Difference between faux leather and genuine leather

It's been a normal routine for me to buy a car and have the dealership upgrade to leather covers.

BHPian MadinMumbai recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

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, it's 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 asked for leather. I had to specify ‘genuine’ leather. Which made me wonder:

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

Here's what BHPian Vid6639 had to say on the matter:

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.

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

Here's what BHPian RedTerrano had to say on the matter:

You might find this drool worthy. I certainly did.

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 Alcantara is a worthy substitute. And going by the description, it definitely helps in temperature regulation.

You might want to consider it.

Here's what BHPian sunnysideup_ had to say on the matter:

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.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.