Cloth vs Leather - for T4R owners with kid(s)?

[J Hoss]

I'm looking to sell my 2 door Taco (and GS430 & motorcycle) in anticipation of my first child that will be here next month for a 5G 4runner, but today someone brought to my attention that the seating material should be taken into consideration. Given its my first kid, not something I've ever thought about before.

I'm currently swooning over Mag gray TE's[which I realize are cloth only) but everyone is telling me if I buy a vehicle with cloth, eventually I'll regret it (interior wise).

Looking for some insight before plunking down 30+ K... What are the parental owners experiences and/or thoughts on what you do to maintain your interior choice with little one(s) on board?


ib "just get a portable vac and keep wipes" :embarassed:

 

[NoDak]

get seat covers.

problem solved.

 

[Yotta]

Get it with cloth and don't obsess over seat cleanliness.

If you must obsess over seat cleanliness, buy seat covers and clean (or trash) them on the as-needed basis.

Nasty spills are going to leave their mark on leather, too.

 

[Espresso]

I'd opt for leather. Much easier to wipe off the crumbs and other crap your kids might spill. Of course, if you have perforated leather and spill a drink, that can lead to trouble. Cheap insurance is get a car seat liner. Saves your car from smelling like piss. You'll need car seat protectors too since a car seat over time might damage your leather. There's no easy choice but leather is the way to go for me.

 

[NoDak]

find solutions, dont ever compromise on what you want to get in a 4runner.

every situation you can run into in a 4runner, there is a solution on this forum that someone has found to get around anything so you DON'T have to compromise on what 4runner you want and with what options.

heck if you can down convert a LE to mimick a TE or up convert a SR5 to match or pass a TE, you bet there is a way that someone has found in this forum.

 

[Canazes9]

I'd get a TE w/ leather if that's what you want. If you're being told you can't get it then your not talking to the right dealer. I don't know which dealer is local to you that can get it, but I gurantee you Tejas Toyota in Humble will get you a TE exactly the way you want it. I've got two Tacomas w/ "factory leather" from Tejas, full warranty coverage.

Also - leather beats cloth all day long for dealing with kids. Orders of magnitude easier to deal with.

David

 

[DannyLlama]

Leather, we have a 15 month old... So good so far!

You can get a '14 TE with leather btw.

 

[chmura]

Before my son was born my wife and I bought her a new 2012 Honda CRV and we had this discussion. In the end we picked cloth.

My son is a very active 18m old now. Seats are clean and are like brand new. We don't let him eat or drink in the car. Well sometimes he drinks in a sippy cut with a straw. But we take it away after he's done drinking since he will play with it after he is done drinking.

I feel cloth is more durable to rips, holes, tares than leather and is lower maintenance. Also it looks much newer than leather when it ages. In the sun it gets extremely hot, have to condition the leather every month or so.

Overall I am happy we chose cloth in our new vehicle.

 

[c2one]

Before my son was born my wife and I bought her a new 2012 Honda CRV and we had this discussion. In the end we picked cloth.

My son is a very active 18m old now. Seats are clean and are like brand new. We don't let him eat or drink in the car. Well sometimes he drinks in a sippy cut with a straw. But we take it away after he's done drinking since he will play with it after he is done drinking.

I feel cloth is more durable to rips, holes, tares than leather and is lower maintenance. Also it looks much newer than leather when it ages. In the sun it gets extremely hot, have to condition the leather every month or so.

Overall I am happy we chose cloth in our new vehicle.

I bought my runner for the same reason, first kiddo. Went with cloth cause this Texas heat and black leather do not mix, especially now with the stricter window tint laws. :flame:

 

[M1911]

If you can't find a TE with leather, you can always add it aftermarket. Katzkin makes some really nice looking leather: Car Leather Upholstery | Custom Auto Leather Interiors by Katzkin

 

[Quentin]

We went with leather because the leather should prevent puke and such from soaking into the seat cushion.

