs appeared to be of a thicker,less soft material when we examined and our

dealer said they are not all leather. Looked OK in car but vinyl tends to crack easily,

especially if subject to sun. I'm concerned on the state of them 5 yrs on as crappy

leather seats would seriously reduce saleability as well as expensive to refurbish.

Edited 18 April, 2012 by kibby

[Merlinman]

http://www.briskoda....__fromsearch__1

New covers much better - I'd have gone for Alcantara had it been a UK option!

[kibby]

From your pic's it looks like a less friendly dealer would describe them as "fair wear and tear mate".

If you had to involve SUK was it a bit of a battle? Was the dealer helpful and supportive?

Heated seats and vinyl (artificial leather) a good combination?????

Edited 18 April, 2012 by kibby

[Auric Goldfinger]

I hope that more than the seat tops are leather. Thanks for mentioning this.

Chris

The bit you sit on and the bit your back touches and thats about it.

Quote:- Full leather upholstery Inc. heated front seats (contains some artificial leather) un Quote

[JCP]

Trying to remember but of leather trimmed cars I have owned (Peugeot 505 Gti, Alfa 164, Lexus Soarer, 400 and Is 300, BMW mini cooper S) none has had anything other than leather/plastic hybrid covers. I once considered an M5 which had a full hide interior -along with many other wonderful features which a friend had for sale and remember that the full hide interior was a £4k extra.

So I'm entirely unsurprised to hear that some parts of my Elegance seats are not leather. They seem fine after a year but no-one can yet tell you how well they will do over 5 years.

I think the OP is probably veering towards the Honda he has mentioned in another post-I expect their seats are mixed too.

[r999]

Until you are paying really big money, no car seat is leather as we used to understand the word.

Quoted from http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/caring-for-interior-surfaces.html :

"What appears to be leather these days is often more likely to be textured vinyl, particularly when found on the backs of seats and on door cards. Real leather is often only used on the cushion and upright of seats, and even then it is often quite different to traditional leather. In days of old, manufacturers would take a hide and shave it into three layers. The bottom layer (suede) was discarded and used for other purposes, while the top two layers were used for various parts of vehicle upholstery. However, the modern approach is to swell the hide using a chemical process and then shave it into as many as ten layers using computer-controlled machinery. These thin layers are then pressed and stamped with a leather texture in order to mask any imperfections, and then laminated between a fabric base and an uppermost layer of clear breathable vinyl. In effect, many modern leathers are actually vinyls with a thin layer of leather veneer..."

[kibby]

Depressing but thanks for that!!

[The Plumber]

From the texture of the seat material then my view is that the seat base top cover is leather, as is the outer side panel next to the height adjustment leaver. The front and inner side face are artificial. With the seat back then just the front panel is leather; sides and back again artificial. All appears good quality though and noticeable superior to the artificial leather seat trim in a previous current generation Corsa the wife had.

TP

[Merlinman]

'Fair wear & tear' my arse - those seats were creased@ 900 miles - not a friendly dealer, referred to SUK who authorised replacement on receipt of my photographs.

Only the leather parts are heated.

[yetiscot]

'Fair wear & tear' my arse '

I should imagine it had something to do with it

[Merlinman]

Only if you actually sit on the substandard seat !

[vegit8]

I imagine part of the problem is also the firmness of the seat squab underneath.

My "in house advisor" has a 55 plate BMW 320 with leather upholstery.

Sitting on the seat is akin to sitting on a wooden bench, but on the other hand the leather is as good as new after 80k miles

[Bassa]

My facelift Octavia had fabric seats which I disliked, they were like a magnet to any lint/ fluff/bits. Regretting not specifying the leather initially, I decided to have the fabric replaced via a bespoke method. Seat Surgeons near York carried out the task in one day, I dropped the car off in the morning and picked it up later that afternoon. My fabric had been replaced with full nappa leather to the seats, head restraints & door cards. This cost less than the Skoda leather option on the Octavia at that time and was far superior in quality to the part leather in the Yeti. Of course, in the UK, their is no choice other than leather on the Elegance. Had cloth been available I would have considered taking the same route with my Yeti.

