i have an 04 cooper with sport seats, but i can't tell if they are real leather or the panther black leatherette. i don't think i have seen the leatherette seats before, but there are so many variations on seating in minis that i really have no idea if it is real leather. the only thing i have to go on is that my MA told me they are leather.

 

My 03 leatherette MC seats are very smooth, no wrinkles at all after 4 years, they feel a bit like plastic or rubber, and they don't smell like leather.

I'd much rather have them and $1300 than the leather I could have gotten though.

 

leather seats will have the lumbar support
leather and cloth combination also have lumbar
look for the round **** on the side of the seat between the seats

 

resmini has pretty much summed it up:
a) leather smells like leather, and leatherette doesn't.
b) if you bought the MINI new, then the specs are on the invoice (and you would notice the price jump).

in my opinion the easiest way to tell by sight is to look at the rear seats. the leather seats do not fit as "snug" as the leatherette. (in italy the way they demonstrate highly quality leather is to take a butane lighter to it. leather doesn't burn. but you probably don't want to try that one!)


Leather:


Leatherette



If I'm wrong, I'm sure it's only a matter of a few minutes before someone corrects me!


(ps: don't look up "leather+mini" on google with "Safe search" set to off. I mean, unless you're into that sort of thing!)

 

well my seats don't have that bunching that the blue seats do. they also do not have the lumbar support. i bought my car used, but the original invoice does not say leather seats. it only says sport seats. i was under the impression that the sport seats only came in leather. however, it is looking like that is not true. if it helps in description, my seats have a very pronounced texture to them. they are not smooth. also, they have a bit of a friction to their hold, and dont allow too much sliding.

what upsets me about this all though is that my MA told me the seats were leather. i specifically asked her if they were leather or leatherette and she told me without hesitation that they are leather.

 

 

Do you have any pictures of your interior? I think that would help in determining if they are leather or not.

You are correct in that sport seats do not exclusively come in leather... I have the sport seats in leatherette.

 

lumbar support wheels on the inside edges are THE indicator of leather

 

Did you buy your MINI through MINI? That does suck that they told you that. My car has leather seats, and vinyl seats. The car originally came with the blue and black leather seats and for reasons unknown the fronts were swapped out with vinyl. I have the sweet leather backs and the durable vinyl fronts!

 

My sister's MC has leatherette, and they kind of smell strange. Well, they smelled that way since new. I am just a fan of leather. After I condition my seats, I find myself feeling them alot. They smell good too. I use BMW leather conditioner.

 

By the way, sports seats also come in cloth... at least in '04.

 

yeah, no lumbar support. well this really sucks. i got my mini from the largest mini dealer in illinois (bill jacobs) and it really wouldnt have been an issue if they had just told me from the beginning that my seats were leatherette, but having gone months thinking that i had the genuine leather seats, i am very dissapointed. oh well i guess. one day i would love to get the lounge leather seats.

 

i have the same question!
excuse my ignorance , but what is the lumbar support and where would i find that?
thanks!

 

Is there a round *** on the seat right above the rear cup holder? If yes you have lumbar if no then you don't have lumbar .

 

okay thanks!

 

I don't know how MINI leatherette compares to BMW's (I have leather in the MINI), but I can tell you that, at least in the BMW, I actually prefer the leatherette -- gasp. After 7 years and 122000 miles on the 3-series with leatherette, even the driver's seat looks like it did new -- no stretching, cracks or other signs of wear.
So I wouldn't worry too much about it -- if you have to ask if its leather after months, it seems you'll like your car as much without it.

Only thing that does suck is that you probably agreed on a price with the dealer based on pricing the car with leather as an option. One thing you might want to do is go back to the dealer and ask that they refund the Blue-book value for the leather option on the 04, since you were told you were buying it but that's not what you were sold. At the very least, maybe they'll throw some MINI gear your way.
Just a thought.

 

I have to admit, I'd be mad about that too. Can't hurt to ask for a little compensation. If nothing else, maybe it will make them think before they try and doop another buyer. I have an old e30 bmw and the faux leather seats still look fair after 22 years. They are hot though in the Texas summers. Leather isn't much better but they do breath a little.

 

I wouldn't be too upset...the leatherette in MINIs is good stuff! I have leather in my current car, but my old one had the leatherette and was just fine. It's nothing like the slick, shiny stuff they put in cars years ago. Looks nice, feels nice!

 

BTW...if the leatherette upsets you...leatherseats.com might be the solution. When I was looking for mine, I found a decent car with leatherette and was planning to cover the seats. They have some nice options and you can go 2-tone for a hair more in cost.

 

The lumbar adj wheels are on the inside seat edges right above the center hump

 

As for what the lumbar adjustment is actually *for*, it allows you change the shape of the lowest portion of the seatback (the part that supports your lower back, right above your tailbone).

Being able to adjust the lumbar portion of the seatback can help prevent lower-back pain on long drives, or for people that are susceptible to lower-back pain as a result of surgery or other issues. In fact, I've found that just periodically changing the lumbar adjustment from one position to another helps more than trying to find one "perfect" setting and leaving it there.

 

My 05 S has leather/cloth seats with lumbar, and I love them, mostly because the heated seat element is within the lumbar support. drove a friend's 05 S w/o them and after a couple hours my lower back hurt pretty bad, all those G forces from accelerating pushed me back in the seat.

 

+1 - regularly changing the support on long road trips makes a world of difference