CalTrend Covers: I Can Believe It's Not Leather, But I Like It!

With two active kids, my light colored interior was taking a beating. I just upgraded to CalTrend's I Can't Believe It's Not Leather covers. I was hoping to closely match the dark accents in the car and went with Charcoal, they tied in fairly well.
I don't think any discerning person will be fooled into thinking the covers are real leather, however, I have had leather seats that I would have sworn were vinyl (2003 Subaru), so you just never know.
They are just what I expected and were not a huge pain to install. Note that I did set them out side for a day in a half to air out and warm up in the sun.
My install experience....
Front Head Rests: Easy
Rear Head Rests: Some pulling and tugging required
Front Seats: Slid on fairly easy. Does require unhooking the flap on the current seat. This is done underneath the seat and can be done by feeling around without being able to see. Two hooks (left and right) and one elastic strap (middle). This must be removed so you can pull the straps of the two parts between the upper and lower portions of the seat. Pulled everything taught and they looked great. Note that moving the seat forward and backward and tilting the seat was helpful in certain instances.
Rear Seats: Upper was pretty straight forward. I worked it on with the seat partially leaning forward and zipped it up without issue. The lower portion requires removing the seat. I had directions from another thread on Wet Okole cover installation. Basically, about 11 inches in on either side, you can push in and pull up, releasing the hooks, and the seat came out fairly easily. There are wires clipped in, so the seat did not get fully removed. Still, it was easy enough putting on the cover, pulling straps tight and carefully reinstalling.
I did not time the process and I was watching football at the time (going in and out to watch the game) but before the game was over, I was done.
I have had them on now for nearly a month and they are fantastic.

-edit: I just noticed I need to work the seams around the seat heater switch. Funny that I never noticed it until seeing the pic.

That looks pretty nice! How are they to sit on?

Firetruck41 said:

That looks pretty nice! How are they to sit on?

Click to expand...

I really like the way they feel, as do my kids. I have noticed that on certain materials, they can 'grab' just a little, but with no problem (meaning they are not slick/slippery). After reading your question, I asked my wife, who was against the 'upgrade' in the first place. Her reply: "They are o.k. I guess. They can feel a little sweaty in shorts, but they look nice and are easy to clean." I wear shorts all the time and don't have any issues, but then my shorts are not as 'short' as my wife's.
So there you go. Her first concern was that they would be too hot in the summer. Fortunately, the tinting on all the windows helps, as does the ability to remotely turn on the A/C..

send picture of wife in shorts

how much did the set cost ?

we have black upholstery ( hate hate hate)
can we get light cream or tan ?

They cost over $500 for front and back through autoanything.com. Yes, they have many different colors.

The wife only mentioned once that she felt they were hot. I don't actually believe her as she never mentioned it again...think she said that only because she did not want me to get them in the first place, but she love the car and drives it all the time (shorts or no).

As for an image of my wife in shorts, well, I don't have any on a site that I can link here, so instead I am giving you a pic of an actress with pretty much the same legs...and they are spectacular.

ok.. the actress is either headed for an SL or is displaying the electronic symbol OHM
so we give her the thumbs up.

500 seems kinda high for naugahyde set..
when real leather is $189 more ( Costco)
and cloth 360 less.

hmm..

but the fact that you like it.. is important.

We had to accept a black interior in our car... what we love is the light décor of the 11's and 12's.
so hope to tone it down with seat covers and mats.

I will check them out.
thanks for the good humor !

No problem. Good luck. I do like leather and spent much time researching the different companies and contemplating material. I did not think leather was available for the back seat from Costco, but maybe I am wrong. I had a 2003 Subaru with leather and it sure seamed like pleather, so I did not want to spend too much only to be disappointed. Regardless, I have had these now for over a year and they still look and function perfectly, and they are easy to clean. With how much I (and my two kids) eat in the car, the factory cloth covers would be a stained mess.