Leather Prius seat covers

[scottman]

I'm sorry, but this downgrade looks horrendous.
I have similar looking seats in my 88 Corolla winter beater.

[Qwimby1]

Originally Posted by Teseo

Glad to see im not the only cheap bastard on the forum.
Im considering those but is kinda pricey for my taste
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00F0...mkL&ref=plSrch

Artificial leather means vinyl. Vinyl doesn't breath like leather and is very hot. Katzkin makes a real leather kit for both front and rear. I'm not real sure of the price but I think it's about $1700 installed. I'm told they won't sell it except through one of their installers.

[Teseo]

Originally Posted by Qwimby1

Artificial leather means vinyl. Vinyl doesn't breath like leather and is very hot. Katzkin makes a real leather kit for both front and rear. I'm not real sure of the price but I think it's about $1700 installed. I'm told they won't sell it except through one of their installers.

170 is more appealing than price of sard covers

[Qwimby1]

Originally Posted by Teseo

170 is more appealing than price of sard covers

True, but those SARD covers look awfully good at about a quarter of the Katzkin price. I didn't know about SARD till now. I asked their tech if they are vinyl or breath like leather but she couldn't answer. Does anyone know or have first-hand experience with the SARDS?

[wolffbite]

Originally Posted by Qwimby1

True, but those SARD covers look awfully good at about a quarter of the Katzkin price. I didn't know about SARD till now. I asked their tech if they are vinyl or breath like leather but she couldn't answer. Does anyone know or have first-hand experience with the SARDS?

I installed the SARD covers about 2 months after buying the car last year. So I've had them on for 9-10 months.

The material itself is PVC vinyl, but everything other than the bolsters is perforated to allow it to "breath". They definitely get a bit "sticky" in the summer, but a lot of that will be down to how hot your summers are, how much you sweat, and how high you keep the AC cranked. I prefer to just keep the windows down when its warm and only use AC if its unbearable so I just deal with a bit of back sweat. In cold weather, I don't really notice because I usually have a jacket on. I hate heated seats so I never use mine.

I daily drive my car, and the covers have held up incredibly well. I do a full interior detail on my car every 3 months or so. Thoroughly vacuum all the seams and stitching, clean with Autoglym leather cleaner and soft brush, and apply Autoglym leather balm. I know it's not real leather, but this routine has kept them looking pretty much new. There are a few minor scuffs on the drivers side only, but after 22k kms I am quite happy.

You should also consider that the SARD covers have special stitching to allow the seat airbag to properly deploy. I haven't looked into it much, but I don't think many other seat cover options have this or at least don't clearly advertise it.

I've gotten compliments on them where people think they are aftermarket seats... they are usually very surprised when I say they are just covers. These definitely fit like a glove, and take about an hour per seat to get on properly. It's a shame you can't just order fronts though, the rear seats are never used in my car so that to me is the biggest downside to these as that keeps the cost high.

Here is a photo of them when first installed:

[Teseo]

Originally Posted by wolffbite

I installed the SARD covers about 2 months after buying the car last year. So I've had them on for 9-10 months.

The material itself is PVC vinyl, but everything other than the bolsters is perforated to allow it to "breath". They definitely get a bit "sticky" in the summer, but a lot of that will be down to how hot your summers are, how much you sweat, and how high you keep the AC cranked. I prefer to just keep the windows down when its warm and only use AC if its unbearable so I just deal with a bit of back sweat. In cold weather, I don't really notice because I usually have a jacket on. I hate heated seats so I never use mine.

I daily drive my car, and the covers have held up incredibly well. I do a full interior detail on my car every 3 months or so. Thoroughly vacuum all the seams and stitching, clean with Autoglym leather cleaner and soft brush, and apply Autoglym leather balm. I know it's not real leather, but this routine has kept them looking pretty much new. There are a few minor scuffs on the drivers side only, but after 22k kms I am quite happy.

You should also consider that the SARD covers have special stitching to allow the seat airbag to properly deploy. I haven't looked into it much, but I don't think many other seat cover options have this or at least don't clearly advertise it.

I've gotten compliments on them where people think they are aftermarket seats... they are usually very surprised when I say they are just covers. These definitely fit like a glove, and take about an hour per seat to get on properly. It's a shame you can't just order fronts though, the rear seats are never used in my car so that to me is the biggest downside to these as that keeps the cost high.

Here is a photo of them when first installed:

Pocs of 1st day installed is useless, show image at moment to see how they are holding

[wolffbite]

Originally Posted by Teseo

Pocs of 1st day installed is useless, show image at moment to see how they are holding

Lol.

He asked for someone to comment on first-hand experience, exactly what I delivered.

I'll post a current photo when I have time and access to my car again. It is currently at the shop for a dent repair.

[Qwimby1]

Clazzios look pretty good and are real leather from what I can tell. $599 for our cars, I assume if you install them yourself.

[wolffbite]

Totally forgot about this but remembered on Saturday while in the middle of my spring car detail..





These are pictures of the driver side seat SARD cover after almost exactly 12 months of use and 24,000km of sitting. Pictures are post-clean but pre-conditioner. I'd rate the current condition at 9.5/10 as there are a handle of deeper scuffs that the conditioner I put on did not totally conceal.
Stitching is still rock solid, no rips, no tears, no punctures. I'd 100% buy these again.

[DandoX]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I presume that they have the break away stitching for the seat airbags but it is something you should check. If the cover has a nice tight, strong seam and the airbag goes off then instead of protecting you the force heads straight to your spleen.

Are you sure airbags are actually inside the seat? I had my seats done in leather by another company (katskins). I'd like to check with them that if there are airbags, that it won't slpeen shot me in an accident.

Are they in the side bolsters?

[VIP BRZ]

Originally Posted by DandoX

Are you sure airbags are actually inside the seat?

They are, Driver side for sure

[Tcoat]

Both seats. In the outer bolster.





Think the Katzkins will be OK their pics show the airbag label on the covers.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by wolffbite

Totally forgot about this but remembered on Saturday while in the middle of my spring car detail..

These are pictures of the driver side seat SARD cover after almost exactly 12 months of use and 24,000km of sitting. Pictures are post-clean but pre-conditioner. I'd rate the current condition at 9.5/10 as there are a handle of deeper scuffs that the conditioner I put on did not totally conceal.
Stitching is still rock solid, no rips, no tears, no punctures. I'd 100% buy these again.

They are still in outstanding condition. Not a fan of leather seats but if I was looking that would sell me for sure.