Are the leather seats in a Mini made with real leather or some kind of “look alike “? I ordered the grey chesterfield. I’m waiting for my 2023 here in Canada, I know it was built May 26, but still waiting for an update!
I think the two options on Premier+ are genuine BMW leather, the others are a leatherette or PU leather, either vegan or reconstituted. Not sure though.
I love my Satellite Grey Chesterfield leather seats, which complement my Moonwalk Grey SE for the spaciest of MINIs. My dealer treated the seats with some kind of protectant because they said blue jeans might leave marks on the leather. I respected their experience and the treatment was free, so I didn't object.
I have the MINI Yours Leather Lounge Carbon Black, and it's real and amazing. I didn't really want it, but it was the only option for Iconic trim when I ordered my SE, and it's super nice.
That’s nice to know. I ordered my Iconic right before they switched to the ‘23s and I’ve wondered if the punched leather options would be better, but I think I’m happy with my choice…if the car ever makes it out of QC…
While wearing new blue jeans, have you driven your SE the way it should be driven, which would cause your butt to slide around slightly in the plush, but gripping, leather seat? If so, how did your Satellite Grey seats look after that? I've always wondered if my dealer's seat treatment was required. I don't have blue marks on my seat, so maybe the treatment did work, but I don't know.
Alas I am still waiting for mine, we do not have access to information in anyway up here in Canada so I don’t know when it will arrive, but I did buy some leather conditioner today. I’ll treat them before I do much driving in my blue jeans!
I've never owned a car with black leather interior, but of both the BMWs I've had (with Dakota leather), this is WAAAY better. Turns out the Lounge leather is the same leather that BMW used with the previous iteration of their 7 series. It's butter-smooth, stays surprisingly cool, and I truly love it!! I toyed with the idea of getting cloth, or the punched out whatever, but this option has been fantastic. Pretty sure you'll be happy with it!
Well, with someone who has experience with the leather, I'll be interested to hear your comparison when you get to finally wrap your backside in this thing! Don't worry, I already love it so you can't hurt me!!
From what I can tell, though I'm no expert, the Cross-Punch Carbon is real leather. I had originally selected the Mini Yours Lounge seats, but I ultimately just didn't like the look of them (especially for $750 extra on 2023's in the US), so I went with Cross Punch. So far I'm impressed with them. Very snug, though if you're a bit larger I could see where they may not be the most comfortable.
I have cloth seats in Level 3 trim and it's certainly BMW firm. MINI Lounge leather is closer to full-grain BMW nappa than merino. Dakota leather would probably be a corrected grain with embossing.
Thanks for all the replies, I’m going to love my seats I have no doubt. There wasn’t a car locally that had leather seats for me to check out. This has been very reassuring.
Speaking of the seats, I just opened bimmer.work, and for the first time since I entered my VIN more than a month ago, the pictures and 360° views actually loaded properly. It made me even more excited to take possession in the next couple of weeks, because it was the first time I’ve seen the MINI Yours Lounge leather since my very first test drive at the beginning of March (my later test drives were on Chesterfield).
Yes, Lounge Leather is full grain. Cross-punch is not. You can feel the difference. As far as cost, with my '22 I wanted the Iconic for everything else it offered, and the LL came with it. No-brainer. I haven't looked at the '23 models, not sure if you can mix-n-match between trims for seats, but now that I've experienced the LL it would be hard to downgrade. Also the little Union Jack buttons on the seats are a nice touch, as is the headrest design. To each their own, though!
Any opinion here between the "Malt Brown Chester Leather" and the "MINI Yours Carbon Black Lounge Leather" ? I haven't sat in either, but from what I can see from the images, the Lounge leather looks to be more resilient than the other. I saw one car with the "Chester Leather Satellite Grey", not new, and the seats looked flat and the seat cushion had developed a folder right across the seat. Certainly not a fair comparison, given that I had no idea how old the car was or how well it was taken care of. I like the look of the Malt, but comfort and longevity trump looks.
