Factory T6 Leather/Alcantara vs Cloth with Seat Covers?

[CampervanTime]

Hi Everyone

I'd not really considered the factory leather/alcantara seat option before but just wondered what the general experience is of the following;

Leather/Alcantara with no seat covers
vs
Standard T6 cloth with seat covers

The real question is how easy is leather/alcantara to keep clean and would we still need to put seat covers on? I don't really like seat covers (other than the brandrup second skins) and we don't have children. Just the two of us with a small border collie.

Cost is secondary in this decision for us really, so I'm thinking more comfort and service-ability.

Thoughts?

Cheers

 

[PaulW]

Hi

I went for the leather option which is nice but to be honest i never use the van without seat covers.

I would say they do seam firmer than cloth

 

[Properjob]

Hi Everyone

I'd not really considered the factory leather/alcantara seat option before but just wondered what the general experience is of the following;

Leather/Alcantara with no seat covers
vs
Standard T6 cloth with seat covers

The real question is how easy is leather/alcantara to keep clean and would we still need to put seat covers on? I don't really like seat covers (other than the brandrup second skins) and we don't have children. Just the two of us with a small border collie.

Cost is secondary in this decision for us really, so I'm thinking more comfort and service-ability.

Thoughts?

Cheers

Have you thought about leather retrim?....obviously a lot more expense but worth considering if some of the photos on here are to go by. They look like factory originals and are naturally more hard wearing. Just wish VW offered them. I'm sure loads of people would go for them.

 

[CampervanTime]

Have you thought about leather retrim?....obviously a lot more expense but worth considering if some of the photos on here are to go by. They look like factory originals and are naturally more hard wearing. Just wish VW offered them. I'm sure loads of people would go for them.

Yes, maybe something for the future (so may push me more towards standard cloth).

I saw @Salty and his lovely Beach that he has had a full leather retrim on and it's just lovely. £2k though!

 

[treecity]

We went for the factory option, beige leather/alcantara and no regrets. We have had the vehicle for nearly 2 years and my son is now 3. We've had some mishaps as you can imagine but water wet wipes have saved us every time and we have no stains. Just make sure you ask the dealer to add the fabric protection... AutoGlym?

We'd go for this option again, no concerns.

 

[5i1ver8ack]

But a full set of covers look very relatively expensive too! We have standard cloth. At present, my likely approach is to stick with cloth until they look too shabby, then switch to a leather retrim. The cloth seats definitely mark easily!

 

[CampervanTime]

But a full set of covers look very relatively expensive too! We have standard cloth. At present, my likely approach is to stick with cloth until they look too shabby, then switch to a leather retrim. The cloth seats definitely mark easily!

Yes, when you look at the cost of a full set of Brandrup second skins, you can nearly pay for the factory leather/alcantara.

decisions decisions

 

[WelshGas]

Yes, when you look at the cost of a full set of Brandrup second skins, you can nearly pay for the factory leather/alcantara.

decisions decisions

I think the first question you should ask is - Who am I buying this vehicle for - US or the next Owner?

I have the fabric seats with the Autoglym protection. You could say the cloth marks easily but it cleans up easily. Took it to our local valet for a 3 yr deep clean - he couldn't believe the interior was so good after 3 years with the travelling I've done - so Autoglym must be doing its job.

 

[calimera]

We went for alcantara trim & I treated the seats with Gtechniq smart ( on the suede like bit). Just us two & 2 westies.
Seats like new, Spills easily mopped up.

Like the like the colour of the seats especially on dark gloomy days,keeps the cab light.

 

[Victor]

We also have the leather/alcantara and it is very hard wearing, we have had all manner of things spilt on them including half a cup of coffee and they still look like new. When anything is dropped on them it appears to just 'bead' and not soak in meaning you can just wipe it off with a cloth or wet wipe, our old crete cloth seats uses to just soak up everything including water.

 

[Kmann]

We have fabric, and no option to chose (ex-demo). But we might not have chosen the leather option anyway. I never found leather particular comfortable, especially in the warm summer when wearing shorts, etc. And I wonder if it is comfortable to sleep on? I think you need more than a bed sheet, a mattress at least.

From day one we had the Brandrup seat covers. They are a little pricey, but worth it. We wash them once a year. And our seats look like new (both the seats and the covers). And it takes a trained eye to see they are covers.

