leather versus cloth in lx-v6/ex-v6

Just wanted to get anyone's feedback who would like to share regarding
preference for leather or cloth seats. I'm going to go with either an
LX-V6 (cloth) or an EX-V6 (leather).

I know the EX-V6 now has heated front seats. But I still hear
observations from some that leather can be very hot in summer and even
with seat heaters cool in winter (though I'd guess the heaters warm
that up quickly.)

Can anyone share if this was a problem for them or pros/cons for
leather and cloth?

Drew

 

No problems with leather here.

In fact, it didn't take long for me to realize a few years ago, after
buying my first leather couch, that I'm always going to have a leather
couch.

 

do you drive hard? of so, leather is not for you. sliding around on
leather seats is both fatiguing and potentially dangerous. besides,
"leather" seats are usually coated with a thin plastic layer to make
their initial appearance easy to maintain. would you drive with a
plastic bag on your seats? can't say i care to.

 

Personally, I would never own another vehicle without leather seats.
All of the furniture in our living room is also leather. We hate it
when we get into someone else's car with cloth seats. We find it
difficult to get in after being used to leather.

As far as heat and cold, we live in Arizona. Doesn't get much hotter
than that. And we drive in the snow country. Leather may seem hot
when you first sit on it in hot weather, and cold in cold weather, but
it neutralizes within seconds so you don't feel it. I can't say
enough about leather seats in automobiles. Love 'em.

Dick

 

All of our cars are leather for the last 12 years including a 2005 Accord
and 2006 Odyssey. Most cloth seats in cars suck these days though Honda
cloth in the new civic seemed nice. Once you get leather it is hard to go
back to cloth. The minivan in particular has terrific leather seats.

 

Both of our cars have leather seats--our AccordEXv6 with the heated
seats is great--comfortable, supportive and the heat works great. We
have not found the leather to be that hot in the summer, and we will
order leather seats in both our cars from now on.

Ken

 

I agree with you Dick. We live in Phoenix, we have been through 2 summers
with our '04 Accord EX-L. , not hotter at all. We are sold on leather


Scott

 

We just bought a Pilot with leather, our first leather...and our first Pilot
as well.
So far the leather seats are nice and comfortable the heat is nice first
thing in the morning.

 

I think it really depends on the quality of the leather. We had leather in
a Lexus RX300 and it was exceptional.and it was not a problem in summer
where we live in middle GA. On the other hand, the 93 Maxima I had years
ago, leather was sticky and hot. The leather in the Hondas I have seen have
not been of the same quality, so I am somewhat ambivalent here. My Prelude
has cloth -- the only way the car came in the U.S. I have seen some
aftermarket leather installations (on Hondas -- Accord LXs) that were top
quality -- better than that found in the EX. I have seriously considered
this option for the Prelude which can cost anywhere from $1000 - $1500.

 

While everyone seems to favor leather, I'll be the one to favor against it.

I probably will never buy a car with leather for the fact that even with
maintenance and conditioning, there will still be cracks in the seats and won't
look like the day you got them. I wanted to buy a TSX but am not going to buy it
with leather. I've seen the condition of some leather seats that you probably
wouldn't sit in. I won't say cloth seats won't look the same as from day one,
but they will look a lot better in 10 years than leather seats (and with very
little maintenance).

Plus you have to be cautious of anything that may have a rough edge as it may
tear the leather.

Nick

 

I haven't had that experience. There is a 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee in
the garage that was purchased new in the fall of 1992. Going on 14
years. Leather looks great. No cracks. We sold a Mercedes 300E that
was 13 years old. The leather still looked new! Have never owned a
car with cloth seats that held up so well. Same goes for the
furniture in our house. We have couches that were purchased in 1986
that you could put in a furniture showroom and wouldn't be able to
tell them from new. Have a Lazy-Boy recliner that is over 20 years
old and still looks great. My vote is still for leather.

Dick

 

I think I agree with Nick. I just took my driver's seat apart in the '00 TL
to replace the seat heaters and consequently have seen both sides of the
leather seat covers Honda is using. The seat cover consists of a sheet of
foam rubber with the thinnest possible leather skin (I'm talking onion paper
thin) somehow bonded to it. The leather is already showing signs of failure
in several places at under 70k miles. This is cheap stuff. If you do
decide to go with leather, stay away from the light beige/tan colors. They
are absolutely impossible to keep clean.

Conversely, my old '96 Odyssey with cloth seats is still in service with one
of my daughters (and her three kids) and the seats still look like they did
the day I bought it.

 

Leather does need to be treated a couple of times a year. I've kept cars
with leather 7 years and interior still pretty much like new.

 

Again -- the quality is the key. However, I also agree that leather takes
maintenance and special care to prevent cracks and other deterioration.

 

"TWW" wrote

Perhaps keeping the car in a garage most of the day would help preserve it,
too. ?

 

I'll disagree with that. My '01 Accord with 149,000 miles still looks good.
Just damp a sponge with warm soapy water and brush them down when cleaning
the car.

 

And one of the biggest reason to have leather is if you have kids. Nothing
cleans up better/quicker than leather. Try getting baby formula out of
cloth.

 

absolutely. the plastic coating used on leather seats ends up cracking
when exposed to sunlight. once that's cracked, the leather itself come
close behind. if it's garaged however, the plastic continues to keep
the leather protected, stain free, etc.

 

Unfortunately, not everyone has a garage to keep their car in, which is another
reason to avoid leather. I only wish auto makers would offer cloth seats in
their luxury models as an option; or at least in their lower end models. I know
that the RSX does, but the TSX should as well as it's the low end sedan. I'm
sure there are a lot of people (besides myself) that are not planning on
purchasing a luxury car for that reason.

Nick

 

Maybe I should consider cloth then. I am and will be living in an
apartment for the forseeable future where there's just a parking lot
and no garages. Same thing at work. So the car would be in sun
frequently. I live in northwestern NC so the winters are way milder
than up north but it can get pretty toast in June, July, August.
Maybe I need to go with cloth?

Drew