I just noticed that the leather seats in the Pat are actually vinyl with "leather trim" I'm shocked being as the "leather" is the nicest seat offered for the patriot. Can anyone with a limited give me their opinion, what parts of the seat are leather and what is vinyl? Is it nearly impossible to tell the difference so I shouldn't worry about it anyway? Is it a really good leather impersonation? I thought I really liked the leather seats but now I'm not so sure.

I own a limited. I think the seats are great. I am not sure if part of the seat is vinyl or not. If part of the seat is, it is the nicest vinyl I have ever seen. I think the seats look great and are very comfortable. I feel more comfortable in the leather vs the YES Essentials fabric. The middle portion of the seat is definitely leather. The outside edge may be vinyl. Not a big deal to me overall.

Can you explain this a bit.....what part is leather, and what part is vinyl?

Can you explain this a bit.....what part is leather, and what part is vinyl?

Well I think thats the question of the day for everyone with and without a limited!

Okay...the base sport model comes standard with vinyl bucket seats. You can upgrade to the YES essential with the E package.

The limited comes standard with the leather trimmed. I have trouble believing they would sell a Limited with seats that are largely vinyl and trimmed in leather.


Can anybody actually look at their vehicle and figure out what is leather and what isn't?

From the looks of it the seat backs and sides are vinyl. That is typical for medium priced cars.

Just for clarification....when you say "seat backs and sides" you are not reffering to where the driver's back and side rest on the seat....you are referring to the part of the seat that faces the rear of the vehicle and the side doors....hence the part that the driver never really contacts.

Right?

That is correct.

It appears only the contrasting color panel on both the lean-backs and lower cushions is actually leather. The color panel is the part which is either pastel pebble beige or pastel slate gray. So, there's not much leather in a Patriot.

The good news: the vinyl looks like really high-quality vinyl; not at all like that extra-bumpy dark brown "fake croc hide" your Aunt Martha had in her "73 LTD. Also, many cars in this price range don't even have that small scrap of leather on the rear seats. The Mustang is like that: only a tiny bit of leather surrounded by atrociously cheap vinyl on the front seats, with all-vinyl in the back. I guess American consumers ARE easilly fooled. (I wonder how many hundreds of dollars and hours of labor the average Mustang owner will waste slopping leather conditioner on those vinyl perches...)

I was trying to figure this out myself. I own a limited, and I really can't tell which part of the seat is vinyl if there is any. It all looks like leather to me. Maybe I'm just the average easily fooled American consumer though

i too own a limited...heres the break-down on the leather/vinyl ratio. front seats: the center of both the butt & back support are leather (seated silver/black areas), sides and headrest are vinyl, back is plastic. back seats: just the silver parts are leather...again, as someone stated above, this is the norm for this price class...the terms they usually use in these cases are "leather-trimmed seats" (as in the jeep brouchure) or "leather seated areas"...just plain straight-up all "leather seats" are in a different class...hope this helps.

You're obviously NOT an average easilly-fooled American consumer. You're a Patriot enthusiast, which identifies you as highly intelligent and blessed with extraordinary taste :notworthy:

pfontainejr,

You are right on the content. I took another look this morning.

I'm a fan of my leather seats. They sure as hell smell like real leather, and are very comfortable. You still may be right, but no real complaints on my end.

I'm a fan of my leather seats. They sure as hell smell like real leather, and are very comfortable. You still may be right, but no real complaints on my end.
:doh: :D

I can see the headlines now:

"Patriot Drives Buyer To Sniff Own Seat"

Next year's owners manual will have a section on how to use the seats properly.

I can see the headlines now:

"Patriot Drives Buyer To Sniff Own Seat"

LOL !

Pictures would be helpful here.
Any takers?

Okay, since my Patriot seems like it's never going to get here, I went back to the dealer to do some research:

The "leather trim" on the rear seats is in the contrast color panel only, on both the lower cushion and the leanback. On the front seats, the darker panel immediately above the contrast panel on the leanback and immediately in front of the contrast panel on the lower cushion are also leather. (So, the rear seats have a "patch" of leather and the front seats have a "stripe.") Everything else is vinyl.

I own a limited.

There is no vinyl
It's leather,

I drove a cheap cheap cheap version without "Yes Essentials fabric"
The 16k Starting CDN version, this had crap vinyl

so, the discussion here is kinda silly. It's leather.. there is a small amount of fabric in the back seats.

