Black vs Taupe Leather Interior

I'm considering purchasing an Atlantic Blue Pearl Legacy GT Wagon with Taupe leather interior.

 

I've never owned a car with a light colored interior and wonder how well it will stand up to wear and tear and dirt, as compared to black. I intend to use black all-weather mats and black cargo tray to keep the carpets clean.

 

For those of you who have a Taupe Leather interior - how well is it holding up?

 

Regards,

Jim

Mine's doing great.

 

I spilled a 20 oz. Capuccino all over the passenger seat one day, and it cleaned up nicely. No stains.

 

The Taupe floormats though are difficult to keep clean. Switching those out is a good idea.

 

One benefit of Taupe is the interior doesn't get near as hot on sunny days.

 

Atlantic Blue + Taupe = sexy.

As a detailer I get to see lots of different leather conditions. The black leather is probably as dirty as the beige leather in some of these cars, but because it is black you just don't notice the difference. Black is certianly a hotter color in the summer, but that is about the only drawback. Its not going to show dirt like beige will. If you clean it regularly, just like all leather drivers should do, then it won't really make a difference. I would just say that lighter colored leather is much higher maintanance than black.

black is seckshi ok good bye:postwhore

I've owned cars with both colors and it all depends on your preferences. The taupe, while highlighting the texture and look of fine leather better than black, soils over time and shows grime and light dirt, no matter how you maintain it. So, mercifully to make a long story short, black will look better in the long run. Just one man's opinion.

I just bought a LGT Ltd wagon in ABP with black leather and love it!!

I have the taupe leather. So far no problems, but it appears that it will show more dirt in the long run. But one advantage is that if you know the leather is dirty, it allows you to clean it unlike black which you could ignore for a long time.

I've got ABP/Taupe, of course I've got a track record of keeping things clean too... I had 'titanium' in the Audi for the previous seven years and that didn't present any more of a problem than three sets of carpet floor mats couldn't solve. My feeling is that you'll spend more time looking at it than cleaning it so get what you like. (PS don't forget that black can show salt/grime more in the winter...)

Is that car in the pic missing the shift knob?

Both will show dirt just as much in different ways. I find, however, that Taupe doesn't show scratches and scuffs anywhere near as much as black.

 

Wait a minute...what?

 

 

 

Also, scuff marks along the bottom of the front doors from shoes are much more apparant with the black door, IMO.

 

Say what? Wake up, wake up, you're dreaming.

 

 

 

Even tho the Taupe may show more dirt, I think it wears better in the long term.

 

Wow, you've never owned a light colored interior car have you?

Just go to the dealer, and look at NEW cars. The light color interior

ones look like crap just from people getting in and out of the car.

The black interior looks about 1/3 as bad.

 

I'm still trying to understand how you think scuff marks are more apparent on

black than taupe? Do you think a black shoes show more scuff marks and dirt than white or light colored ones too?

 

Sorry, but if not showing dirt and marks is of high concern to you...get the black interior!

That car in the pic is missing the shift knob.

 

Common for dealers in "questionable" areas to do. Keeps the "questionable" people living in the "questionable" area from stealing an easy piece of equipment.

They'll put it on when you buy or go for the test drive.

I have the Taupe colored interior and it's holding up fine. Seats clean off easily and I liberally Scotchguarded my floor mats, so now they are much more stain resistant.

 

D72, I actually agree with the statement that black shows scuffs more. I'm thinking about abrasion type scuffs, which are very common on door panels, that show up lighter in color than the material they are one. On black they are more obvious than on a very light color. It's a minor thing, but I have found it to be true on past cars.

If it weren't for that horrendous looking fake wood trim in the taupe, I'd definitely consider it. Why must Subaru do that :confused:

 

Is a terrible fake wood sticker supposed to make it look "upscale"?

 

I really like taupe, and owned it in a previous car, but it's definitely more work to keep clean than black leather. Sure, black leather is more hot in the summer.....until the car is running and the a/c is on, then it's a non-factor. Of course I do live in Minnesota and not Arizona.

