Leather vehicle interior

steveinaz

Those who have, or have had a leather car interior; what's your thoughts on durability, care. etc...I'd really like to get leather in my 2011 Cherokee, but never had it before.

Joe08867

The Negatives.
Hot in the Summer
Cold in the winter.
Always nervous something will scratch or puncture it.

The Positives,
Cleans easy,
looks awesome,
usually has a heated function,
did I mention it looks awesome.

tonyb

steveinaz wrote: »

Those who have, or have had a leather car interior; what's your thoughts on durability, care. etc...I'd really like to get leather in my 2011 Cherokee, but never had it before.

Alot depends on the quality of the leather. I have leather in my Lexus for over 15 years now with no rips, easy to clean, no stains.

Seeing that your in a hot climate Steve, you sure leather is the way to go for you ? Can get awfully hot in that sun.

steveinaz

The JGC will have remote start (so I can get the A/C going), and the seats are heated also. What about durability in a sunny environment? My car will be sitting outside all day at work....I DO plan on getting a windshield shade.

Any sun fading Tony on your Lexus? The SUN is my biggest concern.

Joe08867

Jeep leather is quite durable usually, although sitting in the sun all day will have an effect on any leather interior. I take it you tint all the windows on your car? That would go a long way to helping preserve them.

schwarcw

I love the leather in my Avalon. My seats are electrically heated. For cooling, they are ventilated with forced air. In the Summer, I can feel the cool air. Leather looks awesome and durable. Of course, when you first enter a hot car, the leather will scorch your legs and ****. So in Arizona, I might go for cloth.

exalted512

Ever travel with pets?
-Cody

gdpeck

steveinaz wrote: »

The JGC will have remote start (so I can get the A/C going), and the seats are heated also. What about durability in a sunny environment? My car will be sitting outside all day at work....I DO plan on getting a windshield shade.

Any sun fading Tony on your Lexus?

Does the Grand Cherokee have an option for ventilated seats? That is a really nice option. I wish my cars had it, and I think if it is available, it is worth the extra cost, especially in AZ.

My AZ experience has been good with leather (2 Acura TLs, and 1 Honda Odyssey). The cars are garaged whenever possible, and windshield shaded when parked outdoors. Side and rear glass is tinted. I haven't noticed any sun fading. I agree with the poster above who said leather quality is crucial. Quantity is important too. Many manufacturers mix a little vinyl in with the leather in certain places, such as the backs of the seats. In my 2001 TL, there is vinyl around the edges of the seat in the front. There is a kind of deep bolster in the lower back area that is worn down and torn from my pants rubbing against it when I get in and out of the car. I also have a 2008 TL, and the entire front surface of the seats appear to be real leather. So I would check the seating surface on any car with leather and make sure there is no vinyl in wear areas.

George

steveinaz

Joe--yep, dark tint all around.

Cody--no pets.

Carl-- is the "hot seat" situation about like vinyl used to be?

George--I'll have to look closer at the 26X pkg for the GC, I know it mentions heated seats, but i didn't notice if they are also ventilated.

toucanet

What product(s) do you guys use to clean the leather interior of your cars?

Joe08867

Armor-All Leather wipes for normal cleaning and Mothers Leather Conditioner every few months to preserve it.

Poee7R

toucanet wrote: »

What product(s) do you guys use to clean the leather interior of your cars?

Zaino. The cleaner and the conditioner.

Looks and feels great, but the best part is the smell. Its like sitting in a new baseball glove. :biggrin:


Dave

steveinaz

George--no mention of ventilated seats...

Here's the Grand Cherokee Laredo 26X pkg:

Vehicle with standard equipment; 115v auxiliary power outlet; 180 amp alternator; 18" x 8.0" aluminum wheels; 506-watt amplifier; 9 amplified speakers w/subwoofer; Air conditioning with dual zone automatic climate control; Cargo compartment cover; Heated front premium leather trimmed bucket seats; Leather wrapped shift knob; AM/FM stereo; Single disc in-dash CD/DVD player; 6.5" touch screen display; MP3 playback; 30GB hard disk drive; Audio jack and USB input for mobile devices; P265/60R18 black side-wall all-terrain tires; Parksense rear park assist system; Parkview rear back-up camera; Power 8-way driver and passenger front seats; Premium instrument cluster with tachometer; Power driver and passenger 4-way lumbar support; Remote start system; Remote USB port; Auto-dimming rearview mirror with microphone; Security alarm; Tire pressure monitoring display; Uconnect voice command with Bluetooth; Universal garage door opener.

bobman1235

Eesh, having sat on hot leather before, I'd definitely at least go to a dealer with cars parked outdoors and sit in a few with leather seats and see if you can deal with it. My cousin lived in Arizona for a couple years and had blisters on his arms from accidentally touching things in his car after it had sat in the sun.

Also, never use Armor-All on your car unless you want your leather / vinyl to dry up and crack after a few years.

ballen823

If you can, and don't mind/like the looks of it, go with tan leather.

I've had black and it's alway looked nice, but gets brutally hot during the summer (to the point of burning). I have tan leather now and don't have any issues. As others have suggested, if you can get the ventilated option, it's nice.

steveinaz

Unfortunately, unless I move up the Grand Cherokee Overland ($$$$$) black is the only color leather offered.

