Subaru Leather Seats Review – 10 Things You Need to Know

Subaru car seats are elegant for being constructed with standard materials like leather and StarTex. However, earlier, they used real leather on their upholstery, but later they started using StarTex, an excellent alternative to leather.

Still, a few Subaru models are available on the market with leather seats. While other models have leather on the areas where drivers’ and passengers’ skin might touch.

Leather seats have distinctive features. I will explain more in this Subaru leather seats review.

Are Subaru Leather Seats Real Leather?

All Subaru car models don’t use real leather on their seats. So, what do they use? They mix real leather and vinyl and use it on their upholstery.  

Subaru generally uses a leather trim, meaning the surface and seat back only have real leather. All other parts are stuffed with fake leather and vinyl.

Now one question might have popped up: Is fake leather worth the quality? Happily, Subaru introduced a high-quality material on their sears named StarTex. This type of vinyl withstanding friction, wear and tear efficiently.

Incredibly, StarTex has the below features,

• Water-resistant
• Durable
• Free from polyvinyl-chloride, phthalate, and chlorine
• Promotes breathability
• Prevents moisture
• Easy to wash

This is a non-leather material for Subaru car seats and an excellent alternative to leather.

Subaru Leather Seats Review – 10 Things You Need to Know

Subaru uses high-end leather sets in a few car models to give a luxurious experience to the drivers and passengers. Here are the features and benefits of Subaru leather seats.

Material

High-quality leather seats are found in a few Subaru models. Being a natural material, leather is wear and tear-resistant. Also, the seats retain their appearance for many days when proper care is ensured. Interestingly, maintenance of Subaru leather cars is pretty easy with mild soap and water mixture.

Quality

The quality of Subaru leather seats is unbeatable. The leather used by SUBARU is a high-quality natural product that will retain its distinctive appearance. Subaru seats are highly breathable, giving the driver and passengers ultimate comfort on long drives.

Durability

Properly maintaining the Subaru leather seats is necessary if you want long-lasting performance. Thus, it helps you save valuable money in the long run. More importantly, high-quality leather withstands regular wear and tear. Even the beauty of the seats gets enhanced over time.

Comfort

While commuting city roads, traveling for business, or doing the school run, comfortable transportation is necessary. The Subaru leather seats are incredibly comfortable and supportive. The softer feel and comfier experience will meet individuals’ requirements while sitting on the seats.

Design

Subaru leather seat design is so appealing and satisfying that it enhances the interior of a Subaru car. The interior of Each vehicle is precisely cut and skillfully sewn to the design of your choice.

Color

White, silver and black are the most popular colors of Subaru leather seats. These colors have held the top three spots for nearly ten years-and the experts don’t see them going out of style anytime soon.

Cleaning

Dust and dirt can build up on the leather seats if you don’t clean the Subaru seat covers regularly. Use a moist, soft, natural fiber cloth to clean the seats daily. Also, to remove difficult dirt spots, mild detergent is suitable.

At the same time, a commercial leather spray lacquer is a good choice for eliminating minor surface blemishes. In addition, when parking a Subaru car under bright sunlight for a long time, cover the seat headrests using cloth.

Water & Scratch Resistant

Characteristically, leather is a porous material and has some inherent water resistance. This means Subaru leather seats resist water completely and retain their pleasing look for many days. Moreover, Subaru seats are fully-furnished leather that doesn’t scratch easily. The surface coating prevents minor surface scratches.

Airbag Compatibility

You will love to know that all Subaru cars are engineered with SRS, a system that provides airbags for the driver, front passenger, and second-row passengers. More importantly, the airbags are side-mounted and seat-mounted.

During a side-impact collision, the airbag protects the front seat and rear seat passenger from the headliner and across the side windows. This is an impressive safety feature that is rare in most cars.

Cost

Subaru leather seats cost a little more. But they are truly worth it and let you enjoy driving with a wide range of features like breathability, comfort, airbag compatibility, etc. If you ever need to change the leather seats, the Subaru leather seat replacement costs $1500 -$2000.

Why Are Leather Seats Better?

Leather is a high-quality option for car seats. Also, leather car seats are more comfortable and look better. Here are a few benefits of leather seats that make them better than others.

