# Leather vs. Leatherette Seats



## cudfoo (Oct 13, 2009)

Anyone have any opinions on the durability and maintenance of leather vs. the vinyl seats in the CC. Seems like the vinyl is a lot more durable and easier to maintain. Pretty plush - seem easy to damage. I wonder what they'll look like in a few years. 

There are some good deals on Lux's at the moment and I like many of the Lux features that cannot be had in the sport.

Also - I have a couple of young kids and was wondering how the leather would hold up?

They are real nice and I know they'll be gone on the 4cyc CC's.

If I were single It's be a no brainer.


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## MrRline (Apr 6, 2010)

If you have kids its a no brainer to go black leather or leatherette. Sorry but kids don't understand being nice to a carr like we do. For durability id go leatherette for luxury the lux seats feel really nice. Also the lux package isn't anything that amazing. Dual climate control come on who really uses that especially if you live in phoenix like me, homelink I can live without, the leather and bi xeon are the only things that make it worth thinking about


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## cudfoo (Oct 13, 2009)

Thanks - found a pretty good deal on a Lux with tech and dynaudio. Really like the dynaudio - nav is nice to have. 

Leather will be gone in 2011 I hear - may wait for vinyl lux with RND 315.

Then again if I find a left over sport for 25-26k may be too temping to pass up.


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## polarizer (Oct 26, 2005)

*Leather vs Vinyl*

Go sit inside a model with the leather, then sit in the vinyl. 

The leather smells about a million times better. It's no contest. The Lux smells great. The Sport smells very plain and industrial. Hard to describe but you'll get what I mean.


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## cudfoo (Oct 13, 2009)

How does it stand up to spills - staining - scratches - rips cracking ect... Very nice - no question - does seem a little delicate though.

Anyone see any big advantage to the auto climate control - always liked this feature on other cars I've had.

A little off topic but how does everyone find rear visibility - any issue here - used to larger rear windows...


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## bigmikeo (Jun 16, 2009)

dj_cronic_metal said:


> Also the lux package isn't anything that amazing. Dual climate control come on who really uses that especially if you live in phoenix like me


You must not be married, my wife is constantly adjusting her control for the temp, especially after having kids, that throws their hormones for a loop. The memory seat and mirror is great since I'm about a foot taller than her. The front and rear parking sensors are nice to have. I like the roof, wish it was a moonroof, but oh well. I do like homelink but it's not a must have.

Leather can be fine with kids, if you actually discipline them. If you let them control you then I wish you luck with any car.


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## polarizer (Oct 26, 2005)

As long as you use common sense, I don't see any disadvantage to leather. Use a good leather conditioner once a year and avoid parking the car in direct sun for long periods of time. Also, after many experiences with colored leathers looking dingy, I now only buy black leather interior. Can't go wrong with black. If you get the light colors, blue jeans, etc, will leave stains on your seats.

As for kids, I have a five year old who gets in my car after preschool with sand all over her. She walks across the seats all the time. I have had no problems with any leather interior car I've had since she was born. (3 cars now) As long as nobody's throwing knives in your car, I wouldn't worry about it. Just enjoy and don't sweat it.

Keep the rear headrests down and rear visibility is OK. Parking sensors and the parking camera/display on the NAV is priceless. 

Rear visibility is not nearly as bad as my old Audi TT. Visibility in that thing sucked.


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## cudfoo (Oct 13, 2009)

Hey thanks for the feedback. Been on the fence about purchasing this car for a while now - really like it. A lot of cars to consider once you get into the mid 30's - not so much in the high 20's (sport).

Been back and forth on practicality issues - snow drivability (live in NY) - high insurance costs (through Allstate). Reliability - on and on.

Bottom line I really like the car... found a lux with dynaudio - tech - mdi - chrome tips for around 35K. It's got 400 mi. Sales mgr is driving it. I'm thinking the price should be a bit lower and most likely will be if I wait a little - thinking this car is not going to fly off the lot. Remember a bunch of 09 v6' demo's sitting around for quite some time last year and that was at 10k discounts... didn't want v6 - want 4 with dsg. 

What do you think of this deal - I'd imagine I could find some non dynaudio models around for a little less also. Love the dynaudio though...

Can't believe that both leather and dynaudio will be gone on 4 in 2011.


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## arkijak (Jun 15, 2010)

I was ready to buy a Sport then I discovered the optical parking assist. The salesman walked around the car ant the device defected his movement. I have 2 grandiose and that safety feature sold me on the Luxury model. If you have little ones I recommend it.


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## bigmikeo (Jun 16, 2009)

I bought mine for 31k with 22 miles on it last October, so I would hope you get a good deal. We had a lot of snow this last season and I had no problems, not any worse than my van, never got stuck but I never have ever.


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## arkijak (Jun 15, 2010)

Damn spell check. That should be 2 grandchildren, not 2 grandiose.


