Touring seats vs base sedan seats

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kcsunshine

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Hi, I sat in a base model and noticed the seats look like leather almost everywhere except the middle section. Does anyone know whether it is real leather or some kind of synthetic material? I'm trying to talk my spouse into getting the base model. I also don't like the suede material on the touring edition which may be hard to clean. The base model has a smoother material for those areas. The sales rep said that the touring models are more in demand. Is the touring worth the extra $$ ? I prefer to use my phone for navigation so I think it is a waste.
 
I bought the touring mainly because I wanted power seats and the seat memory feature.

I thought I read somewhere that there is no real leather in the seats but I could be wrong.
 
It seems that many people are complaining about the suede material being used (including ourselves). I hope someone at Honda (and other car manufacturers) is taking note on this concern and not use suede in any car model.
 
We chose the base over the touring. Can't say about real vs fake leather, but the seats are fine with me. I have no use for the navigation system in the Touring since I use my phone and Android Auto for navigation. I do kind of wish I had power seats, but to be honest I almost never move the seats, and it wasn't worth the extra money to me. My wife likes the Base interior material better than the suede on the Touring, but I have no opinion on that either way.
 
Ok... the Touring seating surface front and back is leather... the “ Suede” is Microfiber just like the easiest and most durable Sofa Fabric....After driving my Clarity a while, I do not understand why your hands would be touching it... but if you do.... its the best fabric to clean and certainly makes the interior seem more luxurious ....just some facts and some opinions. Enjoy which ever Clarity you get!


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The perforated sections are real leather (the seating sections that KenG was referencing), the bolsters are "bio-leather".
 
PHEV Newbie said:
Touring seats are genuine leather. Base seats are not.
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Actually, the part that appears to be leather in the base model is actually vinyl or some kind of polyurethane material (probably the latter since they had advertised in using more environmentally friendly materials). This is true for the touring model as well. The only part of the seat that is trully leather in the touring model is the perforated portion. In automotive, note that "trimmed leather" means partial leather, while "leather" means all leather. The description provided for the Clarity touring is trimmed-leather. I wish the automotive industry would just be more clear in what they are selling..
 
kcsunshine said:
Hi, I sat in a base model and noticed the seats look like leather almost everywhere except the middle section. Does anyone know whether it is real leather or some kind of synthetic material? I'm trying to talk my spouse into getting the base model. I also don't like the suede material on the touring edition which may be hard to clean. The base model has a smoother material for those areas. The sales rep said that the touring models are more in demand. Is the touring worth the extra $$ ? I prefer to use my phone for navigation so I think it is a waste.
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we have the black suede which seems to be the safer bet for keeping clean. I too thought the navigation would be a waste. However, because you have to plug in the phone to connect to the car I find myself using the built in navigation much more frequently. Also, navigation directions come up on the speedometer in front of you which makes for much safer driving.
 
I am not positive but I believe you cannot remotely precondition the cabin from your HondaLink on your phone in the base model. I have the Touring in NH and appreciate the convenience of that. I also like the auto adjust seats bc I am 5'3 and my husband is 6'. I prefer the look and feel of the Touring interior; the steering wheel feels so nice!
Regarding cleaning the suede- the protective stain and tear treatment they tried to sell me did apply to the suede too so it shouldn't be a problem if you splurge for the treatment (~250).
 
I sure hope they ventilate the seats in the next generation - here in the desert Southwest we need cooling, not heating! My wife's Odyssey has them and they are a dream when the car sits out in the sun for even 10 minutes.
 
LAF said:
Also, navigation directions come up on the speedometer in front of you which makes for much safer driving.
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Android Auto will show navigation directions in the driver information display. I don't know about Apple CarPlay, however.
 
alyssai said:
Actually, the part that appears to be leather in the base model is actually vinyl or some kind of polyurethane material (probably the latter since they had advertised in using more environmentally friendly materials). This is true for the touring model as well. The only part of the seat that is trully leather in the touring model is the perforated portion. In automotive, note that "trimmed leather" means partial leather, while "leather" means all leather. The description provided for the Clarity touring is trimmed-leather. I wish the automotive industry would just be more clear in what they are selling..
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Are you saying the non-perforated portion is the same material in both models? The dealer didn't have both models so I couldn't compare them side by side. Can anyone confirm this?

The base model does not have preconditioning according to the honda site.
 
@kcsunshine I can confirm that the base model does have preconditioning, both through the Hondalink app and the key fob. The Honda page that indicates this feature is only available on the Touring model is inaccurate.
 
kcsunshine said:
Are you saying the non-perforated portion is the same material in both models? The dealer didn't have both models so I couldn't compare them side by side. Can anyone confirm this?

The base model does not have preconditioning according to the honda site.
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I'm not 100% sure that it's the same material between both models since I haven't compared it side by side either, but based on photos I've seen they do appear to be the same material. I don't see why they would use two different types of faux leather for the sides/bolsters. Sorry I don't have a definite answer for you :(
 
I would definitely spend some time in both trims when it comes to seats. I was sold on the base model, but the angle of the seat isn't adjustable and for me, felt like it was angled downward toward the front of the car. Made me feel like I was going to slide off it. I went with Touring as it has 8 way adjustable seats that allowed me to increase the incline in the front of the seat.
 
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