new mini cc- beige or black leather - 2 small girls!

[dutchsarah]

HI, I am currently looking at the new mini conv, with a view to putting my 5 and 7 year old in the back seats.

I would welcome any advice over the leather seats - I am thinking of beige to make the cabin lighter, but am not sure how the beige leather will fare for wear and tear with 2 girls eg shoes scuffs, water spills etc? Black would seem to be the sensible choice but I think it will make the car look dark. Does anyone have any views over the ease (or otherwise...!) of cleaning the leather.

PS I am thinking of a midnight blue exterior. It is a once in a lifetime chance for me to buy and I need to keep an eye on the resale value too if life changes.

Many thanks
Dutchsarah

[turbodriver]

Our Cooper Hatch had beige leather - but the seat backs were actually the hard black plastic, so didn't suffer too much with little girls kicking!
The only initial issue we had, was the overmats (supplied as standard with the Chilli pack) were beige to match the carpets etc. These were immediately changed for black mats which gaave a good contrast plus wore well over the 3 years.
The interior was rarely cleaned (!) but always used Autoglym leather care and it buffed up really well.
Colour choice is very personal - buy for you, not the next person! (within reason!)
G

[billy.batson]

Quote: Originally Posted by turbodriver (original)

The interior was rarely cleaned (!) but always used Autoglym leather care and it buffed up really well.
Colour choice is very personal - buy for you, not the next person! (within reason!)
G

I quite agree, buy what you like yourself. I have had various classic cars over the years with full leather interior including Jaguar, Daimler, Lagonda, and AC, and never had the slightest problem, leather is so hard wearing and even on my 50 year-old Jaguar Mark 9 it came up like new after a good clean. Of course you do get wear and creasing eventually but that only adds to the car's patina.

I always used Connolly Hide Food, specially made for fine leather, apolied after a good clean. It keeps the hide supple and prevents brittleness.

I don't expect to keep my new Clubman for 50 years though!