Mazda5 Cloth Quality?

[gbenderly]

We are deciding between a 5 Touring and GT, with the main reason for the GT being leather (the other upgrades are not very important to us, though the bluetooth would be nice... ;) ). We have a 2004 6i with cloth and the quality has been an issue for us. Within a year, the seats were looking pretty ragged (losing color, getting those little balls of material, etc). So, we are concerned with getting cloth again; but, the material looks very different than what we have in our 6.

Does anyone have any experience / comments on the quality of the cloth in the 5s (especialy the 2008's)?

Thanks,

Gil

[Zenderfall]

Cloth is ok, not a cheap cloth, but a sporty fabric, don't particularly like the leather material in the GT's.
My recommendation is go for the fabric and get leather from an outside source-you get the leather AND the colors you want in your seats.

[dreamym5]

owner since Feb this year... cloth quality is *good*... at least better than my Honda...

[stillageek]

I bought a GT because I didn't like the cloth on the doors of the cloth model. I also like leather. The leather in my GT is of a higher quality than my previous Acura TSX FWIW.

[coolmazda5]

Own an 06 and an 08. Fabric is OK and looks pretty similar and I have had no issues with any of them so far, looks good. Have put 3M fabric protector where it is likely to get the most dirt, has worked well

[mrbwa1]

We have an '07, so I can't really comment on the '08. what I like about most of the fabric is that is is a knit, close loop design. If anyone is familiar with carpet, it's kind of like a berber carpet vs a cut pile. In theory, it should stand up to abuse better. Only had the 5 for 7-8 months, but seats still look new.

My parents have a brand new '08 Prius and the seats are a bit more comfortable to the hand, but the mouse fur on the center console worries me. Also, as an interesting aside, the 5 seats have a zipper in the back and are supposed to come off so you can wash them. Anyone ever managed to put them through the laundry yet? (CM%, oh great yoda of the 5, I'm lookin' mainly at you!) Maybe it's only the front buckets on the 5, but perhaps the 2nd row as well.