[Peter a Proud Yorkshireman]

Modern Vinyl is very tough and hard wearing and has been used for the none sitting parts of most cars seating for years.

The rigourous testing by the manufacturers of these fabrics (and the leather tanneries) ensure they are suitable for excessive wear in the most heavy duty situations. Leather will take on a patina and crease through contact as it is a natural material and does stretch,it will lose some ridgidity over time and the seat firmness will be a factor,thats why many homes have a much used and loved leather chair.

The thousands of chairs covered in vinyl in hospitals and care home have to stand up to all sorts of hammer from all sorts of fluids and being cleaned with a dilute bleach solution the fabrics have to meet to British an European standards.

Mind you the seats must be correctly put together probably nothing wrong with the fabrics and leather just the way the seat has been put together.

[kenfowler3966]

31k on mine, no damage or significant wear, but the squabs are creased when not in use now.

The leathert seems to stretch in use and is not elastic enough to stuill be smooth when not sat on.

[Tristar 1011]

Talking of leather seats - The lastest excuse of the delay of my Yeti (will be one year plus now), is that there is a shortage of "Gobi Sand leather" :wonder:

[Deputy]

One year old leather Yeti seats (6,000 miles) with 2 toddlers in ISOFIX seats. All I've done to clean them is a couple of wipes with damp leather if the vomit was really bad and they wipe clean easier than cloth (maybe as the rear coverings are vinyl it's actually better with kids!)...... Main issue is the leather seems permanently bent open by the ISOFIX openings. But as it's the kids safety I really couldn't care about the cosmetics!

[oriki]

I have the Dune fabric upholstery in my Yeti,and after noticing premature (only six months old) fraying of the material,I ordered a set of leather seat covers from Superskoda.A bit pricey at 500 Euros including shipment,but I hope for good quality and I shall let you know how well they wear (or not...) in the future.

All the best to you all.

[Freshacre]

Sixteen stone, six foot two, 41000 miles, and nothing is sagging.

Not only that, the back end inside, both with seats up and seats tumbled, is remarkably clear of scuffs and scrapes - despite being regularly used as a repository of guitar cases, amps, speakers and associated paraphernalia which at the end of a session does tend to get bunged in willy-nilly.

I'm quite happy with the way the whole car is wearing - a bit like its owner, perhaps?!

[oldstan]

Sixteen stone, six foot two, 41000 miles, and nothing is sagging.

I'm quite happy with the way the whole car is wearing - a bit like its owner, perhaps?!

Oh, so no wrinkling and sagging of the seat, odd creaking noises from the joints, excessive emissions from the exhaust…especially after a journey from the pub/curry house?….and no inclination, the following morning, towards poor timing due to high octane fuelling in the pub region?

No difficulty with vision due to misaligned or misted over vision aids?

No coughing or spluttering from the power source when going uphill?

My word, you’re both doing really well, George. :-)

[Freshacre]

Oh, so no wrinkling and sagging of the seat, odd creaking noises from the joints, excessive emissions from the exhaust…especially after a journey from the pub/curry house?….and no inclination, the following morning, towards poor timing due to high octane fuelling in the pub region?

No difficulty with vision due to misaligned or misted over vision aids?

No coughing or spluttering from the power source when going uphill?

My word, you’re both doing really well, George. :-)

No, but sometimes I forget to tie my shoelaces........

[Bobdog]

My wife insists on leather seats, both in the car and at home where we have a leather suite. Allegedly I have some unfortunate tendencies in the bottom burping department, and SWMBO claims that over time cloth seats absorb and retain the aroma so that it permanently lingers, and indeed is released when somebody sits on the seat. Apparently leather seats do not suffer to the same extent. I have no idea what she's on about.

Corner?

[Freshacre]

My wife insists on leather seats, both in the car and at home where we have a leather suite. Allegedly I have some unfortunate tendencies in the bottom burping department, and SWMBO claims that over time cloth seats absorb and retain the aroma so that it permanently lingers, and indeed is released when somebody sits on the seat. Apparently leather seats do not suffer to the same extent. I have no idea what she's on about.

Bob

It is really like a whoopee cushion, but with that noise replaced with some pong or other.

Silent AND deadly.

I'm coming to join you, BTW.