I have it in my 2005 MCS. 12500 miles on the car so far and the leatherette is doing just fine. I'm glad I ordered it that way....I'm very satisfied with it.

 

I ended up getting leatherette by mistake. After the dealership reluctantly did some damage control and I agreed to take delivery, I've discovered that I realy like it. I still plan on getting seat covers, but it's the nicest pleather I've come across.

 

I've had both in my MINI's. Leather is nice . . . the soft slide as you get in is very satisfying. In comparison the leatherette feels almost sticky. Is it worth $1,200? No!

 

Same here, I just do not like the feel of the 'ette and the leather feels great - that plus the lumbar adjustment and color choice (lapis blue) does make it worthwhile to me. Second choice would be the cloth/leather combo.

 

As I said, I'm very happy with the leatherette.

Note on the cloth - I was going to get the gray space cloth but my dealer has had some problem with staining and they recommended against it.

 

I'm very happy with leatherette. We had a lot of hot humid days this summer (yes, Wisconsin gets hot and humid too) and I didn't have any sticky problems. AC takes care of that!

Also, I'm with Kaelaria on the lumbar support of the sport seats. The seat seems to fit me perfectly so an adjustable lumbar isn't necessary. For long distance runs its the best seat I've ever had!

 

I wanted leather but ended up with leatherette because I was too lazy and impatient to order....and the car on the lot that I bought had every other option I wanted. I like the leather in the daughter's MC but am very happy with the leatherette in mine. At 9,000 miles and it looks brand new. Most people who get in the car say, "nice leather."

 

Same here! Every single person that has been in it, thought it was leather! To this day people at work STILL say - man that is such a cool interior! One guy just the other day was telling someone else about my 'leather' - he was SHOCKED when I told him it wasn't!

 

Same here. Westchester MINI?

MA says that leather, if scratched, will show you the cowhide. Leatherette is the same color through and through, so scratches don't show. he also said that leatherette is repairable to the point of invisibility.

Since I have kids, I went for indestructible over breathable.

 

i have the leatherette and am unhappy with it, not because of the material, i think the material is great. but there is way to much lumbar support. i am 6' athletic, i have a good back, but those freakin seats push into my mid lower back. i either will need to get the foam shaved down in the mid lower back region, or put something on the top of the seat to level the it off. I have also tried every possible seating position to no avail. the seats feel like if you were lying down on a bed then you put a stiff pillow under your lower mid back.

on a weird note though myself and a few others feel a difference between my driver and passenger seat, the driver seat having more pressure on the lower back then the passenger seat. my MA said he felt a difference, but the service department said that there was nothing out of the norm!! i am going to bug mini about it a bit more...

 

Had you sat in one before you bought??

 

We went Leatherette route after seeing a 2004 MCS w/ 4500 miles on it and the Leather on the driver seat was destroyed. Plus we have 2 MINI Schnauzers that we take everywhere.

 

I opted for the best of both worlds. Cloth leather combo. Although way to much money($800.00 option) I enjoy the red/black combo in my PW/B Mini S. At a rally this weekend with a 170 mini's I think mine was the only Red/B combo I saw but I could be wrong,anyway I do enjoy being different then all the rest and I think that is a big part of owning a Mini is to be different in how you put it together.

 

Well I have panther black leatherette, and by Halloween will be getting a premium leather put in by my dealer, it's the same company that supplies BMW, as in the GOOD STUFF!

Will include pics when I get it!

Mikey

 

The quality of the Leatherette is very good, it is the best leatherette I ever seen. If you are not an expert, you may think they are leather. But anyway, the reason that we choose leathersette instead of leather, because we had leather in our 3-series and we already taking very good care of it, but it still wear by time, esp. on the entry side of the seat. The leather feel softer, and with a finer touch. However, leatherette keeps me out of worried about tear and wear, no worried for letting dogs in, no maintenance is needed if you are lazy. (I lotion the leather twice a year, but they still wear).

 

I got the gray and black plastic upholstery because I like the color and the cost saving (in 2005 it came with black door panels). I don't find it to be sweaty or sticky, but this summer has been unusually cool.

I prefer the tan and black leather seats but didn't want tan doors and carpeting too. I remember seeing a MINI when it first came out and it had nifty pimpled leather that is no longer available. If MINI offered canary yellow leather I would have popped for that in an instant even if it came with matching door panels and carpeting, but I'll just have to wait.

I wonder if detlman has sold his gray and black seats yet.

 

We have the leatherette in our 330i and it works just fine. We have sheep skin on the fronts and a dog cover in the rear. I would not have gotten the leather in the mini because of wear problems but I really liked the two tone red and leather. I also wanted the lumbar support. I would highly recomend the heated seats as well.

 

In Europe you can get the "Stripes" leather interior dealer installed! Comes in Yellow, White and Red! Looks sharp in Yellow or White! Dealer installed cost was about $2500 if I remember correctly.

But after some research, and pictures of the saggy leather MINI seats, (butt prints) I decided to stick with the leatherette. Overall: no complaints.

 

Have you seen a sample? Just be sure its really good, the regular BMW leather is not very good, worse then the leather that comes in the Mini IMHO. The leather that comes in the M cars (and a few exceptions like the Z Coupe sport seats) however is a full grain Nappa which is a higher quality. You can really tell the feeling in the suppleness and the way the dye permeates the hide.

The key to good looking leather seats are simple: don't drag your butt accross the bolster, it'll wear and people have damaged the seats with something in their back pocket or a zipper/seam on the back;and keep the leather clean without over conditioning - too much conditioner can lead to premature cracking/discoloration. It doesn't take a ton of time or anything, its just about a bit of TLC and the once or twice a year application of a good product. You can find good info on the LeatherZ site, they know their stuff :smile:

I wish you the best with your interior - I just hope that you called around since the dealer will be outsourcing the work and is likely just outsourcing it to a dealer associated shop or other third party and marking the job up for acting as the conduit. What kind of guarantee/warranty are you getting?

PS: I wouldn't worry about a little leather seat "butt sagging", even the finest cars with lux leather get it. Unless you are light it is simply a sign of regular use, like rock chips in the paint, and reflects that hides are in there vs man made stuff. An interior shop can add stuffing/correct it simply I think.

 

15k on leatherette and looks like..leatherette! It holds up well and I don't worry about it as much as the leather in our other car. It's worth the price of admission..which is zero!:smile:

 

Two weeks old and I am delighted with my MINI's leatherette. :smile: The seat back is a bit sticky til the AC catches up, but no worse than leather IMHO, and this is Houston afterall. With what I have read here about leather wear, I could not justify the extra cost. But I have to admit there is nothing like a new leather interior.
______
"Topper", 05 MCS JB/JB

 

I think I'm going to be happy with the Leatherette. Since I'm in northern CA, it rarely gets hot, and the humidity is really low pretty much all year. For me I think the "wipe and wear" aspect is going to be a good thing. hahahahah

Less than a month, and I should have my Mini...

 

I am satisfied with the leatherette. Plus I like the two-tone look.

 

I love my leatherette! Cheaper than the leather, and yet everyone at work thinks it's the real deal. They all think I dropped a bucket of money on my MSC, when I only spent $24K.

 

It's amazing how many people think our MCS is a 30k car here in the Bay Area. I can't imagine what they think the MCC/MCSC cost.