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Leather car seats and other new car features


amdirel

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So my old old car has died, probably permanently. For various reasons I'm looking at getting a new car. There are numerous options for each car I look at, including leather seats. But I'm not sure if I want them.


Pros- they look so lovely. And are easy to clean if there are spills.

Cons- they get hot in summer. I seem to be a sweaty mess lately, and I'd maybe be more sweaty on leather? Also you have to look after them. And are 'leather seats' even real leather these days?


Thoughts?


Also any other new car features you think are awesome? Some of them have all safety features across the range, others it has to be a higher model. I can't afford to go all out though.


Also I'll be teaching teens to drive in this car. So I've got to make sure it's suitable. And fuel efficient, for all the hours of driving we have to do!

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I love the leather seats in my car, I wouldn’t go back to cloth seats. I’m in Melbourne so I don’t have to deal with the sweaty factor so much so maybe that’s why I love them.


The one feature on my car that I can’t live without is the park assist. It just zips into a parallel parking space. No fussing, no being ‘that guy’ holding up traffic. Worth every cent.


We also have a feature that the boot space opens when I wave my foot under the bumper. Love that. Adaptive cruise is also up there on car features I love.

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We have a car with 360 cameras. I’m in love with it. Reverse parking is no worries, despite its size.


Our leather seats don’t get that hot. Agree with the tinting. Our front seats are heated. Love it for cold and wet days.

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I love the leather seats in my car, I wouldn’t go back to cloth seats. I’m in Melbourne so I don’t have to deal with the sweaty factor so much so maybe that’s why I love them.


The one feature on my car that I can’t live without is the park assist. It just zips into a parallel parking space. No fussing, no being ‘that guy’ holding up traffic. Worth every cent.


We also have a feature that the boot space opens when I wave my foot under the bumper. Love that. Adaptive cruise is also up there on car features I love.

 

Oh I want the kick sensor!! Only one of the cars I looked at had it I think, and it was a mid-high model.

Adaptive cruise control was on most I think.

And I really really want park assist as I'm so very bad at parking!! But I don't remember seeing it listed. Maybe the top models.

I think I need to really sit down and compare the cars that I *think* I've narrowed it down to.

It's all so confusing! And although I was thinking of getting a new car around EOFY time, this has just been very sudden and I'm feeling overwhelmed by the decisions!

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Leather seats are pretty practical. But I have the opposite issue with them, I find they’re too cold in winter.


I love my adaptive cruise control. I set the speed, then it also keeps a steady distance from the vehicle in front, no matter what speed they are doing. No need to keep overtaking or keep braking and resetting cruise control on the freeway.


I don’t like automatic wipers.

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Adaptive cruise control is brilliant if you do a lot of highway driving.


Leather seats have been great for the grubby kid stage. We got a treatment done on them when I bought the car so they’re very easy to look after, still look brand new coming up to four years old. Agree with others that tinted windows stop them getting too hot. They can be chilly on really cold days but the front seats have seat warmers so I don’t notice.


The other thing I love on my car is the blind spot monitoring. Again fantastic if you do a lot of highway driving

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VeritasVinumArte

We are hoping to upgrade DHs car this year for DS1 to learn to drive. We want the safety features..... it is better to be in a new car with all the safety features than a 14yo car. Blind Spot monitors, automatic breaking etc.

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We are hoping to upgrade DHs car this year for DS1 to learn to drive. We want the safety features..... it is better to be in a new car with all the safety features than a 14yo car. Blind Spot monitors, automatic breaking etc.

 

Yeah my car is 17yo and has so many issues, there's no way it would have been safe enough for my kids to drive. And now it has a likely irreparable issue.

The automatic braking sounds great for a learner; and much more reassuring for the parent in the passenger seat lol.

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VeritasVinumArte

[mention]amdirel[/mention] yes that was my argument when DH said “no , let’s keep my car for kids to learn on”. My car also beeps warnings if you are too close at the side. I have the Peugeot 5008 SUV and DH should be getting the 3008 or 2008. 3008 is basically my car but smaller (mine is 7 seater), the 2008 is still very similar.

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I don't find leather seats get hot - they're nothing like the vinyl seats you used to get! I got a new car last week, it and my previous one had seat warmers for the front, and my new one also has seat coolers.


