Seat Ateca SUV Forum banner

Xcellence leather seats - good or bad?

16K views 27 replies 17 participants last post by  Katana 
#1 ·
Hi. Just ordered my Xcellence so I have the 'No Option' of leather seats. I've never had a car with leather seats before and I've tended to avoid them. This is mainly due to the bad press over them being either too hot, too cold, or too slippery. In order to allay my concerns, can some of you guys give me some words of encouragement that the Ateca seats, at least, are good ones?

Thanks
 
#2 ·
Oh God, don't get Tell started on this :lol:

They're not particularly cold, and with heated seats it doesn't really matter anyway. They are definitely not the slippy type either. Too early too tell in the UK whether they'll get hot or not ☺
 
#3 ·
I love mine, sorry Tell & Thomas(Autogefühl) :D I don't find them particularly cold or hot, except when I stick the seat heater on and get a lovely hot bot ;) You don't tend to slip at all especially with the fairly sporty seats that hug your sides. I also don't find the interior too dark with the black colour and headliner. and lastly I really like the smell of them :oops:
 
#4 ·
I find them supportive and good for my back, which my previous car didn't do any favours to. There was one journey I thought they were a bit chilly, but that was it. I had a good run down a twisty B-road and wasn't sliding around.
My dad does find the passenger seat quite firm, but he's only been in it for short runs, and generally doesn't like high-riding cars.
 
#5 ·
I really like the leather seats in my new Xcellence. The leather isn't the very slick variety, they're actually quite grippy - more so than the cloth in the old Altea. I also find them to be better shaped and more supportive - I have a dodgy back with a couple of degenerate lumbar discs, and these are definitely better than the Altea and also more comfortable than almost anything since the leather sports seats on my old 1987-vintage BMW 325. There's no sliding around while cornering, for instance. The adjustable lumbar support is useful too - many car seats seem to force the driver into a specific position with a very flat lower back and the shoulder area pushed forward, but the Ateca leather seats fit me almost like a glove. Of course, your preferred ergonomic profile may vary, but I would suggest that most people ought to be able to find a comfortable position, and the seat heating is a nice bonus too. :)
 
#6 ·
Thanks guys, that's good to hear. I'll wait to hear from Tell. I can see he's a keen poster.

Kindness71 - what you get up to in the privacy of your own garage is your business. Just keep the door shut :shock: .
 
#7 ·
tobydog said:
Thanks guys, that's good to hear. I'll wait to hear from Tell. I can see he's a keen poster.

Kindness71 - what you get up to in the privacy of your own garage is your business. Just keep the door shut :shock: .
Hahaha
I have to confess loving the smell and feel too

I love having heated seats - I don't find the leather any colder than cloth though as it's not like I'm naked on them

I don't slide - my fat backside fits snuggly between the mouldings of the seat and keeps me in place

Used to slide on leather in a yeti I had, was horrible, but these grip better

I find them really comfortable
Only thing that would be better for me is if the back was a bit shorter so headrest a bit lower

:mrgreen:
 
#8 ·
Like everything in life there are advantages and disadvantages. I do find leather mcuh colder first thing in the morning but that only lasts a minute or so until the heater comes thru. As long as you care for them, the quality of leather VW use is is better than most and should last without any obvious signs of wear. One advantage that lots of people overlook, leather is dead easy to clean!

I treat leather just before and after winter to keep it flexible - never had an issue. Unless your arse is like a cheese grater, you will slide on leather. When people talk about not sliding on leather, it's to do with the design of the seats. Xcellence have a sporty-type seat - it's the side bolsters that stop you from sliding, not the leather.
Kindness71 said:
sorry Thomas(Autogefühl) :D
The bloke gets on my tit's everythime he mentions this but I think it was the Ateca video he went a little overboard - "Alcantara stops people from hunting animals". Talk about poetic licence! Cavemen used to hunt animals if they wanted to give the wife a nice coat for her birthday but come on... hunting animals for your leather seats?
 
#9 ·
They aren't bad but they aren't very high quality leather (which is why it isn't so smooth). Rather have leather than cloth though, I just wish it didn't look so cheap especially on the back seat.
 
#10 ·
I'm waiting for the summer. There was one sunny day in March when I got in it at lunch time and I got a glimpse of the summer, a burnt bump. The sun had been shining directly through the front. 45 minutes latter the seat was still hot. Cold in winter isn't an issue with heated seats but chilling them down in the summer is something different, could carry one of those deflectors or put a throw on the seats which I saw someone had done last summer locally to their leather seats....
 
#12 ·
My bum retained the heat till I got out of it 45 minutes latter (the chrome on the steering wheel reflecting was driving me mad as well on that day). I'm sure this is a glimpse of how the summer will be with leather seats. I might just do what I saw a local do sit on a throw and be done with it till summers over.
 
