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GT Covers Genuine Leather Dark Gray Front Row in Prius Three

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by cycledrum, Mar 16, 2014.

  1. cycledrum

    cycledrum PSOCSOASP

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    Got front row leather from Exact Fit Seat Covers - GTCovers.com

    Fit great, very comfortable and seem very high quality. $410 shipped for the pair. Not cheap, but IMO, worth the money. Entire front is leather, including bolsters. Bottom sides and seatback back is 'leatherette' (PVC, vinyl). Front of headrests and armrest are leather. Color match to the interior is Very good.

    They are not perforated and that is something GT Covers does not offer. I really couldn't tell you how much perforated leather would help in warm weather.

    Went with leather is I like the smooth, non-grabby feel of leather vs. cloth. GT sent swatches in all the fabrics. Even leatherette has bit more friction than leather.

    Note - some say leather has a slick, slippery feel. Well, it can if they are rubbed down with slick, greasy conditioner. I use Lexol cleaner and seperate conditoner and get no slippery feel after.

    Reason I went with GT Covers is -
    they have 30 day return policy, even after installed
    Made in the USA
    Many Toyota dealers if not most recommend and sell them
    only 1/4" foam backing. I'm 6'2" tall, the less foam backing the better.

    I looked pretty hard at Clazzio Seat Covers - #1 Trusted Site - Customizable Leather Seat Covers, but their no return policy after installation was virtually a deal breaker. I have gripes with the seat / steering layout and position in this model of car, so if the covers didn't make things better, was leaving sale of the car an option.
    Also wanted to avoid the 15mm (1/2") memory foam in the bottom cushion backing. They said the foam smushes down, but still, I'm 6'2" and didn't want much added foam.

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  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    very attractive, i prefer the wrinkled leather look to the taut shiny hard stuff.
     
  3. cycledrum

    cycledrum PSOCSOASP

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    k


    Yes, definitely wrinkly. Close up except color way off due to flash -
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  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    those are the best. i had a mercedes with leather, like sitting on a rock.:eek:
     
  5. cycledrum

    cycledrum PSOCSOASP

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    I originally ordered GT Covers in Microfiber by telephone on Jan 16th. Got antsy over thought of putting cloth type covers over, well, cloth in my Three. On Tues, Jan 28th, I called GT and said 'don't ship, please, I want to switch to genuine leather'. They hadn't shipped yet, and they promptly set it up (of course charged the upcharge) and reassured me I'd get leather in a week or so.

    btw, GT Covers makes the covers after ordering. I picked up the covers at a FedEx depot Feb. 11th. They came in a nice cardboard box and within, inside a zippered plastic case, like a comforter would come in.

    Looking at them, I could tell they were of very high quality. The seat bottoms have nylon straps and plastic buckles. The side to side strap has velcro, more on that later.

    the Prius has an seatback flap that totally blocks the rear crevice between the seat bottom and seatback. This must be released to install the covers. That said, the GT seatback cover 'attaches' to the seat bottom cover with mating velcro strips just at the seat bottom / back crevice. It all gets buttoned up by securing the OEM flap, then the GT flap is secured.

    Now for some install details.

    The seatback covers have X shaped slits for the headrest mounts. The 'triangles' at the slit gets tucked underneath the headrest mounts. Note that about a 1/4" needs to be trimmed off the triangle tips to fit them underneath the headrest mounts.

    The seatback covers are not that hard to put on. The seat bottom covers take some more effort.

    The driver's seat has more room for reaching underneath to hook the two front to back plastic buckles. The passenger seat has more electrical cables underneath and less room. Mine has JBL amp under there which makes it tough to work under there.

    ... But there's an equalizer.

    The driver's seat has a flap that hangs down a good 6 inches between the seat and console. Of no fault to GT Covers, this presents a challenge: There are two velcro straps, one on each side of bottom cover to mate together. They are to pass through upper portion of bottom seat frame. Trouble is, the flap blocks access. You wouldn't want to bunch up the flap and you could not run the strap under the seat rail. Why? The seat raises, lowers and slides.

    I chose to locate and cut a slit for the strap to pass 'to the other side' to feed sideways under seat. Locating the place to cut was tough, I won't lie. I used a utility knife (razor knife) to cut the slit. Nothing trivial about getting a razor near OEM fabric and custom leather cover. At least for me. But I got through it and it's done.

    Fortunately, the passenger seat does not have the flap the driver's seat has. Can't say I know what purpose that flap plays anyway except making the install more difficult .... Toyota. :mad:

    That's about it. First time I've ever bought custom seat covers. I've bought el cheapo auto parts store one-size-fits all covers many times, but they feel like junk mostly.

    So, I would buy these again and I recommend these covers and this company.
     
    ftl likes this.