Wearability of the cloth interior

[MisterMichigan]

Hello all, been a lurker here for some time. I'm pretty well set on a new 5, probably going to go with a Sport as I don't need all the gee-gaws and want to keep the price as low as possible. One thing I'm a bit concerned with is the "wearability" of the cloth interior, specifically the beige color. I like the lighter color as I think it lightens up the interior, but I have 2 kids that do a passable impression of nesting racoons when they spend any time in the car. How does the fabric hold up to real world wear, tear, and spills? Lots easier to hide the scars with dark upholstery....

Thanks

MM

 

[Kona Bear]

If you have kids, leather is the better option IMO - Easier to clean.

M

 

[lindsayt]

I hate cloth seats. My last car was leather, and my 5-year-old daughter (even back when she was an infant) could do nothing to destroy the leather in that car - just wipe it up or, if necessary, scrub or even scrape it off.

So when my wife decided she wanted a 5 and I realized we couldn't get both leather *AND* a manual gearbox (WTF Mazda?), I was concerned. Minnesota winters mean muddy, slushy boots on the seatbacks, and we ultimately went with the beige interior to boot.

The good news is that it's better than I'd expected. I've only had ours a month, but given that it's January, it's the worst month of the year for the interior. We've already had a few times we've needed to scrub things off and clean things up, and it's certainly worse than leather. There's already a small slightly-darker area on the back of the front passenger seat in front of my daughter's boots, but it's hardly noticeable.

Definitely requires more vigilance than leather, but I envisioned black spots on the chairs within a week, and at least so far the stainguard had prevented that from happening.

 

[MisterMichigan]

Good to hear. Your situation is similar to mine - I wouldn't mind the leather, but am not real crazy about some of the "other" stuff that you have buy (moonroof being one of them). Of course, if Mazda had any sense they'd listen to me and put the 'speed3 drivetrain with a paddleshift 6spd auto in the 5. It's obviously a brilliant idea, they should just do it already.

 

[Phratt]

There are "gadgets" that are sold for these purposes...

I have seen a nylon type of protector for seats.

This is sold to protect against child abuse of a car seat.... (no)

There are 2 models, one for the seat that the child is sitting in, the other for the back of the front seat. They attach with either elastics or Velcro, I do not remember exactly.

With these accessories you can get whatever type of seat material and color that your heart desires. For a person on a budget as I am, it definitely costs less than the leather seat option.

 

[thaxman]

Since the 5 has basically 4 front-row bucket seats, you may want to look into generic bucket seat covers. Tweety Bird is always a hit with the under-6 crowd (cabpatch)

 

[thaxman]

Oh, and I H8 the cloth! Got mine w/27K on the odo, but a big yukky chocolate or espresso stain right in the driver's crotch area. For the unobservant, its probably invisible, but if you are anything like me, (or Monk) its impossible to ignore. Soon I am going to have to ramp up the air compressor in the garage, and blow all the seats to get out the imbedded dust that is slowly turning the black interior a muddy grey. But at least my kids are very clean in the car, so I am not always pulling fries and melted crayons out from the crevices. IDK the price difference btw the Sport and Grand Touring, but I can tell you that between the leather surfaces and the body kit, spoiler and other interior goodies like the Karakuri storage, it may be a worthwhile consideration. Well, as I said on a different post, I guess it depends on how long you will hold onto it. If its only a few years, you simply will not get that money back on trade/sale, but if you want to keep it a decade or so, or until that day comes when the repair is 75% of its value, then I would SURELY pamper myself a little with some convenience options.
And as for the moonroof, for me it sure is nice to leave the shade open all winter long to get a little extra sunlight into my life.

 

[JReichle1]

I had the tan interior in my protege and it held up pretty well for the decade that it was in the car. I recently did a full leather upgrade from katzkin to a dark graphite and I love it. I am a mechanic, so my dirty clothes don't rub into the seats like they used to. You can get the leather from katzkin for under $1000 and if you can do the install yourself you will save another $500 in labor. I got lucky and my seats only set me back about $250. If you end up getting cloth black is the best option to avoid stains.

 

[lindsayt]

Hey jreichle1, those Katzkin kits sound pretty good. I just looked at their website and it looks like they have a kit for the 5. How do you get pricing information, and how do you install? It looks pretty great...

 

[JReichle1]

Hey jreichle1, those Katzkin kits sound pretty good. I just looked at their website and it looks like they have a kit for the 5. How do you get pricing information, and how do you install? It looks pretty great...

I got my kit from eBay. The only drawback is you don't have many options for color unless you order direct from katzkin. You are at the mercy of whatever is in stock. If you order direct they will use any color, stiching or padded/preforated inserts. I got lucky they were selling a perfect set online. I had to swap my rear seat back from an lx, cuz my car is a dx. If you order direct it should be $500-$800. But that depends on what combination you choose. I have no clue if this is the right price for your specific application, just what I have seen them sell for. You can install the seats yourself. Just take your time and do research online for katzkin leather instillation. Basiclly you remove the seats, take off the cloth seat covers down to the foam in he seats. Then you re install the leather covers in the exact same way you took the cloth off. There are some hog rings in some places holding the seats together. Just pry them apart or cut them with wire cutters and replace them with hog rings or I've seen people use zip ties. I am a mechanic so I re used the hog rings, but you might want to order hog ring pliers and extra hog rings just incase. If your car has seat mounted airbags make sure you disable the airbags properly and wait at least 15 minutes before unplugging the seat. Also make sure that the seatcovers you get are compatible with air bags. I assume no responsibility for any damages or injurys incurred during instillation. If vehicle is equipped with airbags in the seats and you are not comfortable working arround them contact an upholstry shop and ask how muck they would charge to install them.I would charge about $300 for labor, but most places are about$400-$500 for the labor. Anyway, sorry about the long response. Hope this info helps. And for the record these seats will bring up the resale value of your vehicle if installed correctly. Can't say the same for most mods...