How much leather in the leather seats?

[noreast]

Hello,

I know that car manufacturers reduce cost by using vinyl on non-seating surfaces for their "leather seats" offerings.

I just feel that in my 2010 Fusion with leather seats, the definition of "seating surfaces" suffered a substantial reduction. It seems (judging from surface texture) that the only 'real' leather on the seat are the small patches under one's but and behind the lower back.

Should I have saved my money and ordered some aftermarket leather covers instead? Bummer, heated seats only come with factory leather!

On another note, do I use different cleaning products for these different surfaces?

[Rodeo]

Hello,

I know that car manufacturers reduce cost by using vinyl on non-seating surfaces for their "leather seats" offerings.

I just feel that in my 2010 Fusion with leather seats, the definition of "seating surfaces" suffered a substantial reduction. It seems (judging from surface texture) that the only 'real' leather on the seat are the small patches under one's but and behind the lower back.

Should I have saved my money and ordered some aftermarket leather covers instead? Bummer, heated seats only come with factory leather!

On another note, do I use different cleaning products for these different surfaces?

The leather portions are coated anyway so you only need a general interior cleaner for the seats anyway. The leather itself is sealed so whatever you are using on the vinyl surfaces should work just fine on the seats too. It's really more like Pleather then leather.

[bbf2530]

Hello,

I know that car manufacturers reduce cost by using vinyl on non-seating surfaces for their "leather seats" offerings.

I just feel that in my 2010 Fusion with leather seats, the definition of "seating surfaces" suffered a substantial reduction. It seems (judging from surface texture) that the only 'real' leather on the seat are the small patches under one's but and behind the lower back.

Should I have saved my money and ordered some aftermarket leather covers instead? Bummer, heated seats only come with factory leather!

On another note, do I use different cleaning products for these different surfaces?

 

Hi noreast. :D To answer your questions best as I can: You can use a good leather cleaner and conditioner on both the leather and the non-leather portions of the leather seats.

 

However, the opposite is not true. You can nota nd should not use a vinyl cleaner/conditioner on the leather portions of the seats. Vinyl care products containing silicone and other types of vinyl care products will degrade the protective coating and eventually harm the leather. Simply stated: Do not use vinyl cleaners and protectants on the leather seats.

 

As stated in the Owners Manual, You need to use a good water based leather care product. Do not use oil or petroleum distillate based products. I use Meguiar's Leather Cleaner and Conditioner. There are other good leather care products made by car care companies such as Mother's, Lexol etc..

 

Concerning what you should have done. Could you have purchased higher quality aftermarket full leather seat covers? Of course. But good quality full leather seat covers would generally have cost you more than the factory leather seats. And as you already stated, you would then have needed to pay to have it professionally installed, add an aftermarket heated seat kit, etc. Unless you planned on doing all the work yourself.

 

In the end, the amount of leather in the Fusion's leather seats is no different than the leather seats in any other car in the same price range, and probably even most costing double. They are all "leather seating surfaces", "leather trimmed" etc etc.. In other words, only the part of the seat your body comes in contact with/sits on is leather. So my advice would be to enjoy your new car and don't worry about the leather seats.

 

Hope this information helps.

 

Good luck. :beerchug:

Edited June 11, 2010 by bbf2530

[drolds1]

"Leather seating surfaces only" is a long-standing, common practice in the industry. You can spend much more money than you did on the Fusion and not even get leather as standard, e.g., BMW. If you don't know this already, it might comfort you to know that Leatherette, commonly known as vinyl, is the standard seating material in the BMW 528. Leather is a $1400 option. The MSRP, without options, is over $45G. You'd expect it on a car in this price range. Same goes for some M-B models as well. So, I wouldn't feel too bad about it. It might not be the best quality leather in the world, but at least you got the genuine article.

 

I received a letter and samples from Lincoln stating that only Leather Master products should be used in my MKZ. MKS owners received the same packet. However, these cars use different leather from that in the Fusion. I really don't know if this is just a promotional tie-in, as was the case with BP fuel in Fords (imagine them recommending BP these days), or not. I did use the samples they gave me and was quite pleased with the results. Obviously, you could use them in your Fusion as well.

 

You can use any quality leather cleaner & conditioner in your Fusion, but as bbf2530 states, never use a product designed only for vinyl on your leather seats. They have much harsher cleaners in them.

[bnajack]

"Leather seating surfaces only" is a long-standing, common practice in the industry. You can spend much more money than you did on the Fusion and not even get leather as standard, e.g., BMW. If you don't know this already, it might comfort you to know that Leatherette, commonly known as vinyl, is the standard seating material in the BMW 528. Leather is a $1400 option. The MSRP, without options, is over $45G. You'd expect it on a car in this price range. Same goes for some M-B models as well. So, I wouldn't feel too bad about it. It might not be the best quality leather in the world, but at least you got the genuine article.

 

I received a letter and samples from Lincoln stating that only Leather Master products should be used in my MKZ. MKS owners received the same packet. However, these cars use different leather from that in the Fusion. I really don't know if this is just a promotional tie-in, as was the case with BP fuel in Fords (imagine them recommending BP these days), or not. I did use the samples they gave me and was quite pleased with the results. Obviously, you could use them in your Fusion as well.

 

You can use any quality leather cleaner & conditioner in your Fusion, but as bbf2530 states, never use a product designed only for vinyl on your leather seats. They have much harsher cleaners in them.

 

For what it's worth, I prefer the fake leather. It seems to hold up better over time. I had a 2002 Audi A4 for seven years / 90,000 miles and the seats looked brand new (with very little care) when I traded it in. My last car was a 2009 Hyundai Genesis and the real leather seats looked horrible after 18 monhs / 22,000 miles.

[Beachboy]

For what it's worth, I prefer the fake leather. It seems to hold up better over time. I had a 2002 Audi A4 for seven years / 90,000 miles and the seats looked brand new (with very little care) when I traded it in. My last car was a 2009 Hyundai Genesis and the real leather seats looked horrible after 18 monhs / 22,000 miles.

 

I had the "leatherette" in my BMW 325 and I was quite happy with it. It held up as well or better than leather during the 15 years and 250,000 miles I owned the car. Unlike leather, the vinyl/leatherette didn't crack or crease. BMW and MB use a higher grade of "leatherette" in their cars than American carmakers did back in the heyday of vinyl upholstery. Frankly, I wish a high quality vinyl was still available on domestic cars, as it's much easier for me to keep clean without paying the high price for full leather upholstery. The argument of vinyl being "too hot or too cold" is immaterial to me; I guess I'm just a tough guy!