I finally test drove a Justa today, and it pretty much made my mind up for me - it's everything I need, time to place my order…. or so I thought!!!

The car I drove was upgraded with sport seats and the missus gave them a big thumbs down. When I switched to the passenger seat I realized why… the side supports were in the way, digging into my arms unless my arms were forward. So I did not notice that while driving.

No problem I thought, we can fix this... and the dealer showed me another car with standard seats. Perfect, we both agreed - still plenty of support but no annoying side sticky-out bits, problem solved… or so i thought!!

The leatherette was not our cup of tea at all, but hey - Mini is configurable in nine million ways, so leather upgrade, or even cloth will be no problem. Or so i thought!

Does anyone in the F56 brain trust know how to upgrade the standard seats to either leather, or cloth? I see it's not an option on the configurator, but are there any notable Mini aftermarket people who specialize in re-upholstering for these cars?

Thanks in advance.

 

Bump..

I'm still curious to know if any current or previous Mini owners can give any recommendations.
It may may turn out that I will be very happy to stick with the leatherette, but it's one of those things that it's hard to tell without living with it for a while.

Anyone else had the standard seats for some time now, and considering having them re-covered?

Thanks, Bill

 

There is an F56 sitting at our dealership with custom covered seats. I think they are leather with a red piping. Anyway, maybe your dealer has a relationship with a local upholsterer that can re-cover the seats in a cloth.

 

Thanks Rocket Man, that's interesting - out of interest - were they sports seats or standard? Not that it makes any difference other than the fact that somebody might have been thinking the same way as me. Cool to know there are dealers trying different things though.

I did ask both my local Mini dealers (Seattle and Tacoma) and neither had any knowledge of local upholsterers, and neither seemed particularly motivated about the subject.

I surmise that I must be in a minority.

 

What about sheepskin covers? They are excellent in all weather and will keep your original seats looking new. MUCH less expensive than a total re-upholster, and the will be tailored to the seat. They come in a variety of colors.

http://www.rmsheepskin.com/cgi-bin/S...html?E+scstore

 

We do custom leather alot and that's your best bet.

 

What is the location and the company?

 

Yes, please can you give me more info..

Also, DD thanks for the sheepskin cover link - a possibility, but not really my cup of tea!!

Local dealers weren't in the know, and the NAM brain trust are stumped it seems . . . so I may have to actually do some research myself. . .

 

Those sheepskin covers are not cheap. Mine (sport seats) would cost $1,065.00 I, too, think leather is your best bet, although cloth will be cooler in hot climates.

 

Not true...The sheepskins would cost $599.00/set for the tailor made and free shipping. This is the going rate for the tailor made ones. You can purchase lesser ones that differ in materials.

 

Bill, After 10,000 miles in a 2013 Hardtop S with sport seats, I threw in the towel. Being a 'full figured' fellow, the seat bottom bolsters made my thighs go numb after about 90 minutes. After testing both the 2014 Cooper and Cooper S models, it became immediately clear that the Cooper with basic non-sport seats was the best fit for me. This vehicle is used as recreational vehicle and not an autocross/track day rig so comfort was my main issue. As far as reupholstering goes, and seat covers for that matter, the seat mounted side impact air bags could prove to be a safety issue. This is probably the reason that a MINI dealer is hesitant to get involved with the subject (liability, etc.) All that said, a Cooper / S is one of life's great motoring pleasures and should not be readily dismissed! Remember, EVERY vehicle is a compromise of one sort or another.

 

I'm guessing there's no Recaro seat option for the F56 yet? I had the sport seats in my R56 and thought the F56 sport seats were "tighter" when I drove it in April. My Recaros are not that tight.

 

Honestly I don't remember. It might have been a month ago. But I seemed to recall it was clearly called out on the dealer's extra sticker. I did a quick Google search and there are a lot of upholstery shops in Sea-Tac. If the seats are that bad for you and you want to go the expense of changing them it can be done, but I'd guess you'd spend $1,500 at least.

Get the standard seats, have them take the covers off, trim down the side bolsters, and recover them in cloth or a perforated leather/vinyl. Maybe they can even re-use parts of the original covers so save some money.

 

Nashville Tn...Cole Brothers. .Problem with cloth is you would have to have a complete custom job which would be very pricy. Many company's make the shells for leather so they basically slip on in replacement to the factory covers. Only issue is how new the f56 is....we have not done a f56 yet just the R cars.