To leather or not to leather - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

Gadro · 07-03-2003, 20:46

Hi all

I'm new here and I've been poring through thread after thread, gathering little tid bits of wisdom for my BA Falcon purchase. The feedback and comments you guys have chucked back at one another has been very helpful.

So far I am running with a black non turbo XR6. Yes.....you heard me. Non turbo. I don't honestly need the power...just a nice car that handles well and gives me the incentive to drive again :) The VK commodore. just ain't cutting it anymore... he he

Anyways....there is one thing I am still undecided on....interior.

I would really appreciate your opinions on the advantages and disadvantages of leather or fabric trim. At this point in time the cost is not too much a factor in the decision......I am looking for pros and cons pertaining to usage, limitations, wear and tear, upkeep etc.

FYI I live in QLD, my car will be shaded most of the day and garaged at night

Thanks to anyone that can offer their wisdom and experience on this topic!

Cheers
Gadro

XWGT · 07-03-2003, 21:03

Definately get the leather
Infinatly easier to clean. Stain resistant. Only needs a leather treatment and clean every 2 years of so.

zeke · 07-03-2003, 21:26

The BEST allround seat material I have ever come across is tailored high-quality lambsskin seat covers. Costly but excellent performance in every way!

Lately I have had to abandon them for a variety of reasons. (seating position too high to increase it further, heated seats, side airbags etc)

I didn't like the leather seats in my current car for the first 6-12 months - too firm and unyielding. After that, they were fine and I prefer them to the fabric in my wife's XT. The fabric feels too grippy or something.

So I have ordered the leather in my XR6T, with side airbags. The downside is the door interiors look like an expanse of black plastic in spite of the leather inserts - very low rent! When I get the car, I might look into alteratives for the door inserts - even the perforated leather would lift them a bit!

I'm also thinking of getting the mechanical parts and padding for a rear aemrest to see if a motor trimmer can put it into the car - shouldn't be too difficult as I suspect the frame of the seat is common to all cars, wheter they have rear armrests or not and extra matching leather should be easy to source - fingers crossed.

I also read leather cars tend to smell better inside as the material doesn't absorb odours from dogs, kids, hamburgers etc. Its easier maintenance than cloth and even when well worn it tends to look characterful rather than daggy.

Still, I don' rule out completely the idea of black sheepskin covers with "windows" for the airbags. Will see how it goes down the track. Don't really want to sit higher and quality fleeces are thick and dense!

Hope this helps
Regards
zeke

Luke · 07-03-2003, 22:19

Go the Leather.

Apart from (IMO) a better look, leather apparantly holds the foaming material together better. I the recent edition of an Aussie Ute magazine, this guy test drives a new XR8 with leather seats. He suggests to go for the leather from experience - as the fabric seats 'ball' that is the material fluffs up and starts to deteriorate and the moulding has started to go pear-shaped and saggy. It's worth looking into anyhow.

BADXR8UTE · 07-03-2003, 22:42

There is only one way and thats the leather way.
I've got it and love it.

dk_falconXR6 · 07-03-2003, 22:45

My vote is for the fabric. Take a good look at an XR with only 15,000k's on the clock, the leather makes the interior look like its done 100,000k. A friend has leather in his Xr and after 15,000k looks really wrinkled and old. My car has 12k on the clock and the fabric still looks good as new. I've always had fabric in my cars (by choice) and if looked after properly (ie vacummed regularly) fabric imo will look better than leather in 100,000ks

flappist · 07-04-2003, 01:10

Dead cow is GREAT and it is stain resistant and doesn't absorb smells and looks 100%.
How far north are you?

zexr8 · 07-04-2003, 01:48

got to be careful with leather, a jean stud can scratch it, and once its scratched it looks pretty ordinary.For an everyday car i wouldn't go it.

SM · 07-04-2003, 02:11

Got it, love it. Hard wearing, easy to clean, looks A1.

poodge · 07-04-2003, 02:24

I have a small but noticable scratch on my fabric seats, from the dealer who when he was showing me the ropes. He must have had a pen or something in his pocket. Its too late now.

I was spewing i didnt get leather but i saw on Herrods website that they do a leather retrim, I havent seen it. But i dont care because the ute is as good as booked in for it. Its something different and it only costs a little more than Factory leather, plus i think they cover more stuff.