I always thought leather seats were tougher than cloth

Post by **matthew1** » 22 Apr 2026, 08:50

I had a Honda Civic with cloth seats and they were worn at around 100k miles, foam peeking through the side bolster.

I agreed with conventional wisdom: leather seats are more durable than cloth. It made sense to me this way for a long time. It was just how the world worked.

But here we have an 850 with cloth, and it has 250k+ miles. The cloth seats and even side bolster look practically new. Why? What's going on here?

Post by **hausmeister** » 22 Apr 2026, 12:20

It is probably just a measure of quality. High quality fabric seats vs low quality leather sets, fabric wins. But I am sure good leather seats can last very long with some care, and longer than many fabric seats. My Impression of the P80 leather is that it is just not that good.
Also the vinyl or fake leather on the s/v70 isn't good. For myself, I have just accepted that Volvo didn't have amazing quality in everything.

Post by **volvolugnut** » 22 Apr 2026, 13:00

I agree. Not all leather is good and not all cloth is bad.
volvolugnut

Post by **scot850** » 22 Apr 2026, 14:57

The issue with many Volvo seats touted as leather is that the center section is leather and the sides typically vinyl. I find it is generally the vinyl that fails/splits (anyone see the P1 'cloth' seats?). The other issue is that cars were never designed to last 20+ years. Add to that, ask yourself, when did you last clean and feed the leather seats in your car?? Do you protect your seats with anything when you live in sunny and hot areas with lots of sunshine?

I have had Volvo cloth seats last for many years without issues, 240 seats anyone?

The last issue is not terminal for many seats and that the threads for the seams fail, just like a shoe lace with time and movement. Normally they can be removed and re-sewn and good to go again.

I was disappointed to find our son's XC70 driver's seat outer edge is failing. It is not the seat but more the material the seats are made from seems to be peeling off the surface exposing the material below. I need to find some brown dye to sort that before it gets much worse.

I think the point has been made by others, care and maintenance can make the seats last longer when they are made from decent quality materials.

Neil.

Post by **abscate** » 22 Apr 2026, 15:45

Grunhilde the resurrection of 421 emerald green wasa base NA - 1998 and had perfect velour seats at 180k

Post by **BlackBart** » 23 Apr 2026, 11:18

Our 245T had dry tan leather seats, so when they finally cracked apart we had them recovered in a heavy tan fabric, kinda like a narrow corduroy.

Post by **volvolugnut** » 23 Apr 2026, 18:59

My 1987 244 has blue velour seats. It has always sat outside. The seats are still good at about 225K miles.
volvolugnut

Post by **scot850** » 23 Apr 2026, 19:11

My point exactly. Good quality materials used!

Neil.

454cid · Post by **454cid** » 24 Apr 2026, 10:32

I guess I've always had the impression that leather was not as durable. Cloth and vinyl owners aren't ever talking about cloth and vinyl conditioners so their seats don't crack. I never liked leather, but now that I've had a couple of cars with it, I do.

Post by **matthew1** » 24 Apr 2026, 11:13

454cid wrote: 24 Apr 2026, 10:32 I guess I've always had the impression that leather was not as durable.

Oh interesting. I guess I never really asked about how people felt about cloth vs leather in terms of durability until now. I thought the whole world favored leather in this regard, and I have no idea why.