Hi all,

I am in the process of configuring my 09 MCS and I wanted to know how you like your seats!!

Standard Seats are:
- Cloth Checkered Carbon Seats
- Leatherette Black/Grey Seats

Upgrades are:
- Cloth and Leather for $1000 (Red and Blue only)
- Gravity Tuscan Leather for $1500
- Punched Carbon Leather for $1500
- Lounge Leather for $2000

From what I was told, all upgraded seats have lumbar support. I was originally configuring a blue MCS with blue Cloth and Leather Seats but I am thinking now about a pepper white MCS (-$500) with Punched Carbon Leather (+$500 from cloth&leather) for the same price. I am also considering adding $500 to get the lounge leather... What do you recommend? I am a 6"4 225lbs dude who is approaching his 40s so comfort is important!!!

thanks!

franck-

 

I guess I'm more conservative than I thought!

I went with punched leather (black & grey) with lumbar, and i would recommend it -- it's much easier to clean than cloth seats. My husband doesn't like the lumbar position as much as I do, but he also hasn't been bitten by the MINIbug, so doesn't drive my car much. WHEW!

 

We went with a PW/PW MCS with the Lounge Leather in Redwood. Combined with piano black, it's a beautiful combo. My hubby is 6'8", around 250 lbs, and he finds the seats very comfortable. So do I.

 

I have black cloth (checkered) seats. They are OK, but I wish they had lumbar support. If I were to do it again, I'd probably go with Redwood Lounge Leather. Great classic British leather color, and it would look great with Pepper White.

 

I have the malt lounge leather, very comfortable. Well worth the $$ for us guys over 40. Comfortable seats are a must have for me.

 

Just make sure you get the sport seats. I have Tuscan Beige, a very light color, which matches my paint. Love the seats for comfort.

 

Black Carbon Lounge Leather here with no regrets whatsoever. They're comfortable (max continuous motoring time so far is 4.5hr) and look great.

 

This is the first car I've had with leatherette, all others were leather, and I have no complaints. I believe they are the sport seats and I find them very comfortable and easy to clean. I would say they are a bit stiff, but I am only 5'10" 135lbs. so that may play into it. I reinvested the money I saved in wheels and tires, which made the biggest difference in ride quality IMO.

 

Surfblue says: I'm 63, 6' and 205 and in good physical shape (we're talkin crunches here, but like all "old guys" my back isn't what it used to be, but it's still pretty good) and the standard leatherette works fine for me. See my gallery. My 07 is now 15 months old and the seats look as good as the day I picked the car up at the dealer. Here's a tip: I've met MA's outside of work who have confided that they feel leather is overrated (I'm with em) and they also talk about how poorly it wears. When I was looking to buy and studying other cars I'd find parked, I noted that the leather gets stretchy and wrinkley pretty fast. The MA's backed me on that. One also told me he thought the lumbar support gimmick also made the seat more uncomfortable. So there ya have it. Me, I could no way jack another grand to a grand and a half onto the car for something I'm not gonna feel unless I'm naked. BTW, driving naked is not legal.
My basic advice to anyone purchasing is keep your car simple, get an S and get the six speed manual...then go driving.
Final thought: To each his own. It's YOUR MONEY.

 

Ditto! We have the same seats/interior color and it's a great combo! We've only had our Mini for 4 days, and so far we love the leather feel and lumbar support.

 

yes I see your point. I could definitely use the two grands for something else. I've got really fancy seats on my 335i right now and I don't find them that comfortable at all... I guess I should go back to the dealership once more and try the various seats (If I can find any mini on the lot!!)

 

I've got the standard black/grey leatherette. The leg bolsters are fantastic, but I wish it had slightly more shoulder support. It's got side bolsters (maybe could be a bit firmer there), but due to the shape, the shoulders get left out of the party, so you slide around a bit.

Otherwise, I think it's a very good and comfortable seat.

I'm one of those freaks who can do without lumbar support.

 

I have the blue leather/cloth sport seats and just did a 650 mile round trip over the weekend. I found the seats in my S Clubman more comfortable than the leather seats in my wife's 2004 Camry XLE. I've done the same trip up and down the California Central Coast section of Highway 101 multiple times in the Camry and can never find a good position for my back even though the Camry has all kinds of adjustments. So, to say the least, I am very happy with the Cooper seats. I am 57 years old, 6' and weigh 170 lbs.