If we could get fabric/Alcantara we would prefer that I think. We had it in our Audi and it was so easy to keep clean. But with the options today, our choice is fabric and covers. Despite full leather is more durable.

 

[Hotel California]

Again all personal preference , i had leather seats in pervious cars (BMW and Land Rovers) and do like leather . However in a campervan where you cook&eat in the risk off getting seats dirty is high and on alcantera i guess a spagetti sauce leaves stains....
Also we travel with a dog sometimes on the seat , and also not a good idea when having leather.
It would be a shame paying the extra for leather and than cover it up with seatcovers.

So i am very happy with the original fabric seats on my T5 and have the Brandrup covers on them.
Now @WelshGas says : who do you buy the Cali for ? For yourself or the next owner keeping the seats coverd up ? Yes for myself and i know i there will get stains on my seats (have been ) and therefore the covers are great to just trow them in the washmachine .
Imo. any camper/van should come with seats with removeble covers anyway so one can easy wash them...

 

[GrannyJen]

If I had a choice I would go with the basic no cost seat trim and then have a complete leather retire done once the vehicle was home.

I have Alcantara, easily cleaned, ok ..... but for that sort of money I would expect full leather.

 

[Grumpy Mike]

I also went for Alacantra. As soon as I got her I prorected all carpets, door trim and seats with coating from Amazon. It cleans up well and looks superb. I like the comment on here somewhere, am I keeping her for the next user... I use my baby and clean her regular and she looks superb. Would recommend.. It brightens the whole inside up.

 

[leightonjthomas]

If I had a choice I would go with the basic no cost seat trim and then have a complete leather retire done once the vehicle was home.

I have Alcantara, easily cleaned, ok ..... but for that sort of money I would expect full leather.

We had alcantara on our first Cali which was fine but we had a full re-trim in light grey leather on our second (cost £1500), which we prefer. We have a labrador and have never used covers but he’s not allowed on the seats anyway. All drool and normal domestic spillages just wipe off. After 30k miles the leather looks as new.

 

[Pete Wilkins]

We have the Alcantara on ours, when we first got it we used seat covers and then wondered why we ordered that trim and hid it under covers, so we took covers off. Ours is now three years old and still looks good. Would have preferred a real leather option.

 

[BikerGran]

I have alcantara in my 10 year old Cali, it looks like new. I was told when I bought it used that everything was factory fitted and have no reason to doubt that. The mileage is low for the year but even so there is really no sign of use and any spills just wipe off.

 

[Jonathan Duke]

We opted for the standard, Kutamo fabric, on our 7-seater Beach.... I really wanted a full-leather option from factory, shame it isn't available in the UK.....

We are two, plus a Jack Russell.... He sheds hair like a mad-thing!! So does the OH, come to think of it..... We also generate a lot of dust, as often sleep downstairs....

We didn't bother with covers.... as decided just to take our first year out of the standard fabric, with a plan to have them re-trimmed in full-leather year two. So far this year, we've covered 24,000 miles and last night my 96th night sleeping in the van..... We cook in the van quite often also....

So far, the fabric is holding up well.... The OH sat on some tree sap in Italy, and then sat on the passenger seat.... These marks have so far proved un-removable. The dogs white hairs, on the dark Kutamo fabric are very noticeable.... We have about 5x IKEA hair pickup rollers, in various pockets in the van....

I'm really looking forward to getting the re-trim, it's mainly a personal preference.... But will add, the standard fabric is holding-up really well.... and we could easily continue with these.

We plan to have the re-trim done as close to the standard Caravelle design as possible.... Just to keep it all factory looking.....

 

[CampervanTime]

Interesting stuff everyone. It sounds like the Alcantara might be the hard wearing and luxury option too.

We’re going to swing by Hull on our way home tomorrow and take a look at a Cali they have there with it fitted so we can see what we think.

 

[Annik]

+1 for Alcantara, no need for seat covers and ours still looks like new with muddy dogs, coffee, spaghetti bologneise spilt on them over the years.

 

[Shadrack]

I went Alcantra after seeing them in another model.
Really are good looking.
Pleased to read that they stay goodlooking too. I did not want to hide my extra investment with covers.