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## Gurgeh (Jan 31, 2010)

polarizer said:


> Keep the rear headrests down and rear visibility is OK. Parking sensors and the parking camera/display on the NAV is priceless.


Agree. I thought rear visibility would be a problem, but with the parking sensors and back-up camera I feel more confident backing up and parking than in any other car I've ever had. And without the backseat headrests, rear-view mirror visibility is actually pretty good.


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## JHolmes (May 14, 2010)

I have a 2 year old, and he made short work of the leather (beige) in my Acura and Range Rover, so I went with a Sport with Leatherette this time. Try as you might, certain ages are immune to understanding the do's and dont's of car upholstery care. Trust me, the leatherette is easier to clean juice off of than leather. 

However, this time next year or the year after I'll be getting a 4Motion Executive CC and adapting the R-Line Appearance package to it.


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## Boosted2003! (Mar 10, 2009)

cudfoo said:


> How does it stand up to spills - staining - scratches - rips cracking ect... Very nice - no question - does seem a little delicate though.
> 
> Anyone see any big advantage to the auto climate control - always liked this feature on other cars I've had.
> 
> A little off topic but how does everyone find rear visibility - any issue here - used to larger rear windows...


I don't have a CC but I do have 2006 passat.. The leatherette seats (I am glad I have them) have held up really good with going to the beach sitting in the seats slightly damp, countless nights going bar hopping with drunk friends and I taking turning being sober DD using my car. 

My dad loves his ACC in his CC. I haven't hear him complain to much about backing up in his car. I complain more then he does cause I have dark tint. 

He doesn't complain to much about his car getting dirty but he only has 15k on it and he got it Dec 08. He also gets it detailed every 2 weeks so.


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## MrRline (Apr 6, 2010)

bigmikeo said:


> You must not be married, my wife is constantly adjusting her control for the temp, especially after having kids, that throws their hormones for a loop. The memory seat and mirror is great since I'm about a foot taller than her. The front and rear parking sensors are nice to have. I like the roof, wish it was a moonroof, but oh well. I do like homelink but it's not a must have.
> 
> Leather can be fine with kids, if you actually discipline them. If you let them control you then I wish you luck with any car.


i'm married, but I mean the thought is somewhat assinine anyway. I 've never heard of having dual climate control especially if the ac is good anyway.


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## dsn112 (Jun 18, 2010)

dj_cronic_metal said:


> i'm married, but I mean the thought is somewhat assinine anyway. I 've never heard of having dual climate control especially if the ac is good anyway.


Are you serious. Its great. My wifes car has it. She is always cold and I am always hot. Makes long trips more comfortable. Far from assinine


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## MrRline (Apr 6, 2010)

dsn112 said:


> Are you serious. Its great. My wifes car has it. She is always cold and I am always hot. Makes long trips more comfortable. Far from assinine


Guess I ended up lucky with a wife who loves the cold as much as I do. I sleep with the windows open when it drops into the 20's here. I'd live farther north, but as much as I love the cold I don't enjoy snow.


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## cudfoo (Oct 13, 2009)

*Head Unit Question*

Dual zone is not a big deal for me. What I like about the climate control is the auto function - don't have to deal with the fan speeds. Don't know how well the manual control is?

I do have a people mover that my wife drives (Honda Pilot) so this would not be the primary car for the kids. 

The leather seems a lot softer than I've seen in other cars. The kids are 5 and 9 and I know they would love the center cup holders and put all kinds of cool (spillable stuff) in there.

I suppose I could limit them to water...


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## bigmikeo (Jun 16, 2009)

cudfoo said:


> Dual zone is not a big deal for me. What I like about the climate control is the auto function - don't have to deal with the fan speeds. Don't know how well the manual control is?


I wouldn't hang your hat on the functionality of the auto section of the Climatronic system. I have complained countless times on this forum about it, along with others. Of the entire car, WHICH I LOVE, I despise the Climatronic system and the sunlight sensor on the dashboard. Do a search on it and you'll find it. With the sensor covered on a bright sunny day it works well for me, I just need to look into the sensor.


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## torpeau (Aug 22, 2009)

> Are you serious. Its great. My wifes car has it. She is always cold and I am always hot. Makes long trips more comfortable. Far from assinine


If my wife gets too cold, she shuts the vents or directs them away from her -- problem solved.


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## Gurgeh (Jan 31, 2010)

torpeau said:


> If my wife gets too cold, she shuts the vents or directs them away from her -- problem solved.


Ah, but you still get the looks-that-could-kill when you reach over the turn down the temp on the A/C. With dual controls you are only turning down _your_ side of the A/C.


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## cudfoo (Oct 13, 2009)

Finally got a chance to test drive a cc with the leatherette. It was two tone.