 

I went to the dealer and ordered my JCW yesterday (woo!). I drove a car with cloth seats and also sat in ones with leatherette and lounge leather. I wasn't very impressed with the leatherette. I really didn't like the feel or the look. The lounge leather was nice, but I realized it was too expensive. I ended up going with the cloth. It was much more impressive to feel and looked great in person. I had pictured the same cloth that was in my Explorer and it's much nicer.

I can't comment on wear because I don't have the car yet. :P

Anyways, it's totally something you have to decide on your own. Good luck!

 

bring your blanket with you and ask dealer if it is alright for you to sleep overnight in dealer's mini cars on lot then zzzzz on the seat to see how you feel.

 

I sat in many, and like others have said, I couldnt justify the expense for the leather seats. I opted for cloth. The last few cars I've had, including the current S2000, have all been outfitted with leather seats. They get hot in the Texas heat and cloth will be a relief for me!

 

Hey I'm quite happy with my stock leatherette. Besides the material, I can never seem to find a comfortable seating position no matter how much I fiddle with the pump and recline and the back/forward sliding. I like to sit medium high with my steering wheel slightly low so I can view all of its numbers, but then my knees start hitting the steering column.

In the end I pump it low, steering column high. If I move the seat back then my arms will have to stretch!

 

I've got the leatherette seats. I think they're very, very comfortable. Haven't been for a really long drive, but they feel great and support you really well. My only complaint is that because it's not a natural fabric, you tend to sweat more on them. It's not really bad, but definitely not as "ventilated" as leather. I had a bimmer with leatherette previously as well and had the same thing.

Otherwise, highly recommend, especially since they're no extra cost.

 

I have the Blue Leather/Black Cloth seats as well and I really like the look feel and comfort. The longest duration I was in the car was on a MINI5280 ride, about 6-7 hours on and off. I had an 07 328xi for a loaner the other day and noticed the upper bolsters on the BMW's seats were adjustable, which is one thing I wish the MINI had.

 

I have the sports cloth checkered seats. 5'10" 158lbs. usually drive 5hr or a tad bit more 2-3 times a month. To be perfectly honest, even for me they are not very comfortable after 2hrs or so. Usually I can get away with stretching my legs and back and I'm okay for another hour or so. If it gets really bad, I pull into a rest stop and walk around and stretch my whole body for 10mins and I'm good for several more hours.

The most comfortable seats are in my M Coupe. Recaro SPD. Even with the stiff (after market) suspension I can easily drive for 4hrs(gas mileage not as good so I have to stop to refuel). I'm contemplating putting the Recaros into the MINI but i'm not sure they will fit properly.

 

I've had surgery for spinal stenosis, so it's more than a comfort issue. Molly treats my back very well (10-hour drives included). The lounge leather sport seat is the most comfortable I have used -- home or mobile.

 

I am 56.68493150684931506849315068493151 years old 5'8" several blown out disks and degenerative disk disease. I have Tuscan beige leather sport seats. I find them to be very comfortable.

 

I have the leatherette sport seats and I love them. Very comfortable and real easy to keep clean. 2 grand seems too much for leather.

 

We started out with the Cloth sports seats, they were kind of snug (I'm a little short and a little wider than you), and the lumber support (not adjustable) is a little over done. After hiring a MINI which had the cloth/leather seats I was sold and we've ordered those in the MINIs ever since.

They're very comfortable. They slightly wider that the cloth seats, so they fit me better and the leather eventually molds to your shape. The only problem is they only come in the red or blue, so you have to have an interior in which that's fit. They don't sell the all black ones here, like they do in Europe. MINI will also only sell certain coloured seats in combination with certain exterior colours. (Or in the case of nightfire red, not offer them, or cloth seats at all.)

The best you can do is sit in a variety at the dealer and see what you behind thinks. Though that doesn't tell you how you'd feel some hours down the road. I've sat in the various other leather options at the dealer and they never seemed quite as comfortable as the combination seats.

 

I have a Pepper white with Lounge Leather in Redwood, all I can say is:It's an amazing combo, it looks great and it feels even better, for a second I though I was crazy for spending 2k on some seats, but when I actually got the car I was very impress by them. If your going PW, don't think twice about the red lounge leather, believe me, you wont regret it!