Black leather inside a car - too hot? too dark?

[KrisM]

Would you get a car with black leather inside? Or maybe it's dark gray, but it's close to black. Is it really any hotter than anything else would be on a hot day with it all closed up? Will it look too dark and confining? I'm finding a lot of what I want but with black leather. Fewer choices in cream or light gray.

[melissaflorida]

Yes too hot! We made the mistake and will never do it again. Even with tinted windows it was scorching in the summer.

I have a black outside with tan interior and it's fine.

Hth,

Melissa

[Andi98989]

DH has always had a car with a dark interior - his Saturn and Pontiac were both black exterior with black or gray fabric interior. His current Accord is black exterior with black leather interior. We haven't had any problems with it; while the leather can be warm to the touch, the overall interior temp isn't any hotter than my car which is black exterior, tan interior. I don't find that his car feels confining at all.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Too hot. But, maybe not too bad and as a plus it will be easy to clean and won't show much. :)

Beth

[KrisM]

Too hot. But, maybe not too bad and as a plus it will be easy to clean and won't show much. :)

Beth

Oh, the cleaning might offset the heat! I have tan now and it always looks dirty.

I'll keep thinking. It's really just me, since the kids will be in carseats or boosters for the next few years still. Hmm. If it ever warms up again here, I'll have to give one a try.

[dukie41181]

Its goonna be almost 70 today! Maybe find one with dark leather interior that has been parked in direct sunlight! ;) I don't have a serious answer for you. My husband's car has dark leather interior but we haven't been through a summer with it yet. When I was looking I had wondered the same thing but the jury was still out when it became a non-issue.

[pinkmomagain]

Yes, I would and now all our cars have dark interiors. We don't seem to have a problem with the seats getting too hot in summer and it keeps much much cleaner than lighter interiors.

[hellokitty]

I wouldn't. My dad's cadillac had dark navy leather seats and when we were kids, my brothers and I used to burn our butts getting into the car in the summer time! My parents had to lay a blanket on the back seat.

[infomama]

Black leather is too hot. DH last truck had black leather and he always remarked about it.

[Snow mom]

Depends on where you live and how much shade is available in your area. I bought a car with black leather in Oregon. Fine there. Have since moved to AL (too hot!), NM (also too hot!), WY (fine), and now TX (way too hot!) There is definitely a difference in the heat transmitted to your legs while wearing shorts with leather. I have come close to getting first degree burns from the leather in my car when it comes into direct contact with my skin. It is not at all comfortable in the summer and I'd hate to think of little bodies coming into contact with it. I don't think it makes a huge difference in interior temp (although if anything again it's a negative against the black)-- my problem is direct contact with the leather and the pain involved in that.

Personally I think the black leather looks really nice. My car interior has grey lining so it's not like a cave or anything. The only thing that you can see on it is things that dry white (like milk.) Leather is so nice for cleaning up. I kind of wish we had sprung for it with our new car but that would have brought us into a much higher model that we couldn't really afford.

[Momit]

I agree with PP that where you live makes all the difference. I had a Volvo wagon with a navy exterior and black interior and it was fine when we lived in Michigan, but when we moved to New Mexico I did notice that it got pretty warm inside. I bought one of those sun shades for the windshield and tried to park in the shade when I could.

Our other car had a light tan interior, and while it did stay cooler inside, I think the ease of cleaning (or the dirt not showing in the first place!) on the dark interior more than made up for the fact that it could get warm if parked in direct sun.

[KrisM]

I'm in Michigan and I do park in the garage at home. So it's just while out and about. Clearly, most of the year is not very hot and our very hot is a few days of 90+ temps. We do regularly have upper 80s in the summer.

[Momit]

IMO, you would be fine. I loved the car I had and don't ever remember thinking that it got terribly hot when I parked it. I think the dark interior looks sharp, too.

[lhafer]

I live in Houston, Tx and summers here easily get up to 95-100+ degrees. I know hot.

I had a maroon Altima with black leather - and LOVED it! It looked awesome, didn't show wear and tear and we had a chocolate lab that lived in the back seat. Super easy to clean her hair, spills, etc. That said, it was hot. If you choose to get dark leather, a sun visor is a MUST. I forgot to put it up once, and once was all it took!! Because the sun was coming in through the windshielf, I burned the back of my legs, and never did it again. With tinted windows and a sun shade, I didn't find my car to be any hotter than other cars. Another thing about leather is that I think it cools off faster than cloth.

I have gray leather in my minivan now, and it's okay. Doesn't get dirty like tan - I will never have tan leather just for that reason. But it's boring. I will go back to black when I get a chance.

If you ever have a chance go to an auto show sometime. Look at the cars with tan leather (even the expensive ones) and you can see how they will wear.

[JoyNChrist]

Definitely depends on where you live. Here, it's an absolute no.

[fivi2]

Definitely depends on where you live. Here, it's an absolute no.