#13 ·
I love the leather seats in Ateca - I was affraid they are gonna be cold but they are not at all. An they are heated anyways. Will see how it goes in summer but I am really satisfied. The side support is great and they look sporty.

 
#14 ·
Tell said:
My bum retained the heat till I got out of it 45 minutes latter (the chrome on the steering wheel reflecting was driving me mad as well on that day). I'm sure this is a glimpse of how the summer will be with leather seats. I might just do what I saw a local do sit on a throw and be done with it till summers over.
The majority of Audi's (from A4 up anyway), BMW's (3series up), Mercedes ( C-Class up), etc all have leather. Does anyone buy a Jaguar without leather? Same with Porsche etc Not to mention all the high end models in the range of every manufacturer (seat Xcellence) that have leather. Just think for a second of all the cars on our roads that have leather seats. And you're suggesting all those folk are uncomfortable when the sun shines?

Better still, you're talking about here in the sunkissed UK. Presumably nobody has leather seats in slightly warmer climates of say Downtown Dubai or Southern California?

If there is a problem, perhaps the problem lies with you Tell, not the seats. :D
 
#15 ·
Just noticed that one of the forum members lives in Spain (hot!) and has alcantara in his Xcellence. Maybe SEAT do recognise that leather isn't always best in hot climates.
 
#16 ·
Leather is a very expensive option here so I was not interested and I certainly don't want heated seats! The Alcantara looks great and feels really good. It's just a shame that you have to pay €104 if you want black rather than brown!
 
#18 ·
I'd imagine that when it comes to leather upholstery and hot/sunny countries, the colour of the leather would make a fairly significant difference. SEAT are only offering black leather in UK, choice of black or brown in other places, and alcantara/cloth options in yet other places. Other manufacturers often offer a range of other colours including e.g. cream leather, or a mix of leather and cloth, etc.
I do find it a bit odd that the options are so limited and geographically sensitive, considering that the cars are all made in the same factory... clearly the marketing chaps have had a hand in this and they know much better than the buyers what the customer would like to sit on... :?
 
#19 ·
clearly the marketing chaps have had a hand in this and they know much better than the buyers what the customer would like to sit on... :?

:D :D :D
 
#20 ·
They do have have leather in Golf's in California where I've read long posts of people burning their legs on it and general unhappiness. Alcantara features on UK Leon's. At the end of the day I decided that rather MK Seat staff being leather queens and wall to wall Freddie Mercury in their offices, the approach was the wash down sell on at the end of the three year PCPs, the car is worth more to them in leather than fabric since it will better retain a second hand value least on the Xcellences. Brown leather probably went the same way as the Cappuccino colour in the UK, somebody in Seat UK doesn't like that colour.

I resigned myself to leather but know I can do the throw approach in summer or get a windscreen reflector to sort out the burning issue of black leather. After I had my coffee wobble in the car at Xmas I saw the merits of leather over fabric for keeping clean where I would have had coffee stained seats now.
 
#21 ·
Have your trired Halfords Upholstery Cleaner ? £3.50 I did a amazing job cleaning the coffee stain off my drivers seat on my old Leon, in fact you couldn't even tell it had coffee on it . The Waitrose free coffee was not so free - lesson don't drink in the car or take non-spill mug with you!
 
#22 ·
I had leather which of course I didn't want but coffee wipes off, chocolate chips needs a bit of water to get rid of the mark off leather. Problem was I wasn't kitted out with my little cup mat / tray at that stage which you can put across the top dash. I was looking for somewhere to put the mug and caught my elbow. Best to plan a picnic in the Ateca given it's short of storage spaces and vacant surfaces.

I then bought a German narrow chopping board sold in Ratio which has non slip legs which is flat but back home Sainsbury's sells narrow trays which are sufficient for a mug on the dash. These trays fit perfectly along the dash and stop mug rings. Now mat down, cup goes directly on it rather then waving it around looking for somewhere to place it.

Your cleaning agents might be handy for the non Xcellence's in the UK which have the cloth seats.
 
#24 ·
I have had leather seats in my current Kuga and the car before that, a Focus, and the heat aspect has been a little troublesome in that my wife's seat became too hot in the sun and I experienced sweating on long journeys, for the leather seats do not breathe as well as fabric. We solved this by means of lamb's wool seat covers. I had beige ones for the Kuga, so purchased a pair of grey ones for the Rodium Grey Ateca. They are cool in the summer, warm in the winter and the heated seats bring warmth through them when needed. They are also hard-wearing; my Kuga seats are 5 years old and show very little wear, if any.

View attachment 496
 

Attachments

#25 ·
The other option to consider is having the seats covered in Alcantara by local car seat upholsterer, my brother-in-law many years ago got a classic BMW completely reupholstered.
 
#26 ·
The Xcellence seats are perforated leather, so they're a bit more breathable than 'solid' leather would be. I've found them to be fine so far and very good for comfort.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top