Thanks for being part of this Forum! I was excited about the new Lyriq, but discovered that the seats may not come in real leather. Regardless of what is hip or vegan or whatever, a lux vehicle should have the option of real materials for the seats. It’s not a RAV4 nor a CRV but a Cadillac. I placed my reservation but honestly may withdraw it…yeah just because of plastic seats.

Another GM blunder to save costs. Remember the 1980s, I believe? What was that Chevilac called?

Synthetic leather is very common in luxury vehicles today. It actually wears better and requires less maintenance. Unless you tell someone, the vast majority of people will never know the difference.
I personally don't plan on announcing to everyone that gets into my LYRIQ that they are not sitting on genuine cowhide. It'll be interesting to see how many, if any, actually pick up on it. I'm betting that most will assume it's leather and that's good enough for me.
If it's any consolation, not a single reviewer has had anything negative to say about the seat coverings of the LYRIQ. In fact some reviewers mistakenly assumed that it was real leather and actually went to print stating such.

 

Synthetic leather is very common in luxury vehicles today. It actually wears better and requires less maintenance. Unless you tell someone, the vast majority of people will never know the difference.
I personally don't plan on announcing to everyone that gets into my LYRIQ that they are not sitting on genuine cowhide. It'll be interesting to see how many, if any, actually pick up on it. I'm betting that most will assume it's leather and that's good enough for me.
If it's any consolation, not a single reviewer has had anything negative to say about the seat coverings of the LYRIQ. In fact some reviewers mistakenly assumed that it was real leather and actually went to print stating such.

NO pleather for me!!!

 

You have a good point! But honestly, it’s a pass for me. Also I find real leather more natural, flexible, absorbent and aromatic! plus, we need to sit in a car and the seats are really important unlike a fake leather dash or doors. It’s really a cheap cost savings for the manufacturer to keep that entry price low. My Honda civic had leather and loved it. Maybe a cloth seat in the Lyriq…lol

Nah, besides, I would lose face if my clients and friends knew it was faux leather.

 

My last car (Buick Envision) had genuine leather seats. I never once had anyone ask if they were real leather. They were just nice seats and could have just as easily been synthetic.

Real leather also wears unevenly, develops creases and shiny spots and has to be properly maintained. Using synthetic leather isn't just about saving money. It's also about materials durability, consistency and flexibility. If two materials look visually identical but one lasts twice as long and is easier to maintain, it seems kind of silly to go with the technically inferior material just because of some nostalgia from back when the differences between pleather and real leather was vey apparent.

I think you'll be missing out if you don't at least check out the LYRIQ's seats yourself. The synthetic materials have come a long way in the last few years.

 

Thanks for telling us, I guess lol. And props to you for letting your clients and “friends” dictate how you spend $60k.

 

Not really but Cheapo seats made of vinyl don’t belong in a lux Cadillac unless possibly a socccer mom’s car. Nah, I will keep my eye open but I may stay with Volvo in the end and forget about the 7.5k kickback too.

 

The synthetic leather in the Lyriq is really good, bemoaning the lack of the real thing is silly imo. Also most smells you get in new vehicles today are artificial.

What is Cadillac’s Inteluxe Seating Upholstery? - The News Wheel

Here's a closer look at Inteluxe, Cadillac’s new leatherette seating upholstery. It'll be found across the brand's 2022 lineup.

thenewswheel.com

Btw the Earthluxe and Inteluxe upholsteries are just some of the available options, Leather will still be offered likely in the higher trims.

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2021/04/gm-to-launch-inteluxe-as-new-brand-for-leatherette-seats/

 

Thanks for being part of this Forum! I was excited about the new Lyriq, but discovered that the seats may not come in real leather. Regardless of what is hip or vegan or whatever, a lux vehicle should have the option of real materials for the seats. It’s not a RAV4 nor a CRV but a Cadillac. I placed my reservation but honestly may withdraw it…yeah just because of plastic seats.

Another GM blunder to save costs. Remember the 1980s, I believe? What was that Chevilac called?

