Comments on: English Leather Seats Changed for US Market

By: Gary Smith

Gary Smith — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 07:17:19 +0000

Is there anywhere the English Panther Leather seats may be purchased to replace my ’06 MCS JCW sport seats? From an English supplier or U.S. supplier (I’m, in the U.S.).

By: kaelaria

kaelaria — Fri, 09 Sep 2005 09:14:13 +0000

Ew – those are hideous!

By: MINIAC

MINIAC — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 22:51:04 +0000

If you compare the leather samples for the panther black leather and the "English" leather the panther black is much darker than the "English" leather.

I was at a dealership today and looked at the swatches ... the English and Gravity Leathers had a different grain but were almost identical in color.

The grey cloth on the Checkmate upholstery is lighter than that on the Space cloth.

By: RB

RB — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 22:48:59 +0000

another thought……MGTD seats

By: CraigE

CraigE — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 18:39:31 +0000

If you compare the leather samples for the panther black leather and the “English” leather the panther black is much darker than the “English” leather. Most MINI dealers should have the new seat materials displayed.

By: Gabe

Gabe — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 05:37:03 +0000

I can’t believe it took that long for someone to catch that ;-)

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 05:35:22 +0000

The English Leather seats are a standalone option in the US that, on the face of it, seam to be taken straight out of the special edition ‘Park Lane’ Cooper

“seam”–haha–you’re a clever one, Gabe!

By: GMINI

GMINI — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 05:11:44 +0000

let me reiterate:

the english leather seats pictured above are indeed putty grey.

By: GMINI

GMINI — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 05:10:10 +0000

oh. look who beat me to the post.

mike: having seen the very same seats, i assure you the seats are quite washed out. nowhere near the rich dark sumptuous color i had seen here and on mini2.com. softer, finer leather, but not worth $1600 imho. crap color choice.

By: GMINI

GMINI — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 05:05:29 +0000

[opinion]

big mistake ^

[/opinion] ;=)

By: mike

mike — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 05:02:13 +0000

ive looked at the picture again and the leather on these seats really appear to be grey. if you look at the lever below, that plastic is black… that leather is not. hmmmmm….

By: Mark Smith

Mark Smith — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 01:51:41 +0000

Solar Red is only available on the Hardtop ’06 Cooper and not the S.

By: Z4MINI

Z4MINI — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 22:41:52 +0000

Nice! Very nice!

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 22:32:54 +0000

Gabe – thanks … that’s what I get for always spec’ing an MCS in the configurator :-) They’re really not kidding with this million different options thing …

By: Gabe

Gabe — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 22:27:53 +0000

Paul – do a search for solar red in the search bar at the top right. You’ll find out more than you ever wanted to know about the color!

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 22:22:36 +0000

“Solar Red” ?? Where’s that an option, I only see Chilli Red in the configurator … SR looks much nicer … kind of classy!

By: David Bunting

David Bunting — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 21:56:57 +0000

[speculation]

I would imagine that they have one style of sensor to determine occupant weight, and that sensor works most accurately when you have even pressure across the sensor. Thus, the smooth/flat bottom of the cushion would be better for the sensor than the rippled bottom of the Euro spec seats, which may cause inaccurate readings when used in conjunction with the sensor due to the less uniform pressure distribution.

[/speculation]

By: xplode

xplode — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 21:50:17 +0000

can someone explain -why- it had to be changed? i understand it had something to do with airbag sensors, but why the bottom cushion, and what’s inherently better in using flat panels for the seat bottoms? i don’t get it…

By: mataku

mataku — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 19:37:27 +0000

they still look awesome to me. I really like the classic look of things and it is one of the things that got me into the mini in the first place.

i do agree though, more classic looking parts should be offered, it would really make the car unique in this day and age.

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 18:22:32 +0000

I’m disappointed they will not be an options for convertibles.