Fake leather: like or hate it?

[bell2041]

100K car and fake leather??

Tesla salespeople told me that the reason behind it is that Tesla wants to be more green.
I personally don't care what material they use, as long as it's comfortable and doesn't cause any issues, but here is my problem with fake leather:

In the hot weather (above 90F) with the thermostat set to 66-68F, I feel cool, but places where my body touches the seat fake leather (my butt and my lower back) after 15 minutes of driving, my skin is so hot (in those places) that it feels like the leather is actually burning, and after 20-30 minutes my butt and lower back are soaking wet. That is just plain: ridicules. I had 5 cars before Tesla, all with regular leather and never, ever had any problems like that.

 

[ℬête Noire]

Isn't this more a lack of venting on the seats? Also, how much warmth is coming off the battery pack on those warm days? Teslas have a heat pump an circulation to draw a lot of this away but it's still there to some extent. With an ICE, outside the exhaust tube, don't really have any heat generation under the cabin. It's all up front, in front of the firewall and dash, and to some extent around the axles depending on the drive configuration.

 

[TexasRat]

I love the fake leather personally. I don't care if they use real vs "engineered" materials in the car as long as I get all the benefits with none of the downsides. Their fake leather is easier to clean, more smell/stain resistant and supposedly wears better than leather. The creases in all of my real leather vehicles before this was annoying. In just a period of a year or tow, the leather seats were seriously creased.

I haven't had my car long enough to see how it holds up, but it's definitely a lot easier to clean.

As far as heat is concerned, I don't notice the same issues you are noticing. Doesn't mean you aren't, but I don't have the same experience as you. Leather definitely gets hotter than cloth seats, but I believe it also cools down faster. I would assume fake leather has the same properties.

 

[xtall]

100K car and fake leather??

Tesla salespeople told me that the reason behind it is that Tesla wants to be more green.
I personally don't care what material they use, as long as it's comfortable and doesn't cause any issues, but here is my problem with fake leather:

In the hot weather (above 90F) with the thermostat set to 66-68F, I feel cool, but places where my body touches the seat fake leather (my butt and my lower back) after 15 minutes of driving, my skin is so hot (in those places) that it feels like the leather is actually burning, and after 20-30 minutes my butt and lower back are soaking wet. That is just plain: ridicules. I had 5 cars before Tesla, all with regular leather and never, ever had any problems like that.

Hmmm I drove down I-81 in NY top to bottom on Labor Day in 91 degrees, with climate set to 71, no sweat, no discomfort. I seriously love this fake leather. Cleans up great after grandkids make their messes on it.

 

[Leopold Stotch]

It is better in every way. Tesla rules! Thank you Tesla!

 

[Electric700]

Bell2041, make sure your seat heater wasn't accidentally turned on. Also, here's a good sunshade if you're not already using one:

Heatshield Store - Advanced Windshield Reflector

These can really help to block out a lot of heat in the summertime when you're not using your car, reduce the strain on your interior and help save energy. You may want to get darker window tint too.

 

[SSonnentag]

I prefer synthetic leather over hide, but like cloth the best.

 

[bell2041]

Interestingly I just came from a 200 mile trip with my friends and out 4 of us in the cabin, 2 did not have any issues, only the girl on the back seat had the same issue as me (soaking wet with sweat) So perhaps some type of skin sensitivity?

 

[dethman]

No issues here. Synthetic wears better than my old leather cars so i am all for it.

 

[wamochi]

i don't love it, but i get the idea of wanting to be more green. we have real leather in the model S and it feels more slippery than the vegan, but it also seems more durable to me for some reason. like it feels thicker, even though i have no idea if it really is. put it this way, if you took a metal key and scratched the seats, i think the real leather would hold up better than the vegan stuff ... (not that you would ever do that, i just can't think of another example)

i haven't had the X long enough to compare the heat problem, but in general the X is a lot hotter than the S with that huge windshield. i just tinted the front side windows to reduce the heat in the cabin.

 

[TexasRat]

i don't love it, but i get the idea of wanting to be more green. we have real leather in the model S and it feels more slippery than the vegan, but it also seems more durable to me for some reason. like it feels thicker, even though i have no idea if it really is. put it this way, if you took a metal key and scratched the seats, i think the real leather would hold up better than the vegan stuff ... (not that you would ever do that, i just can't think of another example)

i haven't had the X long enough to compare the heat problem, but in general the X is a lot hotter than the S with that huge windshield. i just tinted the front side windows to reduce the heat in the cabin.

