I didn't want to believe it, but today I gave my dark charcoal seats a close inspection. The surface of the rear seats definitely feels different than the front. Conclusion: the rear seats are in fact vinyl.

In my Taurus, however, the rear seats are definitely leather, the same as the front.

 

Isn't vinyl more durable anyway?

 

Yes Vinyl does scratch, but it does not have the same texture as leather does when it is scratched.....

I have no doubt that the red upgrade seats are leather. ( not high quality leather though )

This guy has posted the same thing on other fourms. I think the post was designed to stir up trouble.....( and it worked )

 

Well, I treated all my seats yesterday with Griot's Leather Care. I can't tell ANY difference between the way the front seats reacted from the back seats. Maybe they're leather after all (although not very good quality). They look and feel nice and soft now too!

 

:nono: From the 2005 Mustang's "Product Information Book" (this is not the 2005 brochure that the dealer hands out) this is for the sales staff only, it states "available leather seating surfaces. Also on the ICAP it states "Red sport bucket leather front and rear seating surfaces."

Looks like Leather smells like Leather, tastes like Leather. Good enough for me.

 

For what it's worth, my back seats are all vinyl, and only the seating surfaces on the front seats are leather.

 

I regretfully digress that my rear seats are vinyl too. I didn't want to believe it, but even with ICAP, they're still vinyl. :cries:

 

The back seats definately don't pass the wrinkle test...VINYL.

If you are a doubter (I was too), do this:

On your front seats press your finger into the seat surface and observe how it wrinkles. Now do the same on the back seats, no wrinkle.

Leather will wrinkle, vinyl will not.

So seeing as nobody rides back there for me.... I really don't care all that much. Heck I'll eventually do a rear-seat delete anyway, gives me more storage

 

said it before and I will say it again. There was a problem with stitching on the rear seat of my car. When ford removed it the seat face IS leather.

 

Not my car.

 

Suprised this thread s still alive, but I have no doubt that the red leather upgrade has leather seat faces in the back... I do not know about the other seat options....

P.S. Call Ford, they at least claim that the rear seat faces are leather... So, who you gona believe?

 

Interesting, I guess I will have to call Ford directly to find out. Shouldn't they let you know if they aren't leather?? I mean after all my main reason for getting the premium was for the shaker and leather ??

Matt

 

OK, I FIRMLY believed the rear seats were leather, but try Sixty-Six's wrinkle test... He's the one who convinced me that the rear seat was indeed vinyl. Ford can make whatever claim they want, but there is no other reason for the front and rear seats to react differently when pressure is applied unless the material itself is different. If anyone insists that the back seat's vinyl, please go outside now (with a flashlight if you must) and look at the difference between the seats when you push on it with a finger. Then repost and let us know your results.

 

Hey, it wouldn't surprise me if some are leather and some are not. I mean we've all seen some cases of screwy things done from the factory.

All I know is my parchment "leather" is only on the seating surfaces of the front seats and the door panel inserts. They pass the wrinkle test.

The surface of my rear seats is made of the very same material that's on the sides of my front and rear seats. They fail the wrinkle test.

 

And I actually looked at the undersides of the GT covers when they were off. Vinyl. So maybe some are and some aren't, but I definitely know vinyl when I see it.

 

As someone who has ICAP, I've spent some effort trying to discern the difference between the front and rear seating surfaces. My conclusion is that the back is 100% vinyl, and not just because of the wrinke test (which, BTW, is accurate in that the sides of the front seats compress and wrinkle differently than the surfaces).
The other test you can use is to compare the grain on the front vs. sides, and then the front vs. the rear. If you look at the real leather sections, the grain is linear, meaning it's got sort of oblong shapes that run side to side. The vinyl, in contrast, is molded to have a round pebble-like surface, kind of like a basketball. The texture difference between the two is quite different.
And using that as the test, the back seats thus don't have leather in my car.

 

Ford has done this for years, my 1999 Mustang GT "Limited Edition" has the two-tone charcoal and silver leather interior. This was an upgrade option(other features as well) on the GT in 1999 and as such, the regular GT back seat was all vinyl, but on the "Limited" the inserts were the same silver leather as the front. However the outer edge of the back seat was vinyl. So basically, the front seating surface of the seat was leather and the back seating surface was both.
See how different things can be?

 

I've been using Mequires liquid leather conditioner/cleaner on both front and back seats and I assume you can't damage any vinyl surfaces by using that product. Am I right? I would think that the only drawback is that you are wasting some money because you only need to use vinyl protectant on the vinyl surfaces which would be cheaper. They both look the same after I treat them. Bottom line is will vinyl surfaces be damaged by using leather cleaner/conditioner on them? Any upolstery experts out there?

 

I hate to tell you, but the information book is wrong.
I have ICAP, and the back seat is vinyl, just like the back seat was on my 2003 GT. :notnice:
If you want absolute proof, here is a simple fail proof test; Take a magnifying glass and look at the perforations in the "Leather seating surface" of your front seats, do you see how they are cut into the leather? Now do the same on the back seat, do you see how the perforations are molded into the plastic?
There is very little real leather used in a Mustang, only the parts of the front seats that actually come in contact with your body. Even the little side pieces under thigh support, in the middle of the lower front cushions, are vinyl! Cheap! :notnice:
Paul

 

Oh no!! I knew I should have bought that 350z....darn!!! hahahaha