[MadinMumbai]

It’s been a few years since I bought a new car and upgraded seat covers. Initially Maruti 800DX would come with leather seats. Since then its been a normal routine to buy a car and have the dealership upgrade to leather covers (Stanley or similar). Logic being, fitting at the dealership even though more expensive is easier because it is a one-stop-solution.
Don’t know how much has changed recently in terms of materials. Today when I enquired the dealership offered Faux Leather when I ask for leather. I had to specify ‘genuine’ leather. Which made me wonder:

1. Have materials improved to such an extent that art/faux leather is more comfortable and durable than leather?
2. Do most buyers upgrade to faux/art leather these days?
3. Where should one buy from? Dealership or aftermarket?
4. Prices (Stanley or similar) for a Honda City?

[Vid6639]

Most cars today have art leather and the slightly premium ones have a mix of pure leather on the contact points and art leather on non contact points.

Art leather is definitely now closer to leather in texture and durable but it still generates heat and not as supple as real leather.

For Honda City in Mumbai you can try Orchis in Powai or Hi Tech in MAlad. These are mainly art leather and will be within 20K or 50K for real leather.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modif...is-mumbai.html (Ford EcoSport: Seat covers installed by Orchis, Mumbai)

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/mumba...st-mumbai.html (Hi-Tech automotive seat covers - Malad West, Mumbai)

Stanley real leather will start at 50K and can go till 1 lakh.

[RedTerrano]

You might find this drool worthy. I certainly did.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modif...ml#post5009015 (Elegant Seat Covers)

I personally would never opt for genuine leather. The ethical factor and the Indian weather being two major influencing factors. But after looking at the pics posted above apparently Alcantra is a worthy substitute. And going by the description, it definitely helps in temperature regulation.

You might want to consider it.

[MadinMumbai]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

For Honda City in Mumbai you can try Orchis in Powai or Hi Tech in MAlad. These are mainly art leather and will be within 20K or 50K for real leather.

Thanks. This is helpful.

Originally Posted by RedTerrano

You might find this drool worthy. I certainly did.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modif...ml#post5009015 (Elegant Seat Covers)

Okay. Will look into it. Thanks.

[sridhu]

I have all my cars done in genuine leather for the last 30 years. Mostly Stanley but after a bad customer experience with my Crysta, the Jazz was done with Schon.

This is not only for aesthetic reasons - fabric seats irritate my skin. Faux leather gives me rashes.

Contrary to opinion, genuine leather is actually quite comfortable to the skin in summers (after all, it was skin too!). Not so with faux leather, irrespective of quality.

Pictures of Crysta leather: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-...ml#post4123818 (Toyota Innova Crysta ownership report. EDIT: Engine replaced (page 9))

Pictures & report on the Schon leather, Jazz: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...ml#post4332260 (Honda Jazz : Official Review)

My bad experience with Karlsson (not recommended at all): https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/banga...ml#post3545181 (Leather Car upholstery - Karlsson (Bangalore))
In fact that thread is a must-read for anyone considering leather

[AKSarkar1]

Originally Posted by MadinMumbai

1. Have materials improved to such an extent that art/faux leather is more comfortable and durable than leather?
2. Do most buyers upgrade to faux/art leather these days?
3. Where should one buy from? Dealership or aftermarket?
4. Prices (Stanley or similar) for a Honda City?

Answering your questions from my personal experience and opinion

1) I would say that faux leather is quite durable. Most of the mass-market cars today come factory fitted with faux leather seats or some sort of a leatherette. Apart from them being durable, they also come with a range of benefits including a lesser carbon footprint during manufacturing and being vegan. Comfort is a rather subjective term, personally, I have had no problems with faux leather seats apart from the obvious 'heating' problem.

2) Again, depends on your taste. Many people upgrade to such seats more for the looks than the comfort factor. It is not everyone's cup of tea. Needless to say it also depends on your budget.