That's interesting because I felt the opposite after messing around w/ an old P90D. The leather felt thinner, but I can kind of understand the feeling you're describing. I just can't put it into words.

 

[DarrenK]

The white seats were definitely softer than the old leather. It's all vegan now, so it should all feel the same. I personally love the feel of tthe seats. My cousin recently told me she was in a Maserati SUV and my seats are more comfortable.

 

[Altes]

Totally

ridicules

 

[travwill]

I like it, cleans very easy, and seems to hold up against wrinkling/staining much better than leather long term. Have white here. It is also so soft feeling.

Only negative I think is it does make you more prone to "sweaty butt" syndrome when its warm or even just normal out, especially on longer drive. The ventilated seats help but only on max of 3, and even then they aren't that great depending on what you're wearing.

 

[Tes La Ferrari]

Vegan leather wears waaaaaaaay better, looks waaaaaay better after a few years too.

I’ve factory ordered it - on top level trims of BMW and others for years and the dealers used to look at me like I was weird for ordering a loaded car without leather. That was until I would bring the vehicle back a few years on trade, and they would see what my Vegan interior looked like compared to the trashed and wrinkled animal skin leather.

The manufacturers are catching on to customer demand for better wearing product

Now Range Rover offers their most expensive interior in the new Velar is the vegan option, and even Bentley is exploring vegan leathers with a mushroom leather option.

The environmental side of vegan leather aligns well with Tesla’s planet saving mission too

 

[mattack4000]

It’s not cloth that’s all I care

 

[PhilDavid]

Tesla should be commended on doing such a great job with their seats while not using leather. They look, feel, and wear every bit as well or better than actual leather seats so I don;t understand what the big deal is.

We have been conditioned to expect leather seats in certain cars but leather seats are really not such a big deal any more when a Camry comes with leather seats.

The seat ergonomics and design are far more important than if the material is leather. I really disliked the first Tesla seats because they were not very ergonomic but the current seats are awesome. If anyone still disagrees, take a current Tesla on a test drive. You will love the look and feel of the seats!

 

[evster]

We have white vegan in our X and the textile (vegan on side bolsters etc) in our new S. The textile seats are by far the best seats and I would strongly recommend them to anyone who consider a black interior anyway. So much more comfortable and no sweaty back. Looks good also now when the seat design is the same.

The wear of vegan/textile is also excellent and it will look like new year after year. The wrinkles in leather seats have always been an annoying factor for me. Hate leather for this reason alone.

Many of the germans start to offer textile seats in their car. I drove a brand new Porsche 911 GTS a month ago with textile seats. Wow, so much better than the leather alternative.

 

[spectrum]

Almost no car under $125K these days has genuine leather. It is almost always an extremely pricey option. I prefer the synthetic. It seems lower maintenance, doesn't kill cows, doesn't smell, and hopefully won't ever crack like normal leather does.

 

[mxnym]

Personally, I hate synthetic leather because it doesn't transfer heat away the way real leather does. My number one preference would be real leather, number two would be cloth. The ultra white is pretty and cleans easy, but I'd prefer function over form.

Isn't this more a lack of venting on the seats?i

No, this is a problem that has always existed in all vehicles with synthetic leather seats. My X has ultra white interior without vented seats, and I have driven signature series Model X with ultra white seats with perforation and ventilation. The ventilated seats in the 2016 signature series are actually worse even with the fan on because you simply end up with less surface area to absorb/transfer heat and don't get that much airflow. Vented and ventilated seats suck in every experience I have had with them. Cooled seats (peltier element with some air flow) are better than unventilated seats, but properly cooled seats (A/C source and major air flow) are awesome.

Almost no car under $125K these days has genuine leather. It is almost always an extremely pricey option. I prefer the synthetic. It seems lower maintenance, doesn't kill cows, doesn't smell, and hopefully won't ever crack like normal leather does.

Umm, no... Even low-to-mid-tier furniture has leather seating surfaces, and I'm certain vehicles under 100K did as well when I was shopping around before purchasing my X. You may have to spend $125K to get a vehicle where the dash, bolsters, console, etc. are real leather, but the seating surfaces are still leather in anything decent.