There's 3 trims for the 2011 Grand Cherokee:

Laredo ($30-$35 grand)
Limited ($36-$40 grand)
Overland ($40+ grand)

There's also a 70th anniversary trim that can be applied to any of the 3.

gdpeck

steveinaz wrote: »

George--no mention of ventilated seats...

Here's the Grand Cherokee Laredo 26X pkg:

Vehicle with standard equipment; 115v auxiliary power outlet; 180 amp alternator; 18" x 8.0" aluminum wheels; 506-watt amplifier; 9 amplified speakers w/subwoofer; Air conditioning with dual zone automatic climate control; Cargo compartment cover; Heated front premium leather trimmed bucket seats; Leather wrapped shift knob; AM/FM stereo; Single disc in-dash CD/DVD player; 6.5" touch screen display; MP3 playback; 30GB hard disk drive; Audio jack and USB input for mobile devices; P265/60R18 black side-wall all-terrain tires; Parksense rear park assist system; Parkview rear back-up camera; Power 8-way driver and passenger front seats; Premium instrument cluster with tachometer; Power driver and passenger 4-way lumbar support; Remote start system; Remote USB port; Auto-dimming rearview mirror with microphone; Security alarm; Tire pressure monitoring display; Uconnect voice command with Bluetooth; Universal garage door opener.

I can't believe they aren't offering a 507 watt amplifier...

That looks really nice. Hope you enjoy it.

steveinaz

The audio is reported to be all Alpine manufacture.

shawn474

I prefer leather interior.

But if i were you, i would jump up to the SRT-8. My buddy just bought one and it is an impressive machine. That thing is bad **** and comes standard with lether interior.

It's also got an impressive sound system in it.:biggrin:

tonyb

steveinaz wrote: »

The JGC will have remote start (so I can get the A/C going), and the seats are heated also. What about durability in a sunny environment? My car will be sitting outside all day at work....I DO plan on getting a windshield shade.

Any sun fading Tony on your Lexus? The SUN is my biggest concern.

No Steve, but then again it stays in the garage most the time. Our sun isn't as hot as yours so I imagine some fading would occur down there. Ask the dealer if they have any protective products to deal with the sun. They should have something available as a dealer add on or that you could buy to apply to the leather.

Joe08867

bobman1235 wrote: »

Eesh, having sat on hot leather before, I'd definitely at least go to a dealer with cars parked outdoors and sit in a few with leather seats and see if you can deal with it. My cousin lived in Arizona for a couple years and had blisters on his arms from accidentally touching things in his car after it had sat in the sun.

Also, never use Armor-All on your car unless you want your leather / vinyl to dry up and crack after a few years.

The Armor All I use is for leather not the regular stuff. Actually it has been a while since I have used that either. Mostly just condition with Mother's. But the Armor All stuff is real good on leather.

bobman1235

Eh, my dad does vinyl and leather repair for a living (he likes to say he's a "vyn-a-cologist"), and he swears that stuff (Armor-All) sacrifices durability for a little short-term sheen. I've heard the same criticism of those "tire shine" sprays - they make your tires look all wet and shiny but also dry them out. Same principle.

stuwee

Steve, it sounds like your heart is set on the Cherokee, great ride! But, my experience with friends '07 and '08's was that the quality of the leather was sub-par, the same as most Chrysler products of the time (I'm not slamming MoPar here). It just had a cheesy feel and didn't look all that durable IMHO, the new ones may have moved up a couple notches tho.

I'd do as suggested above, and pick a leather equipped Jeep sitting in the sun in the middle of the lot, and get in, see how it feels. You have great taste, you can judge the quality for yourself. Don't get the black!!!

steveinaz

The seats ARE available in light tan (Graystone). Wicked. Lots of things have changed for the 2011.

gdpeck

Overland Summit trim has vented seats.

This week I rented a 2011 Dodge Durango Crew. I don't think that the Durango and Grand Cherokee share much in the way of Powertrain, but they do appear to share some of the interior amenities, such as the sound system, park assist, park view, u-connect phone, etc. I was pretty happy with the way all of that stuff worked, and I think you'll enjoy it.

SRT-8 would be nice too, if you want to spend that much. I've seen one of those driving around my neighborhood, and it looks fast, sounds fast, and based on me trying to keep up with the guy as he blew away from a stoplight, it IS fast.

steveinaz

SRT-8 is far more than I'm willing to spend. I like the power/gas savings of the pentastar V6. At 290hp it's fairly respectable, and certainly more power than I'm used to.

FTGV

After having leather in my Camry I would'nt want anything else.Durable and easy to clean.

gdb

get a cheap interior and then go to mexico to get custom leather done for a lot less $$

Zeros

We have leather in our Jaguar and Volvo. My wife and I will not buy another car without leather.

steveinaz

The only way I'd enter Naco, Nogales, or Aqua Prieta is with a Kevlar frag vest and helmet--yeah that ain't happening.

The expense isn't an issue, it's the durability in this desert sun.

TroyD

Leather is awesome. Looks great, durable, easy to clean, dog hair vacuums up easily.

I use Lexenol (sp) cleaner/conditioner. You can also get good leather conditioner from a furniture store.

Take care of the leather and it will last forever.

BDT