Lobster188

Hi,

I'm curious to hear from all the RX owners with kids. What colour interior did you go for?

I love the grey & beige interior but because I have 2 young kids (less than 4 yrs old), I thought the lighter interior would not be as durable as a black coloured interior. In a year's time would the black weather the wear and tear better than the light interior?

I saw the beige interior demo car at the dealers and already it had a few scuff marks that is quite noticeable.

Any thoughts or advice appreciated. :-)

Cheers ..

DOUS

I ordered the black interior for the same exact reason.

I have a 4runner limited with beige leather and it shows the dirt, especially when the kids put their feet up against the front seats. It's easy to clean, but as parents to small kids, we know we don't have that much time to clean the cars every week... and I don't want to get it detailed that often as well.

Lobster188

Nice one Dous. What colour exterior did you get?

I ordered the Sapphire (blue) with black interior. Would have loved the grey interior had the practical mind didn't take over :-)

Found exactly the same prob with my kid - feet up against the back of the front seat ...

Thought the lighter interior makes the whole cabin more roomier ....

Sandi_k

I had a beige interior exactly...once. Never again.

I would have preferred a grey interior, but the Matador Red only allows beige or black. So black it is..

Sandi

The G Man

The beige interior is the worst, kids will destroy it in less than a year, your blue jeans will rub off its color on it. The gray is better for jeans but just as bad with kids in the car. Black is really your only choice when it comes to kid freindly color.

DOUS

i ordered the Obsidian exterior. Yes, the lighter interior does create a visual illusion that it's bigger than the black interior.

codraw

as a current blk interior owner, I don't find black any better in keeping clean. You get gray/white stain, smudge everywhere, it is even worse during winter . I have 2 kids, the little one likes to kick on the back of the front seat, leaving it gray all over. Good thing is, a wet clothe would clean it up nicely. '10 has a great leap in luxury interior wise. the blk interior of my 07' does not present any luxurious feel to me, especially the seats. Besides, it does feel spacious with lighter interior colors. just my 2 cents.

sightdev

Almost 30 years of driving, I have had all possible combo color and texture leather and fabrics. My boys are now 10 and 11, so I had my share of enduring abuse of vehicles which included Costco size food and drink spills over the years but it seems to get worse as they get older. I heard that girls are worse than boys in making mess. Make sure to put a cover under the booster/car seats or otherwise the base will “eat” through the leather over period of time. Drink and food spill have lessened but its dirt and sweat they bring in from sports and outside activities. Fabric interior is best with kids as it can be steam clean, but with leather, not much option except to keep it clean from day one and hope for the best. Most of the vehicles I have purchased in the past 20 years had leather and some are more durable than others. Entry level Mercedes have faux leather so it looks and feels like leather but it’s actually vinyl so it is really practical and easy to maintain and very durable. Within days of bringing the car home I will treat the surface with vinyl protectant on the leather surface. Kids hate it because it makes the surface slippery but it works the best. Countless drink spills tested and proved how effective it is. It will repel all liquid form really well and can be wipe dry with paper towel. Both Gen3 and Gen2 RX [previously owned] have leather only surface which are typical for entry level luxury vehicles. Rest of the covers are vinyl so I have used Windex to clean and 409 on stubborn areas where kids kick/push/swipe with feet. I would never use water/alcohol based cleaner on leather surface as it will cause the leather to dry up faster over period time. Perforated leather surface will do much better visually covering up stains but light or dark both have pros and cons. With dark leather, whitish stain and drying-up leather surface are more readily visible compare to the cream/beige color leather. Check out any black leather interior that is more than 2-3 years and compare it with cream/beige leather, readily black leather shows/visually more wear. Just like black exterior, unless it is religiously maintained, black leather interior will suffer same faith. Well maintained black exterior/interior does have nicer presentation than the lighter color vehicles but I don’t have the energy or time. Long time ago my parents had Cadillac with white leather interior and those must be the worst of the worst. Enjoy whatever color you choose and persuade yourself to think other kids are worst than yours; that will help you psychologically

The G Man

The problem with Perforated leather is that kids will spill drinks on it and it will sock right into the padding of the seat and stay there for ever. IMO, Perforated leather and kids just dont mix. Also Perforated leather will show wrinkles much faster and it doesnt age well.
The beige leather on the new RX is close to white, its way too light for kids. The problem with beige is that some dark stain cannot be clean off, jeans will turn the seats blue after a while. With the black leather, 99.9% of the lighter stain can be clean.

Lobster188

Thanks everyone for sharing their experiences. Good info. Much appreciated. Think I made the right decision.

Any advice on how to keep the black leather clean? besides windex?

And what do you mean by "have leather only surface which are typical for entry level luxury vehicles." Are you saying that only the portion your backside ssits on and your back rests on are leather? The rest is vinyl?

Lexmex

Windex or glass cleaner really does help get out stains and deep packed in dirt and grim on leather. That's what I use in my RX300. I used to use a Turtle Wax Leather Cleaner when I was in Mexico that was somewhat effective, but nothing like glass cleaner.

The G Man

I always try not to use window cleaner on leather surface unless I have to. The ammonia in the window cleaner will dry out the leather. When using window cleaner, always apply a coat of leather conditioner right afterward. I always try to get the dirt out with just water and a towel, if that desont work, try a leather cleaners.

Lobster, almost 90% of the cars out there that have leather seats are leather seating surface only. The back and side of the seat is vinyl.

ObsidianRX

Not much to add to what's been said, but IMO there's a price to be paid in durability with the 3rx. Our parchment interior car was showing wear on the driver's seat within the first 2 or 3 days of ownership (wrinkles in the bottom cushion and dye transfer from jeans). The leather is incredibly soft even without the lux package, but I can't see it wearing well over time. As others have said it's very light, to the point where I think a saddle or true beige color would have been better both aesthetically and functionally. I still think it's the best looking of the interior options, but I can't imagine trying to keep it looking new with small children.