Ok, after 2 weeks of killing myself on exterior colors I am down to the decision whether to get the sports suspension and which seats...and it is the only thing preventing me placing my order. Help me!

So by all reports, the leatherette is decent. I am trying to get by my bias against vinyl seats but I am also a little nervous about plastic in Iowa where it gets way hot, and way cold.

That sends me running to cloth. Unfortunately Mini has seen fit to only allow me to choose red or polar brown (or something like that). I am getting a black mini so I might be able to get away with the red, and I will go with that if I decide it has to be cloth...but I was really going for a black and white look. I love red stitching in sports car leather but not sure if it will look out of place without any other red accents. Where is the black cloth option! It also seems nuts to me to pay 1k to go to cloth.

So then we have leather, to which my wife has pretty much said "you are not spending 2k on a leather upgrade". To pull that off I really need to have a good argument....and it brings up the hot and cold issue again. It is zero degrees today and the thought of going out and sitting on plastic or leather is causing me to shutter.

So what did you get, and would you still get it?

We got the leatherette. We have had it on our mini for 5 years and it has worked out well. Also didn't want to spend the extra cash. Put it toward other options.

I have the leathette on an '04. I do very little in terms of upkeep, which is to say, I wipe them with a Chlorox wipe when the kids spill something nasty on them. They look fantastic.

I live in extraordinarily hot Savannah. with a sunroof. We're at the beach a lot. they're more than manageable. and even though we're in the south, I have heated seats. which are FANTASTIC.

Drop $500 for heated seats and go with the leatherette.

We got the leatherette. My '06 has cloth and I love it. We are confused as to why the printed brochure shows an option for a black cloth seat, but it's not available on the configurator.
Annette

Advantages of leatherette: maintenance is very easy and the seats in our 05 MCS look the same as day one. If you get heated seats they will be fine in the winter.

Having said that, we are getting leather on the CM mainly because the seats were uncomfortable in the summer.

I have an 09 MC with Leatherette. I like it and it looks like new after two years. Though I may spring for Lounge Leather next time. But most important, don't 100% assume the configurator is correct. Maybe black cloth is possible. Cant hurt to ask when your at the Mini Store.

I had leatherette in my '05 MCS and I have cloth in my '06 MC Convertible. I much prefer the leatherette! I have Wet Okoles on my cloth seats because when I bought my car (used) there was a stain and the seats were starting to show frays despite the low mileage. I would not choose leather, personally, because I have a dog that rides with me. We go swimming and hiking and he gets sandy.

The leatherette is nice!

I am pleased with the leatherette. It is better than expected coming from my last 2 cars with leather. It looks good and the seats heat up amazingly fast with the seat heaters. I was trying to keep the cost down and liked the idea of the cleaning with little kids. I also wanted all black so the cloth did not appeal to me. The only thing you do not get is the lumbar adjustment.

If you are going black you do want the anthracite headliner.

Living in Chicago with the leatherette, I wouldn't be without the heated option, although I will order the sport seats next time to get the adjustable lumbar

snowboard1, Are you saying if you order leatherette you don't get the lumbar adjustment?

My MA recommended against the leather as the leatherette is nearly as comfortable, much easier to keep clean, and much cheaper. I've read that the new model year leatherette is much nicer/more comfortable than previous years (can't say from experience as this is my first MINI). I opted for the cold weather as well.

My understanding is that the cloth seats options are either Pure Red with red lines/stitching or Carbon black cloth with Light tobacco lines/stitching. Not Brown.

I too debated about the leatherette or cloth. Since I am getting an black exterior, I though the black leatherette was a little too much black. I drove one with the red cloth interior and I did not like the Pure Red (got that orange tinge showing up again). However, based on the sample the dealer showed me, I am hopeful my choice for the black cloth with the light brown accents would look good.

I didn't like paying the extra $1000 for cloth, but I view it as the best of both worlds - cloth for the bulk of the surface contact (for the hot days) and leather on the parts that you can see and feel while sitting.

Has anyone taken delivery on the cloth seats?

HMMM!...Wet Okole on a Countryman.

It's 2 grand. Is it REALLY that big a deal? Tell her you'll forgo the leather if she sells her engagement ring and buys one comparable in value to the engagement ring you got. Or her shoes, or handbags, or whatever else it is that she buys in excess. She'll change her mind REAL quick.

The lumbar adjustment does not come with the leatherette seats. I checked one at the dealership and can confirm there is not an adjustment for the lumbar. I guess it is only on leather and the cloth seats.

Or she will change her husband real quick

Advice on how to treat spouse is dangerous ground, tread lightly.

I think the sport seats are standard on the S, but lumbar only comes with Leather

Oh I know. It was mostly in jest. I just think it's funny how a lot of wives, not all mind you, will tell their husband something is too expensive while walking around with a $5K rock on their finger and their husband is rocking a $20 gold band.

Stuff like that cracks me up. :D My wife will give me her opinion but in the end it's MY car so if she doesn't like it, she doesn't like it. Just like I despise her Wrangler but I won't tell her what she can and can't buy or how she can option it. If we can afford it, it's all good. $2K on a $40K car really isn't a deal-breaker IMO.

YMMV :D :D

Good stuff. Yeah, I hear what you are saying but if it were up to her I would get a base model no options, if it was up to me it would be an all 4 with every option. I am trying to find the middle ground we can both live with.

Early in this thread the Leatherette was described as having vinyl, at least in the surface. I'm not sure if this is actually the case on the currently used material?

I train dogs and use special anti-scratch pants (actually more like a bib). These pants offer some protection against the dogs who are learning bite work. The material is only a minor protection against teeth; it is meant mostly to protect agains scratching claws, a constant problem. It use to be that all the better pants were made of actual leather. In recent years most of the better pants are made of Leatherette. The Leatherette in my pants is much lighter and stronger than the actual leather in my older pants. The Leatherette pants can also be thrown in the wash. Now after several year of use by both my son and I there are no discernible marks in the surface of the pant material, they look new. It would be hard for me to imagine any more abusive use of a fabric.

I was hoping the Leatherette in the MINI seats was more like the material in my bite pants and less like vinyl?

I don't know enough about your material to compare. However, I have 2 dogs (one weighs about 55 lbs and the other 75), both of which ride in the back seat. The leatherette seats in my 05 MCS have not suffered any damage (scratches, or punctures) from either dog. If they still use the same material today it's very durable. I would NOT describe the material as being like the vinyl seats in the cars my parents had while we were growing up.

Wait a second, am I hearing this right? As long as you have the sport seats you will get the lumbar support regardless of covering (including leatherette)? I thought leatherette meant no lumbar adjustments regardless of seat type?

jake703, there seem to be conflicting answers to the lumbar support question. Guess we're calling our MA.
Annette

Hope this is correct, it seems like it would be. How would they know to leave the lumbar out, or why would they based on the final covering?

Also, noticed you sold your '05 Black Eyed Purple . That's on my list of colors of MINIs to acquire when I hit the lottery.

Annette

No matter what the covering, if you have the sport seats, you get lumbar support.