You have a good point! But honestly, it’s a pass for me. Also I find real leather more natural, flexible, absorbent and aromatic! plus, we need to sit in a car and the seats are really important unlike a fake leather dash or doors. It’s really a cheap cost savings for the manufacturer to keep that entry price low. My Honda civic had leather and loved it. Maybe a cloth seat in the Lyriq…lol

Nah, besides, I would lose face if my clients and friends knew it was faux leather.

Clearly the LYRIQ is not the right car for you. You will be much happier with a new Honda civic with leather seats.

 

Cadillac might offer a higher trim with genuine leather.

I starting to dislike real leather. I had it in my last two Lexus and two Honda and while they are nice new, I could do without the creases. I have a Chevy Bolt EUV in order and I purposely ordered cloth seats even though I’ll be sacrificing some features. I simply don’t have time to maintain leather.

 

If you read the fine print in almost every luxury car they use the phrase "Leather Seating Surfaces"
Translation: The strip down the middle of the seat bottom between the bolster is real leather. The bolsters, seat back, the back of the seat and headrest are not real Leather.
Also for every person like you who won't buy because of the seats are artificial there are 10 people who would because they are.

 

FWIW, in addition to the Lyriq we have on order for my wife, I have a Porsche Taycan on order for myself. Some of the high end Taycans come standard with their Race Tex material, which is an expensive option on other trim levels. Race Tex is a synthetic suede and people clamor for it. If synthetic is not just “good enough” but desired for the $200k crowd, it’s good enough for me.

But I’m also not one to tell someone their opinion on a very subjective matter is wrong. Your money, your vehicle.

 

"Pleather"?

 

I only found out they don't use leather when I bought the ELR. Everyone assumes it's leather so what's the diff?

 

I am beginning to soften my attitude toward vegan leather interiors as more and more lux brands are improving the quality of those materials. Normally, I don't like materials that are pretending to be something else but this mimics are becoming very very good these days.

Not going to affect my reservation for a Lyriq (of course, I already knew that genuine leather would likely be an expensive option).

 

Am I a jerk? Every time I see posts like this all I can think is that I just got bumped up in line x1. I might be a jerk.

 

Nope or if you are I am too. In my business seniority is everything. When someone retires or has medical issues your thoughts soon go to what’s their seniority number. Same thing here, someone bails from their reservation and my first thought is hopefully he was ahead of me in line.

I guess it means we‘re human.

 

There is a wide range in quality in so called "pleather" or "vegan leather", which are marketing terms that sound better than vinyl or PVC. The lower quality vinyl shows wear and loses it finish after just a few years. It can also become hard and brittle, especially when cold. I found this to be the case with Toyota vinyl. Real leather may crease but my experience is that it lasts the life of the car and is more comfortable than vinyl, especially if the leather is cleaned and treated regularly with leather conditioner. My understanding is that Cadillac will be offering leather seats on higher trim Lyriqs in the future, which is one of the reasons I am waiting to buy a Lyric.

 

This is an infinitely better reason than withdrawing a preorder because people will look down on you lol. The rumor is the 2025 Lyriq will have it, but who knows, maybe the 2024 will

 

I have touched it .. the interior material is very good. Multiple reviewers think it is real

 

I thought the Interlux was one of the best fake leathers I’ve felt.

I had Lexus’ Nuluxe faux leather and it was also very nice. Felt very much like real leather, but wore much better. People regularly commented on my Lexus’ “nice leather”.

BMW’s new Sensafin faux leather also feels very nice. To my touch, the faux leather I’ve always thought was cheap feeling is the Mercedes MBTex. It feels hard and plasticky to me. I’ve felt it when the cars are new and in some used Benz products and thought it was a let down. That’s one car where I’d definitely want to upgrade the upholstery to fit with that class of vehicle.

 

I had to do it!

 

de PLANE de PLANE! God love that rich Corinthian Pleather! Haha what a blast from the past! Uh oh now I'm aging myself! Bravo!

 

I sat in it and touched it. Did not feel any less luxurious or fake than the Audi Q5 and BMW X3 (premium package) leather interiors and a good deal better than Tesla’s. Didn’t even know it wasn’t “real” leather until this post. Thigh extensions like the BMW would be a nice addition though

 

I've sat in it as well and thought it was very comfortable. I probably shouldn't talk though because I am the opposite of @ScottNatte, if given the choice I much prefer cloth seats to leather. It's not a "save the world thing" it's just my preference.

