Leather durability?

[avesalces]

My ‘22 BB was totaled a couple weeks back in a nasty accident. (Amazed at how safe this car kept me in going from 60 to 0 VERY quickly.)

Trying to replace it has sucked. Seems like things that were standard on my old bronco sport are now paid options, and prices are not friendly, so we’re looking at used.

We found a ‘21 Outer Banks with all the options we want, and for a fair price. It did have a big hole in the back seat, though, which will be fixed, but has made me wonder about the durability of the leather.

in my Big Bend, I had cloth seats and threw speakers and tripods and camera equipment in the back seat all the time, same with camping gear and rigging for our little sailing dinghy. Never had a problem puncturing or even scratching the upholstery.

I know leather is always going to be more scratch prone, but have any of you with leather had problems with durability?

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[SgtT11B]

I can only speak for other Ford products, and that is Ford generally has the cheapest leather quality. On my Mustang I didn't go with the Ford leather, I went with Katskins.

 

[Jmuns]

I have 24k miles in 13 months and no issues with mine. There have been some posts though showing wrinkles, lines, and also some peeling of the coloring. I haven’t seen anything posted that would worry me, but everyone is different.

Do some searches for leather, seats, etc and you’ll find some older threads with the issues and pictures people have posted.

 

[Tigger]

When I had my Outer Banks, I was warned that my large dogs could rip the leather back seats (see some old threads on seat covers) so I got the neoprene seat covers. They were great quality and well worth the price. Also, I’d buy it with installation included because it is a pain to install because of how tight it fits.

https://accessories.ford.com/products/bronco-sport-2021-neoprene-rear-seat-covers-w-armrest-in-black-1

 

[Bucko]

I have a 2007 Ford F-150 that came originally with cloth seats. Here in Florida, the summers get to "Africa hot" temps. Over time, The seats with cloth will get the butt sweat swamp stink. With leather, they are easily wiped down, and then you can wipe with leather protection. I use Lexol brand products for leather.

I do have some mild wrinkle marks on the drivers seat side bolster, but the leather is in great shape.

 

[Bill G]

Have two years on my BSBL w/leather — look as good as
on delivery day. I’m not one to worry about this stuff, so I just clean/condition them every month or so; been using Griot’s 3-in-1 Leather Spray since day one.

 

[Glamdring70]

Mine has the leather/suede combo seats. A little different from the OB leather. The suede concerns me but has not been an issue. Seat leather seat seems adequate, but I would just get a cover if concerned. Even a generic $50 item that goes over the surface would be good if the back seat is primarily a cargo area. I would do that in mine too if I was using it for storage.

The "leather" steering wheel on the other hand. I'm not really convinced it is leather, synthetic or otherwise. But I think it's durable too.

 

[RSH]

The complete interior of the Bronco Sport is of inferior quality, most every surface is easily scuffed, scratched or marred which isn't good for a utility vehicle. Even the rubber flooring is sub par.

 

[SgtT11B]

^^^^This^^^^

Doesn't mean I am not happy with my BL, love my Badee..

 

[Bronco2.7]

The complete interior of the Bronco Sport is of inferior quality, most every surface is easily scuffed, scratched or marred which isn't good for a utility vehicle. Even the rubber flooring is sub par.

Even things that common sense would tell you to make out of metal are plastic.

 

[Jmuns]

Even things that common sense would tell you to make out of metal are plastic.

What would you make out of metal?

 

[Bucko]

Even things that common sense would tell you to make out of metal are plastic.

Metal adds weight and cost. This adds to overall price that is forced onto consumer. With demands of EPA to have better fuel economy, the manufacturers are having to cut weight in order to meet these. Plastics are not going away.

 

[SgtT11B]

The issue isn't using plastics, it's the quality of the plastics.

 

[Bucko]

The issue isn't using plastics, it's the quality of the plastics.

In my experiences with plastics, they all get scratched and fade over time. Unfortunately for the plastics in a hot and humid place such as where I live (Florida), it escalates the issues pertaining to length of life and durability.

 

[SgtT11B]

In my experiences with plastics, they all get scratched and fade over time. Unfortunately for the plastics in a hot and humid place such as where I live (Florida), it escalates the issues pertaining to length of life and durability.

I am shocked that Ford still uses the lowest quality of plastics available. They scratch with a finger nail. No different than the POS 2007 Ford Focus I had. My 2020 GT is the same, all that hard plastic is so easily scratched. I have owned BMW's, Porsche's and they all use plastics. Its just the quality of the plastics in the BMW and PCars are just so much better quality. How much more could it be to have a better quality plastic?

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