The salesman gave me the keys and let me go for a while. I was out for at least a half hour.

Seemed like the seats never really cooled off. It was hot here yesterday but with the ac on I would have thought the seats would cool down a little.

Didn't notice this with the leather seats. Do the leather seats breathe better than the vinyl?


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## Punch Dub (Mar 1, 2010)

Y'all are crazy.

1. Unlock the car
2. Hold down the driver's window switch to lower all 4 windows
3. Start the car
4. Blast the a/c
5. Roll up windows
6. Turn down the a/c
7. Done


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## DavidPaul (Nov 28, 2009)

cudfoo said:


> Didn't notice this with the leather seats. Do the leather seats breathe better than the vinyl?


Yes, the leather cools down much quicker and breathes much better.

My CC is leather and my Eos is Vinyl. The CC is cool very quickly but the Eos takes a very long time and the back of my shirt is wet all the time with vinyl.

Go leather. It just takes a bit more maintenance and will always pay you back at trade-in time.


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## Gurgeh (Jan 31, 2010)

cudfoo said:


> Finally got a chance to test drive a cc with the leatherette. It was two tone.
> 
> The salesman gave me the keys and let me go for a while. I was out for at least a half hour.
> 
> ...


I have been suffering with 100+ degree days this past week in the Washington DC area (though it has dropped into the upper 80s/lower 90s after yesterday's rain), and have found the CC leather seats to be cooling down along with the car's interior and remain surprisingly un-sticky even when warm. Much better than the leather seats I had in my old 2000 Passat. The interior of both cars are black, and the exteriors of both are light colored. I think the CC just uses a more supple, more breathable, more expensive leather. The old Passat seats were great seats, but they did get pretty sticky on long trips in the summer. If you want even cooler seats I say wait for the 2011s to arrive, as there will be a ventilated seat option, though possibly only in the high-end VR6.


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## Kandiru (Jun 15, 2004)

Wiki:



> Leatherette
> 
> Leatherette is a form of artificial leather, usually made by covering a fabric base with plastic. The fabric can be made of a natural or a synthetic fibre which is then covered with a soft PVC layer.
> 
> ...


1. Burns like hell when heated in sun.

2. Sweat will not evaporate behind it.

3. If car catches fire it will burn like kerosene. Trust me, we used old car seats to heat ourselves in winter at a junkyard and the faux-leather on these literally explodes with fire when tossed in.

But if the trailer sofa is covered in plastic and artificial flowers decorate the coffe table, then leatherette is the only way to go!


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## JohnEZ (Apr 18, 2007)

Kandiru said:


> Wiki:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'm hoping that your statements are in jest; but, on the off-chance that they're not, I hope that you realize that people might take the leatherette in stride, not because they are cheap or can't afford it, but because some features simply aren't available on the models that have leather (you'd know what I mean if you tried to get a CC with leather and a manual transmission, and transmission > seats any day of the week)


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## av_audi (Apr 5, 2001)

polarizer said:


> As for kids, I have a five year old who gets in my car after preschool with sand all over her. She walks across the seats all the time. I have had no problems with any leather interior car I've had since she was born. (3 cars now)


Let's see: 5 years / 3 cars, that's about 1.7 years per car. Of course you are not going to see any problems :laugh:


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## goatman1 (Aug 12, 2007)

I have had leather seats in my cars for the past 10 years. I have Leatherette on my CC and love it. Low maintenance, easy to clean, no cracking, not showing any sign of wear after a year.
If you are looking for something that will last, you cant go wrong.


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## DavidPaul (Nov 28, 2009)

goatman1 said:


> I have had leather seats in my cars for the past 10 years. I have Leatherette on my CC and love it. Low maintenance, easy to clean, no cracking, not showing any sign of wear after a year.
> If you are looking for something that will last, you cant go wrong.


Duhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. One year?

No one will see any wear in leather either in only one year, unless they haul gravel in the front seat. As a matter of fact, if taken care of, meaning no laziness, you won't see any wear in leather after 5 years either. If fact, I have seen many cars with leather that still look like new after 10 years, but of course, they were well taken care of .

Like I have said before, I currently have two cars, one with leather, one without leather. The one with leather is far more comfortable when sat on for prolonged periods of time.

If you can't tell the difference, I am happy for you. I just wish it was that easy for me.


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## schkyl01 (Jun 9, 2009)

leather :thumbup:


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## CC Rider (Jul 29, 2010)

Punch Dub said:


> Y'all are crazy.
> 
> 1. Unlock the car
> 2. Hold down the driver's window switch to lower all 4 windows
> ...


I hold down the window button and only that window goes down. Are you Vaged of something.


BTW I understand ppl will like the pleather cuz that's what they have. But leather is king. There is no argument that will change my mind. I have cars for 5 years and have had leather from all different manufacturers and all have been sweet, except the ford, it suked.


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