Cloth sux in any climate.

 

I gotta say I love the feel of leather seats under ideal circumstances but in the Texas and NC summer heat leather sucks. It doesn't matter how long you leave the AC blasting your backside is still going to be soaking wet until you get out and let the leather cool down. There's just no way around it. Not to mention the 1st degree burns you get if your skin accidentally touches the leather. If you want your seats to be durable and stain resistant maybe you should consider a marvel of modern engineering, vinyl<?xml:namespace prefix = v ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" /><v:shapetype id=_x0000_t75 stroked="f" filled="f" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" oreferrelative="t" o:spt="75" coordsize="21600,21600"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"></v:stroke><v:formulas><v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></v:f></v:formulas><vath o:connecttype="rect" gradientshapeok="t" o:extrusionok="f"></vath><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"></o:lock></v:shapetype><v:shape id=_x0000_i1025 style="WIDTH: 12pt; HEIGHT: 12pt" alt="" type="#_x0000_t75"><v:imagedata o:href=\"https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif\" src="file:///C:/DOCUME~2/Owner/LOCALS~1/Temp/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.gif"></v:imagedata></v:shape>. Just kidding.

 

I'm in upstate NY. I've decided to get the black leather in my FX4 instead of the cloth. I looked at both and like the cloth, but REALLY like the leather. That picture in the new F-150 catalog, FX4 section is just awesome! My brother has 2 vehicles with black leather and no heat and says they're great. He's never needed the heat, and he said summer isn't that bad, it's warm at first, but is fine after a few minutes. I'm pretty psyched. I can't wait to see my truck when it comes in. I guess I should find a good deal on one first. That continues tonight. Thanks for the input guys, I really appreciate it.

 

I love the look and feel of leather, however, being here in South Texas...it's not the best way to go. Sticking to your seats in the summer...ugh! I ordered cloth on my truck for that reason alone. Another thing, with leather, if you 'slide' in and out of your truck instead of actually getting up into it, the edge of the seat will wear and look terrible in no time. And yes, cloth does wear, too. Just not as quick.

 

Gotta go with MrF150 also...I've had cars with leather interior. Nice to look at but I live in So Cal and when the temp gets up over 90 it takes too long for leather to cool down. Since I wear shirt and tie to work by the time I get to work my back is wet with sweat. Also leather doesn't grip you like cloth does. When you make a fast turn, you slide around more. Go with the cloth, it looks pretty good, stays warmer in winter, cooler in summer, and when you treat it with one of the many stain resistant products on the market it's actually easier to maintain than leather. Leather WILL fade and crack with age, take my word for it. I'm a sales manager at a dealership and we see bad leather in almost all trade-ins. IMHO

 

Yeah, again, I'll say that it's all about climate conditions and preferences. But I disagree with those that say that leather is more durable than the cloth. The cloth on my new F-150 is very nice and good quality (durable) and anything I've ever known to be leather in a vehicle degrades quicker if not maintained.

 

They are all good...I am glad there was only 2 options.....can you imagine if they had a rubber seat option? How about sand paper option?

I have Leather and I like leather...all the people that have cloth like cloth...all the people that got leather like leather. Simple is as simple does...

 

Those of us in the XLT and lower don't have to make that tough decision so I'll leave it to you high and mighty Lariat and FX4 people...just joking, I love my new XLT and it wasn't much cheaper than the FX4.

 

Haha....right, I'm an XLT owner (w/5.4 Triton) and I have cloth seats but my truck was still over $30k....I don't think of my truck as "low class."

 

Leather. No I do not feel any less masculine or rugged because of it. Leather and sweat? OK, which one is going to soak up more of those wonderful body fluids for everyone to enjoy for the next several months? LOL. I do like the "cooled" seats idea!

 

In Houston, I prefer cloth. So does my wife. I have a 99 and 04 XLT, both with cloth and 5.4s. Both are holding up well. I also prefer my 40/60 seats in my 99 XLT SCab Flairside to the captain's setup in my 04 XLT SuperCrew. No matter what, I prefer Fords to the rest.

Awhile back, a group of us was riding in a late model Mercedes. The owner was bragging about it and asked me if I liked it. I told him it was ok, but it was not an F-150. It got quieter in the car after that.

 

LEATHER!!!

Higher resale value.
Easier to clean.
Doens't soak up your sweaty smell, stains, etc.

Worried about those "hot" seats in the summer? Well, then get a remote start and have them cooled down by the time you jump in ... like me.

 

I kinda like Vinyl myself. You can hose that out, and it's not $500 extra. It never stains. It just gets kinda crappy after about 16 years, like you get little cracks and stuff, and have to put duct tape on it.

 

At first I'd say go for leather, its my prefferance, but go for whatever feels the best while driving.

Hey I wonder, since you can get cloth seat covers, does anybody make removable leather ones?

Alvie.

 

I have the leather and am glad I got it. However, I have 15K miles on my truck now and am getting the leather on the drivers seat replaced. They are very easy to clean but everyone says how durable they are. I now know that I must be very careful entering or exiting the truck not to slide across the seat or I can damage the leather. P.S. the dealer is replacing it for free.