It's expensive, with no benefit other than some people like the way it look and/or feels. Or maybe they find it prestigious.

I'd rather spend the $700 on something else, but that's just me. So many things are... [/b][/quote]
I meant hot seats because oif the sun was no reason to not buy leather. Leather has the benefit of lasting a lot longer than cloth and doesn't have the problem of fading. Armor All or a good leather cleaner is all you need. You can spend the money you saved on new seats.

 

I had leather seats in my cars. I will never go back. They were too hot/cold and were never comfortable in any car I had: SVO, Mark VII and Mark VIII. I put up with them because I was stupid and stubborn. Never again.

I now have cloth seats in the T-Bird, and will have them in the Mustang when that happens, and in any future cars I ever own. Ever. No really, I am going to say it: NEVER.

If they discolor, well, that's not a problem. With the money I didn't use buying leather, I will get new ones made when/if it's an issue.

 

Hey my current car (03) has light graphite leather. Both my 96 & 02 had cloth. I thought I would really hate leather. But the 03 had leather in it & it was the best deal that we got, so I said I could live with it. I LOVE LEATHER!!! My 05 will have Dark Charcoal Leather. Yes light interior will get dirty easier & show things that dark interior will not. That is why some here have suggested seat covers.

I do have seat covers in my 03, I purchased them for my 02 with the cloth. Now maybe you don't like seat covers & think they are ugly & that's you opinion & we love you for it. But I have them & LOVE them and I have gotten many comments about mine. They are black with blue flames going all up them. They match the exterior of my car almost exactly. People I don't even know will walk past my car & say they like my seat covers. Although I am looking for new ones in a different color & patteren, I am ready for a change.

Leather is awsome & seat covers are an in expensive way to change the look of your interior. And besides, your interior will last longer if you do use seat covers. Anyway JMO.
Cheersmates

 

I have the 1989 version of light graphite cloth in my '89 Mustang, and it still looks good after almost 16 years. It's just a matter of how well you take car of it. I have lucked out in that almost all the drink spills I've had have ended up on the carpet and not the seats.

I stuck with cloth in my '05 due to the summer Houston heat. I went to the dealership in August and sat in '04s with both cloth and leather, and the leather was much much hotter. My '89 has dark tinted windows and I've always used a window shade on the front, and the steering wheel will still be untouchable sometimes.

 

I had light graphite cloth in my 2000 and it was very durable and looked great when I sold the car. My new car has light graphite also and it is a much lighter color than what was in my previous car. Does not feel as durable to me either. I am seriously considering some seat covers just to save the wear on the seats especially if I could get something like Burke0011 is talking about. I would like to see pics of that after you get them.

 

I'll get pics up as soon as I get 'em Donna.

Funny thing is - we've used this local place for years for three different vehicles - and when my brother took his and my sister0in-laws redfire GT over there to order their covers, the guys FREAKED OUT cause they hadn'nt seen an 05 up close yet or been able to take any measurements - so their car ended up being the 'measurement test bed'.

WHen my brother picks up their covers for their car, he's putting in the order for mine - should be fairly quick.

 

I've got the parchment leather and I wipe it down every week with leather wipes...Meguiar's makes some good products for auto leather...Mine show discoloration on a weekly basis, especially with items like blue jeans or other similar materials that fade and are rough....IF I had known how bad it would get so fast I would have chosen a darker interior as well....The seat cover for the driver's seat may be my only option...not so much to preserve the seat, but to keep it from being an eyesore period.....

 

Hey Roj, get some Tuff Stuff brand multi-purpose foam cleaner. Works awesome on all shades of cloth interior/carpets. I've used it for eons. No worries.

 

I went to the dealer yesterday to complain about the condition of the bolster area course weave fabric on drivers seat at 900 miles. The smooth, slick mid section fabric with the horses is fine. The sales person, who also owns a detail shop, called the clean-up manager. They looked and then tried to clean the dark areas - not much help. They sent me to the service manager who also looked at the seat.

I decided that I wanted new seat bottom and backrest covers. The service people said they would have to ask the Ford service rep to OK the change. When I got home I called the Ford Customer Relations number and entered a complaint. An hour later the dealer service person called to say the new covers were ordered and would be in next week.

Since the dealer tried to clean the seat and they already agreed to replace the covers, I tried my own cleaning technique. I too have used Tuff Stuff for years. I gave the dark areas 3 doses of the foam and diaper treatment. After the overnight drying the seat looks pretty good. No longer obvious to the casual observer.

 

Does this guy have a web presence? I want to go with parchement leather but I've seen that shade of leather in other ford cars and it looks terrible once worn so I think covering it up most of the time might be wise...