The only vinyl on patriots is the cheapest low of the low models, "those who don't spend $200 to upgrade to yes essentials fabric" or those who buy a base model..

I own a limited.

There is no vinyl
It's leather,

I drove a cheap cheap cheap version without "Yes Essentials fabric"
The 16k Starting CDN version, this had crap vinyl

so, the discussion here is kinda silly. It's leather.. there is a small amount of fabric in the back seats.

The only vinyl on patriots is the cheapest low of the low models, "those who don't spend $200 to upgrade to yes essentials fabric" or those who buy a base model..

You will want to look again. Jeep has always used leather for the sit area and vinyl on the sides of their seats. The Patriot is no different.

The "leather" on our Cherokee Limited is our main complaint about the whole vehicle. When we went in to buy a Patriot, we specifically asked if they are still doing the "leather trim" practice. The answer is yes, and if you look at the side of the leather seat in a Patriot, it is fabric backed vinyl.

As stated above the sides and back are vinyl or as BMW calls it Leatherette. lol.

On my 01 BMW it was the same thing. Leather seating surface with the back and sides being high quality "Leatherette".

I can't really tell the difference at all.

The sales literature says "Leather Trim". They aren't trying to pull something. Caveat Emptor! Just 'cause you assumed and no one detailed it for you does NOT mean you were screwed.

Personally, I wanted the Vinyl-Tech seats and had them on the original order, then I got bumped to an 08 and the vinyl is now only available on D package. I saw them, I liked them and I also know the vinyl in the leather trimmed seats are made out of the same stuff and everyone here can't seem to tell the vinyl from the leather so I don't think you can call them "crappy".

It's says "Leather Trim"

Which is a bit odd, because when you think of trim, you think of around the edges. But the leather part is actually in the middle.
It should be called 'Leather Centers' :)


everyone here can't seem to tell the vinyl from the leather


In re: to the actual Leather seats. They did a good job of matching the feel and texture of the vinyl part with the leather, but you can see an obvious difference in the grain of the 2.

Armor All makes a leather wipe that works really well on the entire seat. Has a little leather conditioner for the leather, but isn't so loaded with it to make the vinyl greasy or to plug the 'pores' of the vinyl.

Cheers,
Jim

Which is a bit odd, because when you think of trim, you think of around the edges. But the leather part is actually in the middle.
It should be called 'Leather Centers' :)


Jeep.ca calls it "leather faced", not leather trimmed.

I like my limited seat very comfortable no matter what they are made of...

The vinyl trim on my Limited is good quality, not like the cardboard crapola Ford is putting on their products. My friend's new Mustang has a SMALL PATCH of leather on the front seats ONLY - the rear seats are ALL plastic. The Pat has significantly more real leather than that...

Even my Dad's new Cadillac is leather/vinyl seating, so don't blame Jeep - this is industry standard these days.

My '67 Imperial has LEATHER SEATS: all leather, all soft surfaces, front and back. The least expensive car on the market I know of with a LEATHER INTERIOR (all soft, sewn surfaces, including dash and armrests) is a $70K Jaguar XJ-8.

For $26K, these seats are beautiful, comfortable and appear built to last!

The vinyl trim on my Limited is good quality, not like the cardboard crapola Ford is putting on their products. My friend's new Mustang has a SMALL PATCH of leather on the front seats ONLY - the rear seats are ALL plastic. The Pat has significantly more real leather than that...

Even my Dad's new Cadillac is leather/vinyl seating, so don't blame Jeep - this is industry standard these days.

My '67 Imperial has LEATHER SEATS: all leather, all soft surfaces, front and back. The least expensive car on the market I know of with a LEATHER INTERIOR (all soft, sewn surfaces, including dash and armrests) is a $70K Jaguar XJ-8.

For $26K, these seats are beautiful, comfortable and appear built to last!



Also want to put out there that the heat and weather can damage the leather more. The vinyl holds up to it more so than the leather maybe that has something to do with it.

You will want to look again. Jeep has always used leather for the sit area and vinyl on the sides of their seats. The Patriot is no different.

Not all Jeeps have seats like this. My Jeep Commander has high-quality butter-smooth leather... true leather seats. The entire front seats are full leather from top to bottom and front to back, the back seats have one small cloth piece right at the back of the seat but are otherwise completely leather, the center console is leather covered...

I've been trying to figure out the leather/vinyl thing since I've had my Patriot. I was told the seats were leather but I've thought all along they were vinyl. Doesn't say on the car description that was on the window at the dealer. Just says heated seats.