As above, love the adaptive cruise. My new one also has a 360 camera, great to check I'm parked properly (it's a Carnival, so quite the beast!)

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My first car was a Datsun 180B from 1974, lol. It barely had seatbelts. I think any car built in the last 17 years would be fine to learn in, cause ABS was mandatory in 2003 I think. They would almost all have drivers airbags too.

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I'd look at costs for replacing parts. A friend has a European car (Renault?) and the parts are ridiculously expensive.

I recently drove a brand spanking new Forester and it had EVERYTHING!

It beeped if you went over the speed limit, eye motion sensor in case you start to nod off, lane assist to keep you in your lane, so many things.

My old car is less than 10 years and I thought it was pretty fancy with it's reversing camera lol, but this is nek level!

I want one!

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Leather seats are pretty practical. But I have the opposite issue with them, I find they’re too cold in winter.

 

That's what i find at home. I have a leather recliner and it's freezing in winter and i have to put a blanket on it.


I do like auto wipers but they can be a bit slow at times when only ligly misting but you still can't see out. Love auto lights but my favourite thing is the proximity key. No more trying to find my keys in the bottom of my bag and panicking. Just walk up and press a tiny button. I couldn't go back with that.

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I'd look at costs for replacing parts. A friend has a European car (Renault?) and the parts are ridiculously expensive.

I recently drove a brand spanking new Forester and it had EVERYTHING!

It beeped if you went over the speed limit, eye motion sensor in case you start to nod off, lane assist to keep you in your lane, so many things.

My old car is less than 10 years and I thought it was pretty fancy with it's reversing camera lol, but this is nek level!

I want one!

 

I have a forester, the lane departure feature is so annoying because so many roads have painted-over lines, tram tracks, weird markings, and have you been down the Monash lately?? OMG, damn thing beeps at me all the time. I have to turn it off all the time.

And my passenger seatbelt alarm goes off without a passenger. And my auto wipers are broken and can’t be fixed without a new $2000 windscreen.

Don’t get a forester. Lol.


As an automotive engineer, I can honestly say, the more your car does, the more that can go wrong. Every “feature” usually requires an extra electrical harness and an extra sensor of some sort, plus extra programming and parameters. And any of it can break. My next car is going to have the minimum spec required to get adaptive cruise, that’s it.


I kind of miss my 180B.

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Heated leather seats. I found cloth can go " nappy". In our old Mazda 3 on the driver's seat it pilled where you got in and out if the car and being black cloth was rather noticeable.

Blind spot monitoring. Not just for highway driving, but fantastic for multi lane suburb driving.

I have a camera pointing downwards on the left wing mirror. It helps you line up with the curb or parking spot when parking.

Reversing camera with parking guides. First time I have been able to reverse park. I prefer warning beepers over 360 cameras.

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I would steer clear of cream leather seats, dark clothes stains the seats and requires additional cleaning with a leather cleaner like Oakwood.


Pretty though, especially teamed with timber paneling

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My first car was a Datsun 180B from 1974, lol. It barely had seatbelts. I think any car built in the last 17 years would be fine to learn in, cause ABS was mandatory in 2003 I think. They would almost all have drivers airbags too.

 

Mine was a 1973 Hillman Hunter - I was born in 1974. She was 17 shades of orange with so many dents (none from me) and I loved her.

 

As an automotive engineer, I can honestly say, the more your car does, the more that can go wrong. Every “feature” usually requires an extra electrical harness and an extra sensor of some sort, plus extra programming and parameters. And any of it can break. My next car is going to have the minimum spec required to get adaptive cruise, that’s it.


I kind of miss my 180B.

 

My former mechanic father says this all the time - he started with electric windows! “The more electrical stuff you have the more can go wrong”.

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The one thing I would not negotiate on is reverse parking cameras at the very least. It should be mandatory on all cars, it is a very useful safety feature that prevents accidents.

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Hills Mum Bec

Would not be without leather seats, they don’t get too hot with tinted windows and I don’t find them sweaty at all.