Professional Look

Leather seats add a professional look to the car. Only luxury cars use leather in their seats.

When a car seat is covered with leather, the drivers and passengers will think twice about wiping off their dirty hands on it.

It also acts as a “WOW” factor. In fact, leather is a great choice to add a professional look to your car.

Nice Smell

Cloth seats release a foul smell over time. The good news is the same problem is unavailable with leather seats. Bad odor can’t get trapped in the leather.

In reality, the smell of leather seats is pretty pleasant. The reason is that cleaning agents and conditioners are used to maintain the leather.

Moreover, once maintained properly, your car seats will always leave a “new look.”

Incredibly Comfortable

Undoubtedly, you will feel more comfortable sitting on leather car seats. You will get a modern movie theater feel when sitting on the leather seats.

Moreover, you will not feel discomfort when driving for long hours. Your trip will always be fun, enjoyable and memorable.

Easy to Clean

Leather seats are extremely easy to clean. Simply put the cleaning agent on a soft cloth or towel and wipe the seat down.

You can also use different chemicals or sprays. Many cleaning items can be used to clean leather car seats, which can also help odor or bad smells out.

Doesn’t Get Stained Easily

One of the great benefits of leather seats is that they are harder to stain. Sitting on leather seats, don’t hesitate to have a cup of coffee and other food items. Incredibly, leather seats are spill-proof.

Reduces Allergens

As I stated that hair, dirt or dust don’t cling to leather, and allergens can’t build up in the car easily.

Leather seats are always the best choice if you are suffering from a dust or dirt allergy. Cloth or fabric seats can make the situation worse.

Is Subaru StarTex Better than Leather?

StarTex is an interior upholstery material used in Subaru car seats instead of leather. Due to its quality performance, a question arises “is Subaru StarTex better than leather.” This section answers.

• StarTex’s durability is high. It greatly repels water and is breathable as well. This material withstands repeated washings and treats a hostile environment pretty efficiently. While leather is more breathable than StarTex, it doesn’t give discomfort.
• Polyurethane is used in manufacturing StarTex. Also, 25% recycled polyethylene terephthalate constructed StarTex is well-known for delivering many years of service. Leather is also highly durable to give long-term service.

The truth is that StarTex can be an excellent alternative to leather, but this material still lacks more features than leather.

Which Subaru Models have Leather Seats?

Subaru cars are well-designed, both interior and exterior. They use leather on the car sets, a luxury form. But all Subaru models don’t have leather seats. A few models come with leather seats. The models are,

Legacy

A total of 6 trim variants are available from the sporty yet sleek Subaru Legacy. These variants are ideal for drivers in Springfield due to the leather seating. Nappa Leather-trimmed seating is one of the great features of the Legacy Touring XT.

Crosstrek

The Subaru Crosstrek is impressively dynamic, offering 3 trims and featuring leather seats with the 3rd trim level: Crosstrek Limited.

Crosstrek Hybrid

Leather seating is also found in Crosstrek Hybrid. Moreover, it also has leather-trimmed upholstery with blue stitching.

Forester

All the Limited trims of Subaru Forester are engineered with leather seating. In addition, exclusive saddle brown leather-trimmed seats are a nice feature of Forester Touring trim.

Outback

Subaru follows the leather seat trend in the Outback too. But Subaru Outback has 7 trim variants; out of them, Touring XT, Touring and Limited have leather-trimmed seats.

Ascent

Standard leather seats are available in the Subaru Ascent’s Limited and Touring trims.

BRZ

Subaru BRZ is a sporty car, providing an excellent driving experience to the drivers. This is a 2-door compact car with a sleek design. It is equipped with standard leather upholstery.

WRX

The Subaru WRX is a distinctively versatile model featuring leather seats with the WRX STI Limited Trim.

FAQs

Final Notes

To sum up, in this comprehensive guide, whether Subaru uses real or faux leather, car seats have standard materials to cover upholstery.

For many years, leather or StarTex are high-quality materials used in Subaru car seats to give you breathable service.

Hopefully, after reading this Subaru leather seats review guide, your confusion regarding whether Subaru uses real leather has been removed.