6 ms·

I am really excited about the Bolt and planning to get one next year when the lease on my Nissan Leaf is up. However, I really dislike how leather seats are bun

by ebbv 10y ago

I am really excited about the Bolt and planning to get one next year when the lease on my Nissan Leaf is up. However, I really dislike how leather seats are bundled with other options on cars nowadays. I do not want leather seats. They are annoying to maintain and easily damaged by my big dogs. I'm really hoping there's some way I can order a Bolt with the other options (especially heated seats) and no leather seats, but there probably isn't.

k26dr 10y ago
Is it possible to heat non-leather seats without a fire hazard?
- syntheticnature 10y ago
  Not the person to whom you're replying, but I've looked at multiple cars with factory heated, non-leather seats, so I would assume so.
- Kadin 10y ago
  GM has heated cloth and leatherette seats on many of its trucks. I think the decision to package heating and leather together is for marketing reasons, not because of any technology-compatibility issues. (They're both "premium" options and bundling them together makes sense if you are constructing a multi-thousand-dollar package.)
- Someone1234 10y ago
  Leather seats have the same padding below them as non-leather. It isn't a solid chunk of leather, just a leather outer layer. So in answer to your question the fire hazard of both is identical and many MANY vehicles with non-leather seats have seat warmers (including mine).
- ebbv 10y ago
  Of course. Both of my cars have cloth heats with seat heaters.
illumin8 10y ago
You should definitely check out the BMW i3. I just bought the 2017 model with Range Extender. It has some excellent cloth seat options, and favors use of recycled materials that are environmentally friendly over leather (although you can still get leather if you really want it). The i3 is not only a blast to drive, I think it gives the Chevy a run for its money. First, it has 114 mile electric range, and an additional 70 mile gas range (in the range extender version) by firing up a small 2 cylinder generator. So, you essentially have an infinite range as long as you're within 70 miles of a gas station. Also, it's a BMW, and drives like a premium car. Expect great handling, and great performance. It's BMW's fastest production car from 0-42 mph, beating out even all of the M cars, so that tells you a little bit about how zippy it is.
- Tempest1981 10y ago
  The tires look so skinny -- is the handling really "great"? Or just snappy? Tire sizes: Front: P155/70R19, rear: P175/60R19
  - illumin8 10y ago
    The handling is truly impressive. Perfect 50/50 weight distribution, and the battery is in the floor so you have a very low center of gravity. It can also do a U-turn on a 2 lane road, as it has an extremely tight turning radius. It's very fast off the line a well - it is BMW's fastest production vehicle from 0-42 mph, beating even the M class cars, so that tells you how "snappy" it is. I would test drive one; you'll be impressed.
- ebbv 10y ago
  The i3 is cool but I want a pure EV. There's no comparison between pure EV and hybrids in terms of how much nicer they are to own. We've had our Leaf for about 2.5 years and the only maintenance we've done is tire rotations and replaced the cabin air filter. Even though the engine in the i3 REx and the Volt don't get used as much as the engine in a Prius, it still adds a lot of failure points and a lot of additional maintenance that pure EVs don't have.
Grishnakh 10y ago
Huh? Annoying to maintain? Leather is really easy to maintain: you just wipe it off with a damp cloth! It does help to use some leather cleaner and conditioner on it a couple times a year. But leather seats are easy to keep looking new for many years; cloth simply doesn't age well like this. Try spilling a drink on cloth and see how easy it is to clean compared to leather. And you're complaining about damage from dogs? How do you think cloth seats are going to fare with dogs? Most people who have nice cars and dogs end up getting some kind of fancy seat covers or other dog-specific solution, as far as I can tell, so their seats don't get ruined.
- ebbv 10y ago
  I've owned leather seats in the past, properly maintenance requires more than just wiping with a damp cloth. Yes, you do have to use leather cleaner and conditioner if you want them to last a long time. Cloth holds up much better to having drinks spilled on it than leather. The leather could potentially be permanently damaged if you don't clean it up quickly. Most cloth seats will just need paper towels. If you really don't clean it up for a long time you can steam clean cloth seats, which you cannot do with leather. I'm wondering if maybe you've never had real leather seats and are mistaking pleather or vinyl for leather? Vinyl seats will hold up pretty well to abuse, but they are awful to sit in. My cloth seats hold up fine to my dogs. Typically cloth seats nowadays are a lot more resistant to scratching and tearing than leather seats are.