Other features that I would not be without is reversing camera & sensors, even better if it’s a 360 camera or a birds eye one. Sat nav or Apple car play for maps use. My current car does not have seat warmers and I really miss them, we did have a car once that had ventilated front seats so would also have a cooling feature that was pretty cool but not essential. Rain sensing wipers and dusk sensing headlights are also a must have. We had a car once with the kick sensor but it would never work for me, I think my feet and legs are too short to reach the sensor or something. Lane departure warning is good but we have turned off the feature that steers you back in to your lane. Our car has adaptive cruise control but I only use it on long highway trips and it’s something I could live without.

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My first car was a Datsun 180B from 1974, lol. It barely had seatbelts. I think any car built in the last 17 years would be fine to learn in, cause ABS was mandatory in 2003 I think. They would almost all have drivers airbags too.

 

I'm sure a 17yo car that runs well would be fine! Mine is so very far from fine...

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First thing I did was disconnect the sensors that detect "bums on seats*. It's usually just a wire under the seat itself.


Drives me crazy when it beeps at me cause I've got heavy things on there!

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You need to work out what sort of driving you do and what features best suit.


When I was doing lots of highway driving, adaptive cruise control and lane assist was probably my favourite feature.


When I was doing lots of city, peak hour driving, the other version of adaptive cruise control was the bomb. I pretty much didn’t have to touch the brake or accelerator for the whole drive. It would stop and start with the traffic.


Real leather seats don’t get too hot or cold. Obviously sitting in full sun on a Qld summer’s day it will get hot but it was always the metal seat belt buckle that was the risk of burning and not the seats. There is also the blended leather and fake leather which aren’t as nice to the touch but still pretty good.


I have seat heaters and ventilated seats. I find the ventilated seats more important than heated seats even when we lived in a cold climate. It prevents that sticky, sweaty bum and back phenomenon when getting out of the car. I had that a lot on long drives.


The kick boot feature I’ve had in my last few cars but rarely actually used. I would be more likely to open the boot remotely with the key than wait til I was close. If someone else was carrying shopping or whatever to the car, I would open the boot ahead of them so they knew which car they’re walking towards. If I had shopping, it was either in a trolley or I could just press the button thanks to the proximity sensor. The only times I used the kick feature was at the bottle shop and I was carrying a heavy box 😝


The keyless entry feature is great. I keep my car key secured in my handbag/wallet so there’s no risk of dropping and loosing it. Those things are bloomin’ expensive to replace. I keep house and other keys separate so they’re not on the same key ring as the car key.


New cars also have remote start features which you can control with an app on your phone. I can pre-start the car so it can cool down before we get in. Would have been great when the kids were little and we had been parked outside. Also handy when we take the dog for a drive with us and I stop to duck into a shop. Previously, I either wouldn’t do that or an adult would stay with the car.


The glass tinting, if the manufacturer offers a special solar glass type option, go for that over after market stick on types. The solar glass has stuff embedded into the glass itself like a mineral sunscreen which cuts down the uv rays getting into the car. It reduces the temperature inside the cabin and skin cancer risks if you spend a lot of daylight hours driving.


I’ve not found the lane assist feature to make evasive driving more difficult. I’ve actually found the computers sensed and responded faster than I did. I do country driving with roos and cattle as well as idiot city driving. One of my cars saved me from an accident when a car swerved into my lane in a tunnel. If the manufacturer or dealer offer any driving schools or programs, take them up on it. They will often teach you how to use and drive your specific car because the way the technology works can vary slightly.


I love the 360° cameras but don’t use the parking features. I find the autonomous parking to be more conservative than I am, so it will often refuse some tight parks whereas I will still go for them.


LED headlight are amazing. They are so bright and light up dark roads so clearly. Some cars also have the technology which can block out parts of the headlights so you don’t blind oncoming traffic but the rest of the road is still well lit. If you do a lot of night driving in regional areas, this is an awesome option. City driving with street lights it’s probably not so important.


And I’m with [mention]VeritasVinumArte[/mention] on the modern car for a learner driver. Our learner driver is getting to start with all the safety features. Once they are competent, they’ll get to try the older cars which requires much more concentration and thought.


I had a car stolen a little while back and the police were concerned that it would be used for ram raids or outrunning police. They visibly relaxed when they realised it had the auto brake feature so the car would stop itself from crashing.


With whichever car you choose, try and get servicing and an extended manufacturers warranty included in your negotiations.

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