 

Black car mats in a taupe interior are a must imho.....especially if you live anywhere where it snows.

 

Anyway, choose the color you like, the upkeep on either isn't that hard.

my interior, after 8 months, is just fine. the only sign of wear is a crease line forming in the bottom seat cushion. i just need to put some more leather treatment on it and hopefully it will go away.

 

 

i like the taupe better because it less depressing to look at over time.

Agreed about the wood. I hate the wood trim in the Legacy. Horrid. Went with a black exterior BECAUSE it would go best with the black interior. I saw the wood and said "nope I wouldn't do that interior"

gah i love black leather, i live in MA and im so glad that i got black on black cuz wen i get into my car wen its 30 degrees out, the inside is still warm, also on summer days, the AC boots up fast... alsoo, the black retains the heat, so wen the sun goes down at the end of august or whenever, and it starts getting cool into the 50-60's.. the paint and the seats remain warm and hold the warmth for a longer time... I HATE THE COLD you can probably tell lol

-alex

I went with Taupe mainly because I like how it looks with the blue car. Another reason is almost all of the cars I have owned had a black or dark grey interior. For lack of a better word, it is nice to have a cheerful interior.

 

I think the Taupe will be more of a challenge to keep clean - at least the floor. I have the rubber mats which should help. Of course I have always been a clean car nut. Taupe it is and I am up for the challenge!

I too have chosen the taupe, think it is simply nicer looking, but I don't like the fake wood either, just not enough to stop me from getting the taupe. Does anyone know if you can get the brushed aluminum trim they use with the black, and switch them out? If so, where? It's not like there's not already brushed aluminum in there.

I like how the taupe leather is holding up, but my floor looks pretty bad after the winter. I put the all-weather floor mats in before the winter, but they don't do that great of a job protecting the carpet around the edges of the floormats. I never had to do anything but vacuum my WRX to keep it looking nice, but I'm going to have to have the carpet of my OB shampooed this spring.

 

Looks like I am a minority, but I wish I had gotten the darker interior. the fake woodgrain also looks worse and worse to me as the car gets older.

All the haters of the wood! I didn't care for their version though. It wasn't bad, but it could have been more like an Audi. I made a poor man's version though, and I've been happy ever since. I didn't remember how plain the stock interior is!

 

http://moojohn.com/subaru/woodgrain.jpg

 

And yes, I'll eventually take more/better pics of this. I'm in the middle of a stereo & carputer install so it may be a while.

Wow man that looks pretty good. I went with the Taupe interior for 2 reasons:

 

1. Everyone was getting black, I didn't even see a Taupe LGT before my car came in.

 

2. The black looks cheesey in my opinion when it's worn in and all. Like it's dull. I know my moms black leather in her bmw is shiny wherever you touch it a lot. It shows the oils that come from your hands and all more than the taupe would. Also the taupe seems to be wearing very well. No creases yet. I guess black would wear the same since it's the same, just a different dye. Although the tan carpet seems dirty because of the salt and dirt. I like the Taupe better, but it's all personal opinion.

I'm considering purchasing an Atlantic Blue Pearl Legacy GT Wagon with Taupe leather interior.

 

I've never owned a car with a light colored interior and wonder how well it will stand up to wear and tear and dirt, as compared to black. I intend to use black all-weather mats and black cargo tray to keep the carpets clean.

 

For those of you who have a Taupe Leather interior - how well is it holding up?

 

Regards,

Jim

 

Go with the black floor mats, but keep the taupe cargo linear. It's plastic so it won't discolor, and if it does, hose it off.

 

 

 

 

Moved to Interior

i have black with taupe, it looks great! the more "classier" of styles is to have taupe with the darker caolors (especially black). it is, of course, subjective, but i highly reccomend taupe to u, especially with your color selection

I got the rubber floormats a few months ago..I like them, its better than the factory cloth ones since you can just shake them out and they're clean . The taupe leather has held up fine, also.

 

http://premium1.uploadit.org/tylerwayne/Legacy11-23-009.jpg

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