We've touched on this is a few threads, but I'd like to hear a wider spectrum of opinion.
In general, I just love leather seats in a car. Opulent, classy, hard-wearing, what's not to like (oh, you said expensive, well that). It's the sort of bling I really go for.
My Peugeot has leather seats, which weren't all that expensive. They have suede panels in the seat and back, which I think cut the price, and also makes them less slippy and not cold or hot to sit on. The car is now over 11 years old, and I've never done a thing to these seats as far as care and maintenance goes, and they still look great. No real wear, just a bit of a polish on the driver's seat.
I started this new car lark being absolutely certain I wanted leather seats. However, the first two Golfs I saw had leather seats and I wasn't drooling over them quite the way I thought I would be. Not sure why. Maybe I don't like the shape of the head rests?
Then I heard chat on this forum that suggested these leather seats weren't as hard-wearing as I thought they would be. People spoke of them sagging and scuffing, and of them needing tender loving care. Then I decided I wanted the DSG, and began to think of taking the leather seats off the wish list to compensate.
Then I saw the cloth seats at another dealer's showroom (the one I've ordered from), and I have to say they looked very nice. Not at all the offensive jazzy seat fabric you see in some cars. The red stripe in the tartan picks up the red detailing on the car very nicely, the overall effect is less dark than the black leather, and the fabric looks hard-wearing. That dealer is a fan of the Mk I and was recommending the cloth over the leather on the basis of the heritage of the car and felt it looked classier.
So, my order is in without the leather. I feel, at the moment, that I'd rather keep the £1,675. But I'd like to hear from others about why they have or haven't ordered leather, and especially what experiences people have had with VW leather in the past - is it really not very hard-wearing?
Rolfe.