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Cloth seat regrets?

4K views 42 replies 32 participants last post by  Slowstang305 
#1 ·
I'm wanting to get into a Wrangler sooner than later, but the price of Sahara's is delaying my "plunge" into the Jeep world. One of the reasons for initially wanting a Sahara is the creature comfort of leather seats, due to their ease of cleaning, general comfort, and less likely to develop unwanted odors over time. If I had some reassurance that the cloth seats were of high quality and held up well over time, I could jump into a Sport relatively quickly.

Has anyone out there purchased a Sport model, and wish they had upgraded to get the leather seats of a Sahara?

Thanks guys!
 
#3 ·
My buddy's Sahara came with factory leather and it's not very good. I intend on putting Katzkins in mind. Probably closer to winter time as I'll add heated seats as well. Negotiate after market leather when you go buy your Jeep. And confirm that you're getting Katzkins.
 
#8 ·
I have a sport with cloth...and a 3.5 year old. The seats clean well. I also put neoprene seat covers on them for a little more padding....they are nice. And when it's cold, the neoprene warms quickly.

I've had leather in other cars before....and in the summer the leather feels like the surface of the sun. And if you plan to drive the Jeep with the top off a lot, it's going to bake in the sun.

Just my two cents
 
#10 ·
My 2012 has the saddle color leather seats. I am waiting now for a replacement for the bottom half of the drivers seat. It's pulling apart at the seam (two places) and splitting apart at the left side after 23,000 miles. I'm not that heavy, only 178 pounds. I think the leather option is of very poor quality.
 
#12 ·
If I had some reassurance that the cloth seats were of high quality and held up well over time, I could jump into a Sport relatively quickly.

Has anyone out there purchased a Sport model, and wish they had upgraded to get the leather seats of a Sahara?

Thanks guys!
I have an '02 Sport. The cloth seats are in pretty d*mn good shape for their age, too.

Seat covers make all the difference. I've used seat covers or blankets on all my vehicles' seats, and mats on the carpets. And at every trade-in, the difference in condition of the interior has been remarked upon. ;-)

YMMV, and invariably will...
 
#13 ·
I'm personally biased towards cloth seats (unless it's high quality leather that's ventilated and heated) but id say save your money on the leather and go buy some trek armor away covers, THEY ARE AWESOME!!!
 
#14 ·
Our Rubicon has cloth and it's very nice, they have gotten mud on them and where easy to clean and are comfortable, the leather IMO would be murder in the hot sun, another thing to consider is that not all leather is the same, a lot of so called leather seats are only leather in the middle where your butt actually is and vinyl on the outside edges which will crack over time especially if you are in a place where it gets cold
 
#16 ·
Wow, from reading other posts on various forums, I was under the assumption that leather was the only way to go! Your responses are making me lean towards getting a Sport model.

And with the money I saved, I could splurge later in the year on bigger tires and lift!
I did this. I bought a very basic Sport and have the most awesome tire/wheels and a 2.5 lift.

Every time I see my baby I smile. She is beautiful.

And I need to come up with a name........soon.
 
#21 ·
I've got a 14 JKU sport with cloth. I went with the sport so I could mod it the way I wanted. tires, wheels, lift, bumpers, etc... I wanted cloth because I was worried about leather in the sun with the top off as much as I planned to have it off. I figured cloth would be both forgiving of the elements with the top off, and my hind end when I sat in the jeep after being in the sun all day. My seats still look brand new, but I am one of the "clay-bar Nazis" and I've only got 4K on my jeep so far. It's not that mine never sees a trail, not a mall crawler, but I do typically hit the car wash on the way home from wheelin :)

As previously mentioned, you are pry better off looking into the aftermarket as budget and time permit. Buy a sport and build it how you want. Unless you can't live without the painted fenders :)

--Jeff
 
#23 ·
My leather has been fine.
But I do wonder if something changed after 2012 with the seat re-design?
 
#24 ·
If I were to list the reasons why I got rid of my '12 Toyota 4Runner Limited (w/Leather) and got my '14 Sahara - the seats would be towards the top of the list.
The Cloth seats in my Sahara are comfortable as hell and IMO well done.
 
#25 ·
I will not buy leather in anything... In Arizona leather gets so damn hot in the summer that you can't sit on the seats without seat covers.

I went 500 miles to get my Sahara spec'd my way with cloth seats and wouldn't do it any other way.
 
#26 ·
I love leather, but ordered cloth on ours for a few different reasons.

  1. The rubi cloth is really nice, nicer than our '13 sport
  2. We plan on trek armor, so why spend the $ and cover it up
  3. Leather with no top/doors = fried legs/butt
However I do prefer the look of leather and the ease of cleaning.
 
#27 ·
I'm wanting to get into a Wrangler sooner than later, but the price of Sahara's is delaying my "plunge" into the Jeep world. One of the reasons for initially wanting a Sahara is the creature comfort of leather seats, due to their ease of cleaning, general comfort, and less likely to develop unwanted odors over time. If I had some reassurance that the cloth seats were of high quality and held up well over time, I could jump into a Sport relatively quickly. Has anyone out there purchased a Sport model, and wish they had upgraded to get the leather seats of a Sahara? Thanks guys!
Leather is nice but top down with ac off.... I'm not a fan of swamp ass.
 
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