 

Yeah, cloth seats aren't that bad. Living in a cold climate for several months each year, sitting on a cold piece of leather or vinyl, for that matter is uncomfortable. I've had some cars with great cloth interiors. Most notably a Chrysler Cordoba (not the rich Corinthian leather!). Those seats were great, very plush. But I've never owned a car with cloth seats long enough to notice severe wear. I have been disappointed with leather creasing and the like.

 

I should probably correct ^the above^. The '89 Astro interior (besides the seats) looked pretty ragged when we traded it in. The '01 Astro when it ate a motor bearing at 282,000 miles looked good enough I considered putting a new motor/transmission in it. Even considered an LS swap for it. Ultimately I decided to not throw good money after bad and sold it to a mechanic at my Chevy dealer who put a junkyard engine in it and used it for hauling his dirt-track vehicle. That was 2012. I saw him/it on the road about 6 months ago.

 

If anyone is getting the light gray interior, you will be glad it's not leather after about a year. I had a Jaguar with very light cream interior. It was stunningly gorgeous when it was new. Keeping it clean and conditioned was a royal PITA though. My brother has a Benz with "MBtex" or whatever it is called and it looks great after 5 years with minimal upkeep.

Best part for me is...

I'll just tell my wife it's rich Corinthian leather and they use one full hide per seat. She won't notice any difference.

 

If anyone is getting the light gray interior, you will be glad it's not leather after about a year. I had a Jaguar with very light cream interior. It was stunningly gorgeous when it was new. Keeping it clean and conditioned was a royal PITA though. My brother has a Benz with "MBtex" or whatever it is called and it looks great after 5 years with minimal upkeep.

Best part for me is...

I'll just tell my wife it's rich Corinthian leather and they use one full hide per seat. She won't notice tell you she notices any difference.

FIFY

 

Let’s not forget. The Lyriq won’t have cloth or vinyl seats lol. Also, I don’t think we’ve seen any reviewer negatively rate the seat material. And as stated earlier, some reviewers have mistakenly called it leather. Will this car be perfect? Absolutely not, but there is no way they’d add so much in this car to cheap out on the seats.

4K review of Lyriq with a closeup and review of the actual seats at around the 7 minute mark

 

Let’s not forget. The Lyriq won’t have cloth or vinyl seats ...

I don't think that is known for the future, with lower base packages being the starting point for 2024 Lyriq and beyond.

 

Speaking of seats, the LYRIQ I got to see the other day had white seats. I know they are supposed to be cool grey or something like that but they were awful white to the eye. I’m now concerned about keeping them clean because I wear black pants and jeans a lot.

I wonder if, whenever the third blue moon occurs and I get an allocation, will they let me change seat color to black?

 

Does anyone have any experience


Did you mean very white or awful and white? Because I'm getting the same. If you think they look awful.... hmmmm.

 

Folks- this is a constructive thread, let's keep it that way.
Off topic/insulting posts removed.

 

I love you!

 

I like nice leather seats and am willing to pay a bit extra for them. What I don't like is poor quality leather that's stiff, feels like plastic (e.g. "bonded leather"), etc. I also probably wouldn't pay extra for "vegan leather" (AKA high-end vinyl) over a high quality cloth seat but I've got no objection to "vegan leather" in and of itself.

Given that most automotive cloth upholstery is petrochemical-based anyway, one could argue that "vegan leather" and "cloth" are essentially the same thing but cloth is arguably superior because of its breathability. Even with extensive perforation, like Caddy has done with the Lyric's seats, that's still true.

 

Interesting that styles change over time, depending on what the marketeers tell you is luxury. Thirty years ago luxury was defined as crushed velour, and Cadillac had the most fluffy velour seats you could find. It superceeded “knitted vinyl” and leather was relegated to sports cars. Leather probably only returned to the top because the Europeans were using it.

So now that vinyl is back in vogue, maybe I will order some crushed velour seat covers so I’m ahead of the next styling trend!