Modern vinyls/pleather are the best. MB-Tex for Mercedes or the vegan leather on Tesla’s are two examples.

With small kids we strongly prefer leather! Even with covers there are things that still get through. Have you ever seen that funny skit where the parent removes the car seat and all that crap underneath?

Leather or vinyl only

leather seats and liners. They're absolute must.

Leather seats were my one car requirement. I’m still recovering from the trauma of riding in my older sister’s first minivan (cloth seats) when her kids were little. Just grodiness everywhere.

leather

I used to get cloth when my kids were younger. I thought the nasty mess that accumulated on the car seats was due to kids. Don't get me started about the smell. I got a car with leather seats (it was the only option in the trim level). Right away I noticed the car stayed cleaner, smells were less of a problem. Leather seats don't get hot like the vinyl seats of old. I think the only consideration is color--too light is a problem for everyone

Anonymous wrote:I prefer cloth, actually. It's never too hot to sit on, and it doesn't get sticky from unknown substances. While it can stain, you can clean it like you would any upholstery or choose to put washable covers on it.

NP. Can I ask how you clean it? We are in the market for a new car and have the same question as OP. However, we only have one kid and she is pretty fastidiously tidy so I'm not worried about stuff like sports sweat lingering. But obviously everyone spills.

Our current car has leather seats but I sort of hate them because they are light gray and show everything and I feel like I'm constantly wiping them down. So I've been looking at darker leather seats but I'm worried they will be molten hot all the time because our parking isn't covered. So cloth seems like it might actually be the best options.

I prefer cloth, actually. It's never too hot to sit on, and it doesn't get sticky from unknown substances. While it can stain, you can clean it like you would any upholstery or choose to put washable covers on it.

I’ve seen some cars with a pleather type material. Anyone have experience with that over time?

Leather or vegan leather.

Definitely leather. Not just stains from food, mud, etc but when they're older they start to stink from sports and such and that gets stuck in the cloth. Gag!

Sorry- forgot to say we have leather. It’s so easy to clean.

I’d go with leather. Some car brands have pleather.

I have two kids and searching for a new car! Is getting leather a necessity if you have two kids? It just drives the price up substantially. But don’t want a smelly car that olds odor because of cloth.

Currently have a leather car so curious to hear those with cloth seats and kids