[baum9260]

I will be buying a new 2009 Escape in the upcoming weeks. Last decision to make is leather vs fabric seats. I want leather while my wife (a vegetarian) wants fabric. I've read that there are problems with the fabric seats in the 08/09 Escapes staining very easily. Can anyone comment on this? Also does anyone wish they would have got leather instead of fabric or vice versa? I'd be interested to hear comments and opinions.
Thanks,

 

[zippyworld]

If I had it to do over again I would have gone for leather in my 08. I've always had cloth seats in past vehicles, but the new material they are using in the escape does seem to stain very easily if you don't take care of it right away, they also "feel" different than the old type of cloth did.

If you get cloth be sure to get them scotchgarded or buy good quality seat covers.

 

[camusdarrach]

My Maverick, although only the 2.0 manual version, came with the optional leather seats, and I would never again settle for cloth upholstry, as they are so easy to keep clean, esp when you have 2 young children and a dog.

 

[scanny]

I got Escape 2008 Limited and leather seats is the only option. Frankly I liked cloth seats, but since I had no choice I settled for leather. So now I can say that I like leather seats way more than cloth and my next vehicle will have leather seats if I'll have enough money to affford it.

Escape leather seats are not as easy to stain but the are easy to clean. I have a light interior and I'm surprised that even after a year of driving it still stay light And we were doing quite a few outdoor activities with my family sometimes getting quite dirty especially after biking through the muddy trails. Kids spill they drinks on back seat and make it dirty in some other misterious ways but all it takes is to wipe seats with dump cloth to get it back clean.

The only thing I don't like about light interior in my Escape is that a steering wheel gets dirty, so I cleaned it a couple of times with warm water. But other than that I would go with leather even with the light one again. Besides I think all leather seats are heated and it's a great feature in winter.

 

[Dasha]

My Mariner is the first vehicle I have had w/leather interior and I will never go back to cloth upholstery. So much easier to keep clean and I just like the way it looks. :thumb:

 

[Colleen]

I love mine too, and even with the lighter color it is very easy to keep clean. :thumb:

I say go with the leather !! :yes:

 

[abide01]

i have cloth in my 05, but wifey has leather in her van, an 04 sienna. the leather is a way better option, i use armour all leather seat cleaner, on a weekly basis {3 teenagers}. but every other month use maguires leather treatment on them. we've had the van for 18 months, and the seats still look good. who ever had van before us must have taken care of them as well. they looked brand new the day we bought it.

 

[Ajax]

I have an 05 with cloth, and I'm seriously considering buying all leather seats to replace the cloth. They stain from anything, and it never comes out. My seats look terrible! Go with leather!

 

[GreatEscape2004]

We have leather in both our vehicles (wifeys Escape and my Chrysler LHS) ... love them. Unfortunately the escape doesn't have heated seats (must have been a separate option in '04), but my LHS does and I love them !

 

[6foot9inchmonster]

Well, looks like I'll have to go against the grain here. I hate leather seats and will most likely never buy a car with them ever again. I have had leather seats in every car since the day I turned 16, 6.5 years ago, until my tribute. They always seemed like a great idea at the time, but then I would always remember why. No matter how cold it was in the car, my butt and back would always end up soaked in sweat by the time I got out of the car. Plus the maintenance isn't much fun. I would use leatherique leather conditioner on them every 3 months as suggested and their leather cleaner every month and over time, they still ended up developing cracks. Once cracks start, everything goes downhill. When you clean them, all the dirt goes into the cracks and they end up being black and standing out.

I would much rather go with an all black cloth interior and scotchgard it then have to deal with leather ever again.

 

[theescaperoute]

I personally haven't had any issues at all keeping my cloth seats clean in my '03, and people love to abuse my interior.

 

[jshak07]

my 08 escape had black with brown inserts cloth seats and i hate them.. You do have to clean your seats very often.. My seats are in the process of gettin re-upholstered with suede and leather and I wish I would have just got the leather seat option to begin with.. (Would have saved some out of pocket money and just added into my payments) But my vote would go for leather!

 

[inspectorgadget83]

I'm putting in my vote for leather. I have them in my 2009 and they are great. I haven't had any problems through hot or cold weather. While they are cold in the winter, the heaters get things comfortable in no time. Also a major selling point for me was not getting shocked on the door every time I get out.

 

[jonas1022]

Also a major selling point for me was not getting shocked on the door every time I get out.

I have had both, and still do. The Bullitt has leather, the Tribute has cloth as does the F-150. The cloth in the Tribute is a recycled material if I recall correctly. Made from water and pop bottles. It does help generate static, but so does my leather in my Bullitt. I think it's more your feet rubbing around on the carpet. The cloth in the Triplets isn't the same as the F-150, and are inferior to it in use. Having said that, I'm good with the cloth in the Tribute just the same, and would not change my decision even knowing what I do about them. It's still about personal preference. do like the leather better? You should buy it then, or vice versa. :thumb:

 

[Anth0ny]

Out F-150 Lariat back home has leather, and my escape has cloth. I would take the leather over cloth ANY DAY! I find the leather to be much easier to clean, and it just looks much better than the cloth. Also, the leather doesn't stain like cloth does.

 

[camusdarrach]

At work, all new coaches are now being delivered with leather seating, purley because of the durability/ease of cleaning, and the "wow" factor that it gives passengers when they board the coach. :shades:
2 of our local bus companies, Transdev and Arriva, are also having leather seats fitted to their buses for the same reason, as whilst it costs more, they are recouping the added investment by the fact that the cleaners can do their job a lot quicker.

 

[JIMMYJOHN]

I my self would much rather have the cloth seats. Leather is really hot in the summer, however you can heat them in the winter. My 03 has cloth and I'll stick with them

 

[jonas1022]

I have the seats on the Tribute Scotch Guarded. That was before I found out that it has made it's way into the drinking water and other things natural. :doh: We have no stains on our fabric yet, and the wife, son and friends eat, drink and whatever (puppy puke) has happened to them already. No stains, no discoloring. But, it is Scotch Guarded... :shrug:

 

[Squishy]

The thing I don't like about leather is how fragile it is compared to cloth seats (at least by perception). I have a big "janitor" keychain clipped to my belt, which I have to remove every time I get into a car with leather seats. I also have a utility knife and a Leatherman on my belt at all times, along with a cell phone holder that has sharp edges at the right angles. In a few years I might even have a duty belt at times which will have even more sharp objects on it.

I normally don't mind the cold weather, but leather seats are COLD in our -20'C weather.

 

[Spark757]

I vote for cloth. I've had cloth seats in both cars I've owned, my '05 Tribute and my old '96 Chevy Blazer, and I never had any problems with the cloth seats or keeping them clean. Of course, nobody really butchered my interior so I can't really complain, but I've always preferred the look & feel of cloth over leather.
I just really don't like how hot leather gets in the summer or even in the winter sun, and how cold it gets when you get into your car in the early morning (for school!!) or at night, or just in cold weather. It's the worst of either extreme in my opinion. At least cloth is the same temperature as your car which is more bearable.
Although leather may be easier to keep clean in the short run, in the long run (in my opinion) it will be worse to deal with as you acquire cracks and dirt in those cracks...