3) Dealerships as a thumb rule are going to be more expensive but at the same time will be as close to a factory finish as you can get + warranty. If you want colour choices along with different patterns an aftermarket shop is a better bet.

4) Faux leather will definitely be way cheaper than real leather. I have had a bad experience with Stanley and found them to be somewhat overpriced. Getting it made from other aftermarket shops will be definitely cheaper, at least in Mumbai.

Hope this helps!

[MadinMumbai]

Originally Posted by AKSarkar1

1) I would say that faux leather is quite durable. Most of the mass-market cars today come factory fitted with faux leather seats or some sort of a leatherette. Apart from them being durable, they also come with a range of benefits including a lesser carbon footprint during manufacturing and being vegan. Comfort is a rather subjective term, personally, I have had no problems with faux leather seats apart from the obvious 'heating' problem.

Thanks. 'Heating' or sweating problem is the main reason to consider leather. Being a natural product it, I feel, is less likely to cause sweating. But I am beginning to rethink.

[sunnysideup_]

One thing that people get wrong or fail to consider is that real leather is friendlier to the environment compared to faux leather. Real leather is a by-product of the meat industry, which if wasn't used for leather products will end up being burned and wasted. Faux leather comes from multiple different sources, the most common being PVC, which is plastic. Plastic is non biodegradable and the manufacturing process has a huge carbon footprint to boot. If you truly want to use vegan leather for its sustainability, there are plant-based vegan leathers, but they are at the moment limited to high-end purses. They haven't made their way into the mainstream market yet.

If sustainability is truly your goal, you'd opt for fabric seats, preferably cotton. Fabric seats are also a lot more breathable in a very hot country like ours, and thus more comfortable. In my opinion, real leather is a much better option than faux leather unless your personal beliefs would not allow you to go for the real option, which is understandable. Real leather is as easy to clean as the faux one, but also softer and more breathable as well.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by sridhu

Contrary to opinion, genuine leather is actually quite comfortable to the skin in summers (after all, it was skin too!). Not so with faux leather, irrespective of quality.

Agree 100% with this. My current car has genuine leather seats (not very high end leather, but the most basic quality of real leather). It is always comfortable and never a problem even in hot summers. And my interior is all black. Even then, real leather is quite comfortable on skin in all weather conditions.

Originally Posted by MadinMumbai

Thanks. 'Heating' or sweating problem is the main reason to consider leather. Being a natural product it, I feel, is less likely to cause sweating. But I am beginning to rethink.

I am very sensitive to this sweating or "sticking" problem, and that is why I never liked art leathers. I have been in cars with all tyres of art leather (and once owned a car with quite good quality of OEM leatherette seats), but even then, that material is never as comfortable as real leather, especially in hot summers.

Fabric is next best after real leather for being comfortable. Fabric seats may not looks very good, but they offer way more comfort than any art leather. If the goal is to feel comfortable in all weather conditions, then real leather or fabric seats are the best options, and not the art leather seats, regardless of quality of the material.

My wife is also quite sensitive to the sticky seat problems and she hates art leather. But she has zero problems in my current car with real leather.

[Megamind]

How/where does nuback leather stand in this mix of options, has anyone tried them?

[viXit]

Can someone please point out some methods/thumb rules that can help me identify real leather. I'm getting a few quotes for real leather and they seem too good to be true.

Also, what is with the "genuine leather" contoversy? I have heard that this is just word play and it's not really leather.

[Indian2003]

Originally Posted by viXit

Can someone please point out some methods/thumb rules that can help me identify real leather. I'm getting a few quotes for real leather and they seem too good to be true.

Also, what is with the "genuine leather" contoversy? I have heard that this is just word play and it's not really leather.

Be aware of bonded leather that some pass off as genuine leather. Scraps of leather are ground and mixed with bonding material and pressed into sheets.

They look and smell like real leather. I was at a shop to buy a leather chair and I asked the shop about the price which was too low but she insisted it was genuine leather.

I asked her to find out more and she came back and told me it was bonded leather but she had no other details.

I had to find out myself from the internet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonded_leather