For a long time, car owners are arguing about which cabin is better, leather or fabric? There are many arguments in favor of both materials, but there is still no clear answer as to what is better? This article will also not give a straight answer to this question, since the choice of material, this is primarily a matter of taste and preferences of the owner. The purpose of the article – to consider in detail all the nuances and pitfalls of both options. To dispel the myths and misconceptions that overflow the Internet.
Prestige
The first mistake is that under the leather interior, some understand only the presence of leather seats, and all further debate begins around them. Leather interior – this is primarily a car interior, namely, door cards, parts of the torpedo, gear knobs and handlebars, steering wheel, as well as other interior details, which in the fabric version can be made of plastic, and in the more expensive and prestigious leather – covered with leather.
By choosing a leather interior, you get the entire package as a whole, not just the seats. Combined, this makes the interior of your car more expensive and prestigious. In addition to the factory trims, there are also various customization options that allow you to turn any salon into a premium or sports salon.
You can choose the design of the door cards and torpedoes according to your preferences. Moreover, leather is not an obligatory material, it’s a matter of taste.
To sum up, leather interior is prestige in the first place. The question arises, and if there is a point in the leather interior in a cheap or old car? What can give other than prestige and increase the value of the car, what are its advantages and disadvantages compared to the fabric interior?
Durability
The first thing you can say about the interior in general, not just the factors relating to the seats is the durability, strength and ease of cleaning the material. Almost any contamination is easy to remove from the leather, in a pinch, it can be repainted, here the fabric loses, and this is the main disadvantage of the fabric interior. In favor of this factor, it is worth noting that almost all convertibles have a leather interior, as nothing so pollutes the interior as driving with the top open, even a long drive with the windows down in a regular car, will quickly lead to contamination of the interior of the road dust. It will quickly contaminate the fabric and the cloth interior will need dry cleaning; leather is enough to wipe with a rag.
Leather salons are much more durable, and with proper care and gentle use of the car interior when sold can look like new. As indeed any leather thing, which looked after and cared for a variety of means for the leather. It is worth noting that the strength and durability applies only to genuine leather.
Some articles also mentioned as an advantage of leather as its low susceptibility to absorbing various smells. But this applies more to the seats if you spilled something on them that has a bad smell. The interior, even if it is leather, still has and fabric elements – floor and ceiling, which can easily absorb the smell. For example, the smell of nicotine. To avoid this, in some premium cars, the interior floor and ceiling are made of expensive, high-quality man-made materials that are little susceptible to odors. Also, the leather itself has an aroma, which is pleasant to some and not to others.
Heat and cold
When the cold winter, or hot summer comes, the benefits of leather end, and comes the dominance of fabric, or rather fabric seats. The first thing that comes to mind is frost and cold. The icy leather seats and the comparatively warm cloth seats. But really, it’s not such a big deal. All modern cars that have a leather interior also have at least the front seats heated. Pretty quickly the seat will warm up and comfort will be restored. Of course, heated fabric seats are a much more comfortable option in cold weather, but not all fabric seats are equipped with it.
The situation is much worse in hot, sunny weather. Leather seats, especially black ones, can heat up to temperatures that can cause burns on uncovered skin. You may not be able to get in at all if you don’t put a piece of cloth on the seat.
The question arises, can this happen in premium cars? The answer is no. Remote engine start and climate control comes to the rescue. The remote start system allows you to pre-cool as well as heat the interior. This system can be added to many modern cars, which already have a standard climate control system.
It is also worth mentioning that leather is vulnerable to high temperatures and direct sunlight, which can cause it to peel off the door cards and other leather-wrapped elements. Leather is vulnerable to frost. Frost can cause poor quality leatherette to crack. Leather is vulnerable to cuts. A cut in leather will inevitably ruin its appearance, while fabric can be neatly and inconspicuously stitched.
Bottom line, if your car doesn’t have climate control and seat heating, leather seats are a poor choice.
Comfort
Another serious disadvantage of leather seats, as well as conventional leather seats is the so-called greenhouse effect due to the fact that the leather compared to the cloth worse air permeates and slowly absorbs moisture. It is worth noting that leatherette at all does not transmit any air or moisture. The exception is eco-leather. Some leather seats are perforated, for the sake of reducing the greenhouse effect.
There is an opinion that the fabric seat holds the driver better, doesn’t let him slip aside during the turn, or forward during braking. There is some truth in this, but it is rather problematic to feel these advantages of a fabric seat in reality, because everything will depend on the driving style. If you drive the car smoothly and use the seat belts, neither you nor your passenger will ever feel the discomfort of slipping out of the seat.
By the way, to a greater extent this applies to the passenger, as the driver holds on to the steering wheel. Also, don’t forget that the factor of sliding off the seat will be influenced not only by the material of which the seat is made, but also by the material of which your clothes are made. Well, the key factor of the comfort of the seat is not the material of which it is made, but its shape.
Seat covers
In conclusion, I would like to mention one thing that can easily and without much effort and expense to turn leather seats into cloth, fabric seats into leather, old worn-out seats into new, and new to save – the covers.
Today there is a huge variety of them. From simple capes, to custom sewing cover, which will completely cover the entire seat and give it a completely different look, indistinguishable from the new seat. There are also covers and mantles heated from the car’s cigarette lighter.
The materials used to make covers are of a huge variety, from simple fabrics to eco-leather. The most expensive material is Alcantara – synthetic suede. This material is like a combination of all the advantages of leather and fabric. Some automakers use alcantara to trim the interior and seats of premium car brands.
Covers allow you to combine the interior of the car to your liking, and find the best individual solution for any variant.
To date, the choice is huge, automakers offer a variety of options for new cars, and market all kinds of tuning, will help the owner to change the existing car to his own taste. Possibilities are quite wide, the main thing here is a desire, availability of funds and time, to change something in your car, make it more comfortable for yourself, based on your personal preferences. Your car is your car, and only you decide what it will be.
