[eop2]

Hi All,

I've had a black leather interior in my cars for years. It's held up great.

Now, however, I am looking to purchase a 2013 Subaru Outback Limited. I love the looks of the ivory interior, but I am wondering how well it holds up. I read one post about the leather quickly wearing on the ivory. I'm not sure why this would be specific to the ivory vs. off-black.

I hold onto my cars for a long time and want a durable seat surface. Any thought or suggestions are welcome.

Thanks!

 

[there4igraham]

Dark leather doesn't show debris or staining like it can on lighter leather. On the other hand damaged and scratches can be more pronounced on some black leathers.

Get what you like. If you keep it clean and treat it when needed it should wear well.

 

[4wheeldog]

I have the ivory leather. I also have a similar colored leather interior in my '00 4runner. The old 4runner still looks good, even with a little "Character" worked into the leather. I expect, with the same simple upkeep, the OB will still look good in 10-12 years as well.

Dark leather suffers more from the sun, and makes you suffer, too, just by its nature of getting much hotter. I live where the sun heats up car interiors, even in the coldest part of winter, so light colors are a big plus.

 

[Thai]

The good news is that our seat is not full leather! Only the perforated section is leather...the sides are vinyl. Vinyl is good because modern vinyl don't show wear & tear. That was one thing i hated about my old M3...it had Nappa soft leather all around...boy, that thing showed creases within 6 months easily. I think that it will creased up just by looking at it wrong!

Call me superficial if you want, but one of the reason i picked ivory was because the black leather/vinyl grain looks bad/cheap: http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/104-gen-4-2010-present/44971-black-leather-grain-weird.html

 

[foxrider68]

Dark leather doesn't show debris or staining like it can on lighter leather. On the other hand damaged and scratches can be more pronounced on some black leathers.

Get what you like. If you keep it clean and treat it when needed it should wear well.

I have now had both. There is a very large difference in how much cooler the white with light interior especially on a 95 degree day out. The graphite gray with black I had was much hotter to get into, not a big deal but cooler is nicer. When we decided to leave the Legacy and get an Outback we liked the white more and the two tone interior but we were still a little hesitant. Once we realized the carpet was black in both we went white without question. I full expect the seats to show some color and stains under my a** over time but when I'm sitting I wont see them.

 

[EstateOfMind]

Our preference is for the lighter colored interiors. The darker color interiors make the interior's feel closed in, IMO. Fortunately, the OB does have a light colored head liner so that helps.

However, after seeing the Saddle Brown interior of the SAP package, it wasn't so important to have a light colored interior.

Honestly, as others have said, if you keep the surfaces clean and conditioned you should get years of use and it is possible to keep it almost like new.

 

[Jake2c]

I have had both colors over the years, also leather and cloth. I prefer the lighter interior but my home is in Fl and I hate burning my legs on black leather. I found I ended up covering my leather with seat covers so that my fish guts/mountain dirt / salt water / fresh water encased pants and shirt don't screw up the leather. I now just get cloth seats, scotch guard them and put a high quality matching cover on them that I can take out and clean. It's a cost decision if I'm going to cover the seat anyway. I bought the car specifically to use hard in outdoor activities so I went more with practical over looks. The leather seat offers more support in the OB if you need it. Just my two zincs.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>

 

[Kolenka]

I have now had both. There is a very large difference in how much cooler the white with light interior especially on a 95 degree day out. The graphite gray with black I had was much hotter to get into, not a big deal but cooler is nicer. When we decided to leave the Legacy and get an Outback we liked the white more and the two tone interior but we were still a little hesitant. Once we realized the carpet was black in both we went white without question. I full expect the seats to show some color and stains under my a** over time but when I'm sitting I wont see them.

While the dark interior will heat up faster in hot temperatures, the light interior can get just as hot. It just takes longer to get there since you don't have the seats absorbing more light to speed the process along.

I prefer the lighter interior, but more because it doesn't make the car feel like a cave.

 

[Thai]

However, after seeing the Saddle Brown interior of the SAP package, it wasn't so important to have a light colored interior.

I agree...saddle brown looks amazing!!!

 

[Latigo]

I'm usually highly opposed to light interiors. Our hybrid camry has light leather and carpet and looks like ****. However, subaru does what dodge/chrysler also do by putting black carpeting in with their light interiors. I think this will keep them looking nice for years to come.
That said, I got dark leather on my 13 because I like the way the wood contrasts and I like the pitch black effect when driving at night.

 

[EstateOfMind]

I'm usually highly opposed to light interiors. Our hybrid camry has light leather and carpet and looks like ****. However, subaru does what dodge/chrysler also do by putting black carpeting in with their light interiors. I think this will keep them looking nice for years to come.
That said, I got dark leather on my 13 because I like the way the wood contrasts and I like the pitch black effect when driving at night.

This must be new... our 2010 Forester has light gray (platinum, I think they call it) leather seats and the carpet and carpet mats are the same color.

 

[Subyblue]

Makes me wish for the days when interior color choices ran to such things as rust, coral, cinnamon, red, sea green, forest green, turquoise, teal blue, nile blue, champaign, tan, saddle, brown as well as black and white. And multi-color as well. Saw a 59 Ford Galaxie convertible that had factory blue, black and white seats. Just simpler and cheaper to limit colors to two, or even only one.

 

[McReynolds]

I thought the light interior gave the car a real "dressed up" look. But just getting in & out on the test drive there were several dirt scuffs on the rocker panel. I can just imagin what our kids would do...we got the dark.

 

[Debbadoo]

Makes me wish for the days when interior color choices ran to such things as rust, coral, cinnamon, red, sea green, forest green, turquoise, teal blue, nile blue, champaign, tan, saddle, brown as well as black and white. And multi-color as well. Saw a 59 Ford Galaxie convertible that had factory blue, black and white seats. Just simpler and cheaper to limit colors to two, or even only one.

I had a 1985 Teal Green Pontiac Grand Am and the interior was
Teal as well. Also had a silver Buick Regal with red interior. Do miss the color variety. As you said, very minimal interior color choices nowadays.

 

[scoobydoo2]

...the light side attracts the dark side and then it just looks awful...

 

[eop2]

Thanks for all your input. I'm still trying to decide.

Just found this site that has some great information and photos. It's cars101.com. It's pretty handy.

 

[Saint J VT]

I had a car, many years ago with an ivory interior. I remember how disappointed I was that my blue jeans were wearing off blue dye into the ivory seats. Nothing I could do would wash the blue off the seats. They weren't leather but instead were like a Naugahyde.

 

[chilanzar]

I had a 1985 Teal Green Pontiac Grand Am and the interior was
Teal as well. Also had a silver Buick Regal with red interior. Do miss the color variety. As you said, very minimal interior color choices nowadays.

That is one of the reasons for GM's failure. Having 10 different choices means more inventory and supply. As nice as it is to have diffrent colors it also makes the cost of production higher, and one of the reasons Subau can build cars in America and make a profit and GM can not. I had a Chevy with a maroon interior.. (would look silly today) You can get a Bentley with a hundred diffrent colors on the outside and 50 diffrent colors on the inside.. but then again look at the price tag.. LOL

 

[OBnube]

I had a car, many years ago with an ivory interior. I remember how disappointed I was that my blue jeans were wearing off blue dye into the ivory seats. Nothing I could do would wash the blue off the seats. They weren't leather but instead were like a Naugahyde.

Buy better jeans.

 

[scoobydoo2]

...Luke....come over to the dark side....