[bhoobhoo]

At the rate I'm going with the options, my MCS is going to cost more than what I was expecting to pay.

Any opinions on whether it is worth it to get the leather seats?

How about the side skirts?

[whovous]

I thi the leather is the single most disappointing thing about the Mini. It all looks loose, cheap, and poorly dyed to me. I did not really want a fabric interior, but the leather offerings really lef me no choice.

[Windshadow]

Shrug I like the Cordoba Beige in my MINI it is not loose cheap or poorly made...

[MINIAC]

People have looked at my Panther Black Leatherette seats and said "Nice leather"

Dark Silver Space Cloth is nice too.

Save the $1,300 ... you'll need it for a Whalen Shift Machine, glove box orgainizer, performance goodies, etc

[whovous]

BRG and Cordoba Beige is, to my mind, the perfect Mini color combination. If I could have bought a solid color rather than two tone, and if the letter had been of better quality, I would have been happy for life. I sometimes regret not getting the leather, but the colors just don't look right to me.

Windshadow, some day I'd like to put our BRGs side by side and have a shine contest! Yours looks mighty fine!

[Z1GZAG N]

I love my Lapis Blue Leather. The Mini just would be near appealing to me without it.

[Windshadow]

Quote: Originally Posted by whovous

BRG and Cordoba Beige is, to my mind, the perfect Mini color combination. If I could have bought a solid color rather than two tone, and if the letter had been of better quality, I would have been happy for life. I sometimes regret not getting the leather, but the colors just don't look right to me.

Windshadow, some day I'd like to put our BRGs side by side and have a shine contest! Yours looks mighty fine!

Perhaps we can make it happen I start my trip arround the U.S.A. at 5:45PM tonight where are you?

[Doctor Wha?]

First, I'll commend Windshadow's outstanding taste in color selection...

Second, I'll agree with his assessment of the leather. My Cordoba Beige skins look and feel great; smooth, soft, and very comfortable. I've had cars with cloth seats, and yes, even the dreaded... vinyl!!! So for me, the leather has been a definite step up.

What's more, the dial-in lumbar support that comes with all leather seats has been quite worth it just on its own merits.

Overall, I think the leather is one of the better choices I made in my car. I wouldn't go back to anything less.

.02,
DW

[whovous]

I am in Washington, DC. Should I start buffing now?

Green and tan is the absolutely perfect combination for a British car, but I'm sorry, that leather looks loose even in the picture. Maybe it is just an English thing that I don't understand. When I went to school in England in some prior century I had a leather chessboard made, and was disappointed in that as well. They just seem to do leather different.

[Windshadow]

Well I will be at the new Air and Space museum at Dulles most of the day on Monday... Staying at the Courtyard Washington Dulles Airport Chantilly Sun and monday nights... expect to get in late on Sun but I fear I will not be too 'buff' as I travel on this trip

[whovous]

And I will be in court all day Friday. If it rains like it looks likely to, I won't be too buff either, as I park on the street.

[Ibb]

The full leather is nice, but its alot of money that can be used for other things as mentioned by Miniac. I've gon for the Cl\Lea Satellite Black option.

I think it looks really sporty, I would go for the leather option if they had a Black\Red combo. seeing as they don't I've avoided full leather.

Best bet is to go to your dealership and see if they have a full leather MINI and a Half leather one.

See which one you like the look of, I'm a student so the extra price is not appealing to me , plus I'd rather spend it on the Aero Kit

[Xanthia]

Leather, being essentially SKIN, will stetch and to some look saggy. However, I don't think it looks saggy at all (I am American, can't be just a british thing).

However, I have the half leather combo and I really like it (red/black) and get loads of compliments. But then again, the whole car gets loads of compliments!

[whovous]

Your half leather looks very nice, and taut as well. Is it available stateside? I have owned leather in other cars. The lone had 140,000 miles when I sold it, and the seats still looked tighter than on many of the Minis I have seen over here.

I wish I did not see it this way, as my BRG really cries out for tan leather. I've considered the aftermarket route, as there are some very nice offerings out there, but feel as though I would have to replace the carpet and redo the door panels as well to get the full effect. I even considered getting the Cordoba leather option just so I would have the right carpet and door panels, and then replacing the seat leather with aftermarket leather. Still, even though I am obsessive enough to be considering microfiber gloves to wear while cleaning and waxing my Mini, I am not quite that obsessive.

Yet...

[Aqualung]

I debated this a long time when spec'ing my car. In the end, the long-term feedback seemed overwhelmingly negative so I opted for leatherette as I also didn't want smelly seats, another major negative I heard about the cloth.

Note this post by Ian Cull (in his Weblog) re: Lapis Blue...http://www.gbmini.net/mtblog/archive/000346.shtml, this is the type of feedback I heard when I was researching....

[Ibb]

the cloth gets smelly? hmm never really noticed that in my current car, as long as you keep it clean and spray odor killer you'll be fine.

Thanks for the info.

Oh hang on you're not talking about real leather Hmm I wonder if the new 05 model's will have better leather, the seats afterall are being changed a little, eg the side bolsters are going to be more "holding" making them even sportier.

[Gelly]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ibb

Oh hang on you're not talking about real leather Hmm I wonder if the new 05 model's will have better leather, the seats afterall are being changed a little, eg the side bolsters are going to be more "holding" making them even sportier.

Where did you hear about the seats being changed? I've yet to hear any mention of this.

Edit: Nevermind. It's the Standard Seats that are being changed, not the Sport Seats.

[Ibb]

Gelly if you go here http://www.mini2.com/news/news229.html you can find out about the new changes.

Its says the side bolsters are being increased, but nothing about the leather, I'm presuming they will make some changes(minor ones).

[Doctor Wha?]

Quote: Originally Posted by Xanthia

Leather, being essentially SKIN, will stetch and to some look saggy. However, I don't think it looks saggy at all (I am American, can't be just a british thing.

Quite true, Xanthia.

Also, there is some slack deliberately left in the seat area itself, as anyone old enough to drive will be putting about 100 lbs onto that surface stitting still, plus a bit more with the downward momentum picked up when going over bumps, etc. Make it "taut" in an unladen state, you'll either hear stitches ripping as you sit down or move, or at best, wear out the material faster over the long run. Look at leather chairs & couches: There has to be a little bit of play in the "working" surafces for them to hold up.

The seat backs and side bolsters, meanwhile, are more snug and shape-fitted than the seats. That's beacuse they don't take the load that the seat itself does.

If you want super-tight leather, buy a well-inflated (US) football!

DW

[AprilWhine]

I like my leather seats, and think they're worth the extra money. On the other hand, I didn't have to drop anything I really wanted to get them. If I had to choose between the leather seats and DSC, I would choose the DSC, for an example. The leather interior is a luxury, not a necessity.