Cloth, leather, stains and stink

[gurpman]

I'm torn between cloth and leather for the new legacy GT.

Problems I've had with cloth:
I have two small kids, and kids make stains.
In the summer I sweat a lot, sometimes through my clothes (eeewww!) which eventually makes the cloth seats smell like a locker room.

My questions are:

Can cloth seats be deep cleaned effectively to remove stains and smells?

How well do seat covers fit and do they look OK? I was thinking about the possibility of putting a seat cover over the cloth in the summer time which I could throw in the washing machine or replace.

I'm not interested in the moonroof, to me it's just extra weight. I really don't want to pay $2700 (or is it $1500) for leather. Can I buy the base GT and have the seats redone somewhere for less money? Will they look as good that way?

Thanks in advance!

[SUBE555]

A nice towel in the summer when you're sweating helps cover the seat and isn't all that inconvenient unless you squirm a lot. Can throw it in the wash very easy. :)

[niskyne]

I'm in the same position as you. I like cloth more, but i sweat alot too and I do a lot of watersports. I'm thinking about getting seat covers, but I'm not sure. Two places to get seat covers that sound pretty good are

http://www.gtcovers.com/
www.wetokole.com (http://www.wetokole.com)

[StringFellow]

Just be aware that most seat covers prevent the torso airbag (side, seat mounted) from deploying in a crash. Some seat covers can be used with side air bags though, but just be careful and read the details.

As others have stated, just sit on a towel when needed. A hell of a lot cheaper, easier to clean and safer.

-S

[suba_rus]

/\ /\ +1. I don't now of any seat covers you can use on seats with side airbags inside, don't do it. Maybe it's easier to clean leather, but I sweat less on cloth seats and they not much harder to clean, you can always find cleaneng products in your local auto parts store. and by the way car without leather doesn't have sunroof->lighter->fast4r :lol:

[sebberry]

I thought I was the only one who was worried about sweating on leather... beige pants, hot day, leather.... ick

I do find that the perforated leather seats do a good job of staying ventilated - much more so than the solid leather on my last Outback with solid leather.