The '14 TE is available with Softex seats. If they are like my Prius Softex, they are not perforated. Also, when I got my SR5, non premium package SR5s had non-leather steering wheels. Happy with my choice. I did like the cloth seats in the 4Runner, though.

 

[Phaedrus]

Get what YOU want for the life of the vehicle, and then get these:

Amazon.com: Summer Infant Duo Mat 2 In 1 Car Seat Protector - Black/Grey: Baby
Amazon.com: Jolly Jumper Auto Seat Back Protector - 2 Pack: Baby

--Dad of 2 kids with a TE and "water resistant" cloth--

 

[KVA]

Got three boys...get leather.

Anything that "can" happen has happened in the 4Runner or GX :repuke:

Everything has cleaned up perfectly - no issues. It was a PITA to clean up but it did clean up. I cannot imagine cloth holding up as baby/infant/toddler car seat are cloth and they take a beating...

 

[Stifler]

2 kids = leather..... so much easier to clean and keep clean. I even went as far as to get black leather

 

[Pritchnakoff]

FWIW, I would go leather all the way. I bought an 04 Sport that I special ordered with the LE leather trim all around and couldn't have been happier when it came and now, nearly 10 years later and two kids later, the rear seats are still in near perfect condition.

Like others have said already, with basic care and some aftermarket products there's no reason why you can't keep it looking spotless. I didn't have anything protecting my seats just the baby seats and their bigger kid models and trust me there were plenty of spills; heck even my sunroof got stuck in full open postion for a week in December and it rained a couple nights without cover; it was not ideal, but you'd never know it.

 

[chmura]

I also forgot to mention.

With cloth you do not have to worry about creases/scratches from the infant car seat, later you switch to a convertible car seat (at around 1 year), and than later to a booster seat. You just simply install and that's all.

With leather people put down this fancy mat to "protect" the leather from the car seat. In the end you will get some creases and stretching in the leather from the pressure of the car seat.

I install my car seats very tight less than an inch movement when you yank on it. When I install the car seat I literally have to put down my entire weight to get a good install at the latch system.

I have a neighbor that bought a new car. I installed the car seat for him and he said it was too tight and was worried about his new leather.

I thought leather was better for kids.. But in the end I actually think cloth is better. Plus cloth is more homey (if thats a word) to me.

After a year of my car seat being installed in our CRV. When I removed it no creases or marks on the cloth. I did not use any protector/mat either.

 

[lilreds21]

I'm a mom of 3... cloth with covers!

 

[Antman]

I have 2 wonderful, beautiful, sloppy-ass girls; 4 and 6.

They manage to sneak all kinds of nasty (banned) food-stuff into the back seat. After the forbidden feast anything within reach becomes a napkin. Apparently the seats are great coloring books too!

God I love my leather seats. They still look PERFECT.:thumb3:

 

[lezavw90]

Had leather on our Tacoma even though we wanted cloth, but at the time could only get one with leather. After that vehicle we have never even thought of cloth. 3.5 and 2 year old. I get that some people have a no food or drink in the car, but sometimes you just have to break the rules to quiet a screaming kid down. Spilled chocolate milk. Ohh well, cleaned up real easy, I wouldn't even want to think about spilt anything on cloth. Properly cared for even if the leather is well used is better on resale. I've never heard anyone scoff at a crease in leather. The first words out of their mouth is, "ohh look, leather". Never thought I would be in that guy, but yes I am now a leather snob, lol.

 

[calcrc]

I never have liked leather but it's up to you. I have 2 kids 4.5 and 1.5 years old.

Leather is sticky in summer and cold in winter.

I have seen a lot in the truck and the seats still look like new. Just get a wet towel and clean the mess/spills/dirt and other things I don't want to say on the forum away.

You can also buy a disinfectant spay bottle to kill all the germs away once the big mess is done with.

But like everybody says get what you feel better with :beer:



BTW the TE has those Hydrofuge seats things so it's easy to clean. Don't know about the regular SR5.