Seats- 2020 SL Leather vs 2023 SV Cloth

[Flyct]

I have a deposit on a 2023 SV Plus to replace my 2020SL Plus.

I was cleaning (detailing) the interior today to get it ready to trade in and I fell in love with how well the Leather has held up in 15,000 miles. I transport 2 dogs and a parrot in a cage on he back seat routinely. The dog slobber, Dog hair and some minor bird droppings were a breeze to clean up on the seats. After a damp rag followed by a dry towel the seats look new. I had a 2016 SV with cloth but I don't remember how those seats held up to dog slobber, dog hair etc.

Can anyone enlighten me on the durability and ability of the cloth seats to maintain good condition and ease of cleaning? Or is the cloth going to be a problem?

The reason I'm trading is that after tax credit the net cost will only be $600 to do the swap from a 20 SL+ to 23 SV+

Thanks in advance.

 

[johnlocke]

I have a deposit on a 2023 SV Plus to replace my 2020SL Plus.

I was cleaning (detailing) the interior today to get it ready to trade in and I fell in love with how well the Leather has held up in 15,000 miles. I transport 2 dogs and a parrot in a cage on he back seat routinely. The dog slobber, Dog hair and some minor bird droppings were a breeze to clean up on the seats. After a damp rag followed by a dry towel the seats look new. I had a 2016 SV with cloth but I don't remember how those seats held up to dog slobber, dog hair etc.

Can anyone enlighten me on the durability and ability of the cloth seats to maintain good condition and ease of cleaning? Or is the cloth going to be a problem?

The reason I'm trading is that after tax credit the net cost will only be $600 to do the swap from a 20 SL+ to 23 SV+

Thanks in advance.

With dogs the Leather is easier to keep clean that the Cloth. I've got two Lab/Golden mixes and a Grand Pyrenes who sheds like crazy. You'll need an industrial strength vacuum for the cloth seats. I had 95K on my SL and the seats were just starting to show wear. I've got 13K on the SV+ and despite the sloppy kid and the dogs, the cloth still looks good. I do vacuum it out a couple of times a month.

 

[Flyct]

I have a deposit on a 2023 SV Plus to replace my 2020SL Plus.

I was cleaning (detailing) the interior today to get it ready to trade in and I fell in love with how well the Leather has held up in 15,000 miles. I transport 2 dogs and a parrot in a cage on he back seat routinely. The dog slobber, Dog hair and some minor bird droppings were a breeze to clean up on the seats. After a damp rag followed by a dry towel the seats look new. I had a 2016 SV with cloth but I don't remember how those seats held up to dog slobber, dog hair etc.

Can anyone enlighten me on the durability and ability of the cloth seats to maintain good condition and ease of cleaning? Or is the cloth going to be a problem?

The reason I'm trading is that after tax credit the net cost will only be $600 to do the swap from a 20 SL+ to 23 SV+

Thanks in advance.

With dogs the Leather is easier to keep clean that the Cloth. I've got two Lab/Golden mixes and a Grand Pyrenes who sheds like crazy. You'll need an industrial strength vacuum for the cloth seats. I had 95K on my SL and the seats were just starting to show wear. I've got 13K on the SV+ and despite the sloppy kid and the dogs, the cloth still looks good. I do vacuum it out a couple of times a month.

Thanks for reporting. I have a GoldenDoodle pup and an elderly Jack Russell. The Jack sheds 1/2 long white straight cat like hairs. Currently the black carpets rake almost an hour to get all the Jack hairs out.

I have a central vac system with the system mounted in the garage. It has industrial suction even with 60 feet of vacuum hose attached.

Now I’m rethinking trading the SL for SV.

 

[Flyct]

I called the dealer today and requested cancelling the order. My wife is really concerned having the cloth vs leather with our dogs.

When my Tesla model Y comes in the Leaf will become the local around town grocery getter and doctor visit transportation. The Tesla mission will primarily be to traveling between house and cabin and longer trips with our 2 dogs and parrot.

After 7 years of Leaf ownership we’ve become very fond of the utility the Leaf offers. Easy to maneuver, easy to park in shopping center lots, inexpensive to run and a safe car. Our last Leaf saved our lives when a meth head T-boned us and totaled the Leaf. The steel beams in the doors and the side airbags prevented us from serious injuries.

 

[alozzy]

Why not just get a rear seat cover for your dogs?

There are tons of styles to choose from, this is just one example:

https://www.amazon.com/Hanjo-Pets-Cover-Back-Seat/dp/B091T3Q66Z

I use a simpler design in my LEAF (I have a 65 lb lab cross), it works well for me. Easy to wash too.

Google search images to get some ideas:

dog car seat cover

 

[johnlocke]

I called the dealer today and requested cancelling the order. My wife is really concerned having the cloth vs leather with our dogs.

When my Tesla model Y comes in the Leaf will become the local around town grocery getter and doctor visit transportation. The Tesla mission will primarily be to traveling between house and cabin and longer trips with our 2 dogs and parrot.

After 7 years of Leaf ownership we’ve become very fond of the utility the Leaf offers. Easy to maneuver, easy to park in shopping center lots, inexpensive to run and a safe car. Our last Leaf saved our lives when a meth head T-boned us and totaled the Leaf. The steel beams in the doors and the side airbags prevented us from serious injuries.

You've got a low mileage Leaf with leather seats now. If you're going to relegate it to a grocery getter, why do a trade at all? As far as I know, your "20 SL has the same features as the '23 SV. Unless the Electronics have changed somehow and those changes are important to you, why bother. You're going to be driving the Tesla most of the time anyway.

 

[LeftieBiker]

IMO, the '20 Leaf is the peak of the car's evolution, and starting in '21 they slipped a bit, in both features and quality. I'd happily trade my '21 for a similarly equipped '20.

 

[Flyct]

IMO, the '20 Leaf is the peak of the car's evolution, and starting in '21 they slipped a bit, in both features and quality. I'd happily trade my '21 for a similarly equipped '20.

What features slipped? The only difference I can find is that a 2023 SV+ Is missing is leather and Bose radio, and the reason for that is going from SL to SV with tech pkg.

 

[LeftieBiker]

No HD radio after '20, no ability to mute VSP (that may have happened earlier), fewer door locking options. I guess the rest is quality: the infotainment center on the 21+ reboots regularly, and the brakes are much weaker-feeling than the '20's brakes. I thought the pads were glazed driving it home, but it never got much better. Then there's the re-mapping of the accelerator pedal...

 

[Flyct]

No HD radio after '20, no ability to mute VSP (that may have happened earlier), fewer door locking options. I guess the rest is quality: the infotainment center on the 21+ reboots regularly, and the brakes are much weaker-feeling than the '20's brakes. I thought the pads were glazed driving it home, but it never got much better. Then there's the re-mapping of the accelerator pedal...

Thanks for the info. That might change things. I guess my test drive will be more involved. HD radio isn’t an issue for me as I never use am or fm, i am usually on either SiriusXM. or pandora on Apple car play.

I’ll check out the door locking options and ability to mute VSP. on my 2020 VSP is not totally eliminated when selected with LeafSpy. It still still sounds when in drive before moving.

Plus my 2020 Infotainment screen reboots occasionally on its own and the voice command nav function really sucks. It NEVER understands my voice when attempting to enter a destination via voice.

If the test drive has issues I’ll walk away without regret.

The only reason I’m considering the swap is because the net financial impact woukd be $600 and I get a 3 model year newer car with zero miles and resh warranty.