I've been looking at a bunch of Minis recently and a lot of them have leatherette. I'm generally a sweaty guy and the fear of sitting on a material that doesn't breath has really steered me away from buying a car equipped with it. My question to you is that fear valid? Can you share your experiences with me?

 

Pleather is cheap which is why you see it in a lot of vehicles. Get some cloth seats, or if you opt for pleather you could always get seat covers.

 

Its pretty good and very durable, I have 247K on an 05' convertible with zero cracks, If you do get the black it will get a little hot in the sun. Cloth/ stitched is nice and a little more rare, most people went with leatherette or leather.

All in all its not that bad with heat and sweat.

 

I wouldn't let the seat covering be the deciding factor on a purchase. If the MINI has good bones, seat material is inconsequential. I spec'd leatherette due to cost and durablilty. I cover them with either sheepskins or a custom fabric cover I made to combat a damp backside and after nine years-no problems. I have found that cleaning and treating the seat with a vinyl conditoner keeps the material flexible. Good luck.

 

+1

And to add, I also think it's an easier material to clean. Cloth holds in a lot more of the elements and can get dirty/worn over the years. Not saying the other material wont get worn, but it wont hold in as much dirty and sweat as cloth material.

 

Upgrade to Recaro's. Problem solved. I can never go back to the foe leather.

 

It looks good, but you may well sweat a bit -- for me it is mainly in shorts where there is skin contact. It does clean well, it is durable, it is not a reason to not get the car.


I don't really understand why cloth is so much more difficult to get. I'm not really a leather guy.

 

leather being a natural product will stretch and shrink and in time the fit may look bad, I had leather in one car before, my 95 trans am, it was ok but repair costs for rips was insane.

I would not order leather and it's not my first choice in 2nd hand. I like the leatherette, no issues so far.

 

sweating bad on "really" hot days : (

 

Warm...
Leatherette!

Sorry, 80's moment

 

Cloth or cloth/leather, would help keep your backside dry. To save cash, I'd get leatherette upholstery, and a steer hide from Ikea to lay over it, hair side up. In fact, that's what I did to protect the cloth/leather in my MCSm. After more than 4 years, I am still liking it.

 

I have leatherette and it does get warm in the summer sine it doesn't breathe. I'll get some sort of cloth cover one of these days.

 

i got leatherette in my mini...and sweat horribly since i literally live on the gulf of h3ll itself [north of houston,tx]. That said my best option [and in my opinion most bang for buck is to install racing seats with strong mesh weave in the heavy wear areas cloth/micro on the outers/uppers/back.

 

Leatherette does hold up well which is why it's so popular. Wet okole seat covers are wonderful during the summer.

 

I'm in FL, where it is hot an humid 11.5 months a year. My 2011 MCS has leatherette interior. It sill looks like new, that is the one good thing. It is hot, and even first thing in the morning, my back is soaked after a 30 minute drive to work. If it was perforated, it might be better, but as it is, I would never do it again.

 

The JCW cloth in my '14 Roadster is as coarse as burlap. I use a seat cushion to keep the skin on my legs from being irritated through my pants on longer drives.

 

Thanks for all the feedback. Leatherette is definitely out of the equation now. I can't justify spending 25k+ on a car just to add seat covers.

 

Wait wait wait, how did you get it to stay on the seat? Can you share any details?