by ebbv 10y ago

k26dr 10y ago

Is it possible to heat non-leather seats without a fire hazard?

syntheticnature 10y ago
Not the person to whom you're replying, but I've looked at multiple cars with factory heated, non-leather seats, so I would assume so.
Kadin 10y ago
GM has heated cloth and leatherette seats on many of its trucks. I think the decision to package heating and leather together is for marketing reasons, not because of any technology-compatibility issues. (They're both "premium" options and bundling them together makes sense if you are constructing a multi-thousand-dollar package.)
Someone1234 10y ago
Leather seats have the same padding below them as non-leather. It isn't a solid chunk of leather, just a leather outer layer. So in answer to your question the fire hazard of both is identical and many MANY vehicles with non-leather seats have seat warmers (including mine).
ebbv 10y ago
Of course. Both of my cars have cloth heats with seat heaters.

illumin8 10y ago

You should definitely check out the BMW i3. I just bought the 2017 model with Range Extender. It has some excellent cloth seat options, and favors use of recycled materials that are environmentally friendly over leather (although you can still get leather if you really want it). The i3 is not only a blast to drive, I think it gives the Chevy a run for its money. First, it has 114 mile electric range, and an additional 70 mile gas range (in the range extender version) by firing up a small 2 cylinder generator. So, you essentially have an infinite range as long as you're within 70 miles of a gas station. Also, it's a BMW, and drives like a premium car. Expect great handling, and great performance. It's BMW's fastest production car from 0-42 mph, beating out even all of the M cars, so that tells you a little bit about how zippy it is.

Tempest1981 10y ago
The tires look so skinny -- is the handling really "great"? Or just snappy? Tire sizes: Front: P155/70R19, rear: P175/60R19
- illumin8 10y ago
  The handling is truly impressive. Perfect 50/50 weight distribution, and the battery is in the floor so you have a very low center of gravity. It can also do a U-turn on a 2 lane road, as it has an extremely tight turning radius. It's very fast off the line a well - it is BMW's fastest production vehicle from 0-42 mph, beating even the M class cars, so that tells you how "snappy" it is. I would test drive one; you'll be impressed.
ebbv 10y ago
The i3 is cool but I want a pure EV. There's no comparison between pure EV and hybrids in terms of how much nicer they are to own. We've had our Leaf for about 2.5 years and the only maintenance we've done is tire rotations and replaced the cabin air filter. Even though the engine in the i3 REx and the Volt don't get used as much as the engine in a Prius, it still adds a lot of failure points and a lot of additional maintenance that pure EVs don't have.

Grishnakh 10y ago

Huh? Annoying to maintain? Leather is really easy to maintain: you just wipe it off with a damp cloth! It does help to use some leather cleaner and conditioner on it a couple times a year. But leather seats are easy to keep looking new for many years; cloth simply doesn't age well like this. Try spilling a drink on cloth and see how easy it is to clean compared to leather. And you're complaining about damage from dogs? How do you think cloth seats are going to fare with dogs? Most people who have nice cars and dogs end up getting some kind of fancy seat covers or other dog-specific solution, as far as I can tell, so their seats don't get ruined.

ebbv 10y ago
I've owned leather seats in the past, properly maintenance requires more than just wiping with a damp cloth. Yes, you do have to use leather cleaner and conditioner if you want them to last a long time. Cloth holds up much better to having drinks spilled on it than leather. The leather could potentially be permanently damaged if you don't clean it up quickly. Most cloth seats will just need paper towels. If you really don't clean it up for a long time you can steam clean cloth seats, which you cannot do with leather. I'm wondering if maybe you've never had real leather seats and are mistaking pleather or vinyl for leather? Vinyl seats will hold up pretty well to abuse, but they are awful to sit in. My cloth seats hold up fine to my dogs. Typically cloth seats nowadays are a lot more resistant to scratching and tearing than leather seats are.