I was thinking of a CR/W MCS with the Rooster red Color line and Red leather and black cloth seats.

I went with leatherette for my previus MINI 2006 R50. As the first generation cars had problems with the cloth seats wearing pre-maturely.

How about the R56? Anyone have the Red Leather and Black Cloth seats? How are they holding up?

Thanks in advance.

 

LOTH ='s Leather/cloth - seems to be holding up just fine. I would suggest scotchguarding the cloth portion if you're worried about stains. They do seem to attract more pet hair than I'm used to - maybe I'm not cleaning enough! :-)

 

I have the red/black leather/cloth interior (with red color line dash and CR/CR MCS -- a bit cliche, no?) and it looks fine at 7k miles. Of course, not enough miles to conclude anything about longevity.

On my previous 2003 MC, the leatherette on the drivers seat started splitting at 43k (and no I'm not a heavy guy). MINI replaced it under warranty, so I expect they'll do the same with the cloth/leather should it be necessary.

 

Everyday I wish I had gotten the leather instead of the cloth. If I could do it over, I would do leather

 

Can't comment from experience as I have the Lounge Leather. But IMO the red leather/black cloth option is one of the sharpest available. Rooster red color line and anthracite headliner are essential with it though... Again, just my opinion.

Best of luck!

 

5000+ miles on mine and still look brand new.

 

They'd better.... 5,000 miles IS practically brand new !

 

Jeesh! I've put 13k since last May (including the month I was without it)
Oh, the seats? They seem to be holding up fine.

OT but I'm jealous of you low-mileage folk; it stays newer longer!

 

3200 miles since last August. It will change soon.

 

I went with Sport Seats which I think only come in the leather-ette (might be wrong) but I wish that I had gone with either cloth or leather.

I didn't get the cloth because I have dogs. The leatherette seems to feel almost like neoprene. The bolsters have a perferrated pattern but the main part of the seats are solid.

Last week we drove several hours to the San Diego area - sunny day about 70 degrees and yet I found the leatherette seats (which are black) to be quite hot - to the point that my jeans almost felt damp when I got out of the car.

Doesn't harbor well for the coming summer as it gets quite hot around here (100 degrees or more). I am getting the windows tinted today, maybe that will help.

 

+1

 

I got the black punched leather, they are cool, non slip, matt finish and wear great--- NO CREASES. BTY ,with any leather it is a good idea to start wearing your wallet in your front rather than your back pocket. It will avoid "seat crunch"

 

I have the leather/cloth combo in my 05 S and it is a mtce nightmare if U dont Scotchguard the cloth sections. At 25K the driver's door side bolster is showing wear from where my bod slides into the seat, and have to cover it with black leather balm every now and then.

despite this, Id still get them again, nice comfy combo, esp. in heat and cold extremes. I would also suggest Zymol leather cleaner and conditioner to keep the leather in fine shape, and to give it a wonderful smell.

 

The sport seats are available with any of the upholstery options (on the S at least) - leatherette, cloth, cloth/leather, punch or lounge leather.

Your reasons exactly are why I didn't go with the leatherette (although the price was quite tempting! ). I just found them to be so hard, almost like plastic. Also the heat was a major problem for me.

Tinting should definitely help though, especially if you have sunroofs. Did for me.

 

You guys must have some soft asses if you think Leatherette feels hard or plasticy. I've yet to have a passenger ride in my car and not think the car has leather interior.

Maybe they changed the leatherette material in the R56 ??

 

Guess I kind of screwed that up then - I should have checked out the material before ordering. The "firmness" doesn't seem to be a problem, I think the seats are quite comfy and they do grip well. And cleaning seems to be fine the only negative issue is the heat.

At least I don't have a sunroof - it could be worse.

Maybe I'll get one of those beaded taxi cab seat covers!

 

Firmess is not a problem but I don't think you would mistake the leatherette for leather - it's kind of rubbery. Is that a word - "rubbery"?

 

10,000 miles and still nice on my rooster red leather/cloth interior. I did just buy some covers for my front seats from Wet Okele to keep them nice in the long run. The covers do have openings in the side bolster for the side impact air bags in the seats but they are pricey.

 

From someonw who owns 3 MINIs with three different seat materials, two of which are leather and leatherette, I vehemently disagree.

I prefer the leatherette, actually. Looks like leather, feels VERY similar to leather, doesn't fade or crack like leather, and easier to maintain.

Especially when the cost is considered, I'll never order leather again.

 

I've got 32K miles on my '06 MCS with the red/black cloth and leather seats. They hold up beautifully, look great and are way more comfortable than the vinyl alternative.

 

Looking at the two models it seems MINI did change the leatherette. Of course it's very subjective, but I've taken multiple friends to the dealership with me on various visits and there is no mistaking the leatherette for leather. At first I thought it was just me, but every single one who sat on the leatherette seats said something along the lines of, "what's this???". Not necessarily in a criticizing way, it's just obvious that it's something other than leather. I'll have to check out the previous generation leatherette on my next visit to see if there is in fact a substantial difference.

Gotcha, I must say as a no-cost option the leatherette cannot be beat (I have a very negative bias toward cloth ). The problem is that it doesn't breathe at all, hence the heat. A good thing indeed that you don't have the sunroof as it heats the cabin up significantly. Especially without tint and in absence of a solid sunshade.

Getting back to the thread, I say get it!!! Provides the best of both worlds, IMO.

 

Hummm..... I don't doubt your "enthuiasm" but I wonder if it has changed for 2008. Or maybe my seat is something other then leatherette because there is no way I would mistake it for leather.

Maybe we'll just have to politely disagree on this subjective subject.

 

Yeah, I'll have to check out the leatherette in an R56 and see if it's the same material. If they changed it, someone at MINI should lose their job.

 

I got the black cloth. I didn't want leather because I hate getting into the car with hot leather.

 

My 2006 R50 had black leatherette, when we sold it due to divorce, CarMax gave us credit as if it had leather seats.