I am in a market for mini cooper and I'm curious which seats are leather and leatherette.

this seem like leatherette


and this seem like leather. correct?


the leather look so much better :(

 

Yes. Note the **** on the inside of the seats, lumbar support on leather seats only.

 

it seems like leather holds up much better than leatherette on used cars..
leatherettes stretch and fade etc.. i thought leatherettes were much more durable :/

 

I really think it's car to car. And how the leather is fitted plays a part and is a big gamble, with the leatherette there is more consistency with fit.

 

i see.. thanks!

 

The second photo shows the premium "English Leather" option. The first photo is indeed leatherette but there is a standard leather option that looks very much like the leatherette seats, with some minor differences in stitching. The quick way to tell leather is that it has the **** for lumbar support on the side of the seat.I've heard exactly the opposite, that leatherette still looks like new after several years. For the standard leather option, there have been many complaints about high cost and low quality. It is a low quality leather and so impregnated with chemicals that people often mistake it for vinyl. The leather stretches at the seat bottoms and wears out at the side seat bolsters. The English Leather option uses a higher quality leather that certainly looks and feels better but I haven't seen reports about durability.

 

oh so there are actually 2 kinds of leather and another, leatherette.

I kinda knew this because this one Mini i test drove didn't look like the second pictured "english leather" but had different stitching than leatherette. I guess that is the one to avoid.

 

L'ette is good if y're a big slob or if U have shedding and stinky pets, it cleans off very EZ. However if like me U need that lumbar support then U have to get the full leather or leather/cloth seats.

 

Like rwk said, I have the same type as picture one, but I DO have lumbar support, and the seats have "marks" like real leather, so I've assumed for 1.5 years that I have leather seats. Mine are also heated.

-Cody

 

One clarification. Not all leather seats have the lumbar **** feature. (I've a set of leather sport seat w/out) It is perhaps the case that no leatherette seats have lumbar so the presense of that **** would be a good indication.

As rkw said, the leather isn't all that nice anyways (unless it's the "English Leather"). The big difference is "sport" seats versus the standard ones. The sport seats have bigger side bolsters and such.

I replaced a set of standard leatherette seats with leather sport seats when the height adjustment mechanism in the original drivers seat failed. The leather surface is maginally better feeling than the 'ette only because it feels thicker. Also, the extra seams of the leather seats are more attractive IMO. Given the option, I'd take a leatherette sport seat over a leather standard seat.

-Will

 

MINI leatherette holds up well, cost about 1800 bucks less than leather, and for me at least, looks just fine. I've had lot's of people mistake my leatherette for leather.

 

I think you have that exactly opposite !

Having MINIs with both leather and leatherette and with similar mileage on them, I can assure you, the leatherette holds its color better, maintains its form better, AND is easier to take care of.

 

I know that the leatherette that BMW uses is legendary for its durability. My hope is that the same holds true for the material used in the Mini.

My favorite quality of good leather car seats is the smell and that doesn't even last as long as new car smell does.

Your results may vary.

Void where not valid.

 

The leather in my 05 MINI (24k miles) already looks more worn that the leatherette in my 01 BMW (128k miles)

 

According to my MA, unless they are aftermarket seats--or y're mistaking the l'ette for leather (which i EZ to do) this is impossible. OEM cloth or l'ette--sport or otherwise--no lumbar support. All OEM leather/cloth or leather seats have lumbar supports, at least on R50 and R53. This little surprise hit me when I ordered my 05 back in 04, when I had to change my order at the last minute to L/C to get the lumbar supports.

 

Leatherette will almost never wrinkle and will look fairly new whatever its age is.. Leather will wrinkle and crease as time goes on. It will fade and stretch as well. Leatherette in the long run will be more durable.