:yeahthat:

Another Texan saying there is no way I would do black leather. (I know Stacy is in Louisiana, but some others posters were Texas). IMO the interior color makes more of a difference than the exterior color as far as heating up the car, and then the leather itself... Yikes - burning the back of your legs is awful!

In Michigan... maybe not an issue!

[twowhat?]

We live in TX and have a car with black leather seats, no tinted windows. I haven't had a problem with it. Maybe it's because it gets SO hot here in the summers that it doesn't matter. Hot is hot.

[SkyrMommy]

Totally agree with PPs in that it's all in where you live. Here DH's car has black leather... nice in the winter in the sun... summer we just park in the shade or use a sun shade in the windshield. I think it looks very sharp with his silver exterior, it takes a good color to go with tan.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Put a towel down on the seat when you get out and are parked in the sun, maybe?
etc- if you're wearing shorts and don't want your legs to stick to the seat.
Beth

[codex57]

I like it. Sure it can be a bit gloomy, but it's great if you have kids.

Yes it's hot, but I just shelled out for expensive tint and didn't have a problem after that. I just considered it an additional cost to the car. Was worth it to me.

I had Huper Optik in the rear windows (ceramic tint) and V-Kool in the front to look legal (metallic). Cost about $600 to do 5 windows vs $100-250 for "regular" tint, but even after sitting in 100 degree weather all day, you could sit in it immediately in shorts, with contact with bare skin, and not get burned. Just felt really warm, but not uncomfortable/painful. I learned that if it was really hot, just leave a window cracked open and that let the air circulate enough that hot weather wasn't a big deal at all.

[tarahsolazy]

I don't have leather, I don't like leather in cars, BUT, my VW wagon has a black cloth interior. I love my car, but HATE the black. Stuff just gets lost in there, you know? At night, esp, you can't see anything inside the car.

Would not do black again.

[MommyAllison]

I'm in Michigan and I do park in the garage at home. So it's just while out and about. Clearly, most of the year is not very hot and our very hot is a few days of 90+ temps. We do regularly have upper 80s in the summer.

I have black leather interior and love it. Our weather is similar to yours, though our hot summer days are 100ish, with most of the summer being in the 80s and 90s. It gets hot, but not noticeably hotter than my mom's old light grey leather interior did growing up. The light grey leather always burned my legs. My car has tinted windows, which I think helps a bit - my mom's old car didn't have tinted windows.

[HannaAddict]

I'm in Michigan and I do park in the garage at home. So it's just while out and about. Clearly, most of the year is not very hot and our very hot is a few days of 90+ temps. We do regularly have upper 80s in the summer.

Since you park in the garage and are in Michigan, I would say go for it. I'm in the Pacific NW, have a garage and love my black leather interior. It is hot in the summer, but so is every other car I've ever gotten into after it sits. Our old car had grey leather interior, it was also nice but did show more wear. I would destroy ivory or tan - it would look gorgeous until I drank a latte.

[Melbel]

We don't seem to have a problem with the seats getting too hot in summer and it keeps much much cleaner than lighter interiors.

:yeahthat: We live in Florida and don't notice my car getting any/much hotter than DH's car with tan interior. At home, my car is in the garage, and while out, I try to find a shaded spot when possible. With the kids' constant messes, the light interior would not work for us now.
ETA: I also sometime use a sun shade for the windshield. I have not ever burned myself on the seats.

[alirebco]

We have black leather in both of our cars and we love them because it looks great and stays clean. Tan gets so dirty! The heat has never been an issue and we don't park in our garage at home.

[american_mama]

I was also very interested in this question when I was car shopping and there was a thread on here about it that a found. Similar to these replies, I think there were people strongly in favor, strongly opposed, and neutral. Remember, locale comes in to play too. Some of the people replying live in Florida or California, which is not as extreme as your environment.

Are you looking at the Taurus X? If so, a few points to consider:

1) When I was shopping, the light beige of the Taurus was really light and generated a glare/reflection on the front windshield. I chose it anyway (also in leahter) because I strongly disliked the black, but the light beige does get dirty. Sadly, when I was shopping, the Taurus interior was either a little too light or a little too dark, nothing in between.

2.) Are you getting the ceiling air conditioner? If not, the third row is going to get kind of hot and you might not want to exacerbate that with a dark interior. Is your child who will sit there sensitive to heat or a complainer? Mine is.

3.) Does the Taurus X have tinted windows in the second and third rows? My car, a 2007 model, only had tinted THIRD row windows and some people on an owner's message board think it was worth it to pay to have the second row tinted to reduce heat.

4.) My mother is severe MS and is highly sensitive to heat, but they had a car with a black interior and never noticed it, not even when they spent the summer in Virginia. So it's just highly variable.

If you otherwise like the car and don't strongly dislike the look and feel of the interior color, I'd settle for it. I think you'll adjust. We settled with exterior color (black), and I actually really like it now.