Ford Leather Quality

[EVH1994]

Hey Guys - Long time lurker, first time poster.

I just wanted to get your guys' input on Ford's leather quality. I've read a lot of threads on the interior options, but I am stuck on what material I should get on my build. Currently I have a 2-Door Badlands ordered with leather trimmed seats, and I'm just curious if anyone here has owned a Ford with leather before and felt the MGV in person? The main items I'm worried about for both interiors is how they'll hold up over time with wearing, stretching out, etc. I've noticed a lot of stretched out seat surfaces in pictures of the pre-production models (mainly leather it seems), but that could just be because they aren't production quality yet.

Originally I had ordered leather because, on top of always wanting a car with leather, I was under the impression that the heated seats only came with the leather, but I've since found out that heated seats are available with MGV as well. Another reason is that I read that the carpet in the leather interior option could provide extra sound-deadening, but I have yet to find out if that's true or not.

Any insight you can provide is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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[Mattwings]

I have leather in my 17 Explorer. It's durable, looks good, as comfortable as most other leather I think. I also think a good part of the seats are already vinyl (anything not directly touching skin). I am going MGV on my BL, as much for the dogs and the dirt as the resistance to water. If it's as good as my Chaparral boat, I will be happy! If it isn't as comfortable, it will get some seat covers. Either way, I am not sure the leather will bring much to the table comfort wise, just my opinion. I have seen, but not touched MGV yet. In the BD it looked awesome. Hopefully this weekend I get to experience it at a Ford dealer event.

 

[bgcfman]

We currently have a 2017 expedition with leather, and we previously had a 2003 expedition with leather. Our experience with the older which we had for approx 14 years is that the leather held up well. The new one has perforated leather, and it seems to be doing well. We live in Florida so lots of sunshine....decent cleaning and leather treatment 1 to 2 times a year.

 

[Ryan79260]

I have a 2013 F150 with Leather. Very comfortable and durable. No issues with quality from my perspective. Yes, there are wrinkles, but I attribute that to well worn in baseball glove that caresses me in all the right ways.

 

[IfIHMadeA2021Scout]

I drove a Ford Explorer Sport Trac for 17 years and 270,000 miles and never had a problem with the leather. One crack in the side of the seat was it. My new Lariat Tremor has leather. It's awesome. The leather in the Platinum is supposed to be even better.

With that said, we're going with the MGV on our Badlands.

 

[cparksjr]

My 16 King Ranch leather is pretty darn good, the 12 Raptor I had was okay, and can't say I am real happy with my 20 Tremor that only has 5,000 miles, looks like 50,000 miles already.

 

[iwantmydamnarea51]

Does anyone know the breakdown of what's leather on the seats? Because it's "leather-trimmed," my understanding is that the seats are mostly vinyl

 

[ZackDanger]

Hey Guys - Long time lurker, first time poster.

I just wanted to get your guys' input on Ford's leather quality. I've read a lot of threads on the interior options, but I am stuck on what material I should get on my build. Currently I have a 2-Door Badlands ordered with leather trimmed seats, and I'm just curious if anyone here has owned a Ford with leather before and felt the MGV in person? The main items I'm worried about for both interiors is how they'll hold up over time with wearing, stretching out, etc. I've noticed a lot of stretched out seat surfaces in pictures of the pre-production models (mainly leather it seems), but that could just be because they aren't production quality yet.

Originally I had ordered leather because, on top of always wanting a car with leather, I was under the impression that the heated seats only came with the leather, but I've since found out that heated seats are available with MGV as well. Another reason is that I read that the carpet in the leather interior option could provide extra sound-deadening, but I have yet to find out if that's true or not.

Any insight you can provide is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

If I had to hazard a guess, based on my experience with Fords with rubber flooring, there won't really be a measurable difference between your experience inside the cabin. The rubberized flooring still has sound deadening between it and the floor, and rubber is a pretty good sound insulator as well.

What you would find is that it will reflect noise more easily, but that could be negated with some carpeted floor mats.


My take is:

Don't worry about MGV/Washout Interior being a worse experience than the Leather/Carpet. You should base your decision to get the Leather/Carpet on whether or not you would like the Leather/Carpet, and not because you think you won't like the MGV/Washout.

If that makes sense.

 

[j_anderson]

You should write leather like this "leather" when referring to it. As with most OEM's, its mostly vinyl. For what Ford charges to add "leather", you could spend at Katzkin and get actual full leather.

 

[Rick Astley]

I have a 2019 Ranger Lariat that has the same leather we'll be expecting in Bronco.

Specifically I will not get a Bronco with leather as I feel the leather quality in Ranger is far below expectations for leather quality. The leather used in F150 and some of their other products is nicer, so perhaps they use "budget leather" on Ranger, but that's what I would expect for Bronco as they are made on the same line.

I have felt/sat on MGV in person at the Filson event. It was pretty much as the ford reps described it "nearly leather, a touch more grippy, thicker and has a soft squishy layer below the exterior layer that feels comfortable". I'd go along with their assessment and am happy to have MGV in my Bronco. It will be more durable and feels better than the leather used in Ranger.

Full disclosure: we have ~17K miles on the Ranger now and the passenger seat is getting the usual "hump" in the middle panel of the seat bottom and the drivers seat is creasing heavily with signs the leather will crack or simply delaminate at a few points before it gets to 100K miles. Not impressed at all with Ranger leather at all.

 

[MacHudson]

I have leather in a 2012 Edge SEL. It’s strong stuff but not soft. Never had any failures so far, it has proven to be quite durable. But it’s not soft and luxurious by any measure.

119K miles and going strong.

 

[j_anderson]

Does anyone know the breakdown of what's leather on the seats? Because it's "leather-trimmed," my understanding is that the seats are mostly vinyl

Likely the areas outlined in Red will be leather. Maybe the areas in green too but the rest is likely vinyl

 

[Paul Gagnon]

I have leather seats in my F-350 that are in great condition for the nearly 185,000 miles that I have put on it. My steering wheel is in great condition too. There are a couple of factors that will determine how long your leather seats and steering wheel will last that will really come into play with a vehicle like the Bronco, especially because of it's height.

1) Do not slide out of your seat regardless of whether it is leather, cloth or vinyl. Sliding out of the seat will wear the fabric prematurely and leave you with tears or holes on the outside edges of the front seat. If you are too short then get running boards or something so you can step out of the vehicle instead of sliding.

2) Do not hold the wheel with wet hands. Dry your hands on your jacket or pants or have a rag handy, especially if your hands are muddy. The water from wet hands will eventually make the leather wheel all gross and gummy as the leather disintigrates.

 

[DryYourTears]

Like others, I have leather in my 17 Escape and had it in my 2010 Fusion that I had for ~6 years. It's held up well. Neither of them got that "loose" / wrinkled look like some of the pre-production Broncos had. Also no tears or anything. I ordered it for my Badlands without hesitation.

 

[ZackDanger]

Likely the areas outlined in Red will be leather. Maybe the areas in green too but the rest is likely vinyl

You just gave me a heart attack.

I thought that was maybe an updated final interior...

...Navy Pier with Blue interior accents, and bright Red and Lime Green stitching.

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