[4family]

Hi, new lurker from Canada, hoping to pull the trigger on a new Ridgeline in the next few months. Asking advice about aftermarket leather.....

I've had leather on most of my other vehicles, mainly for ease of cleanup and carrying the dog and kids around inside. I know cloth is both warmer in winter and cooler in summer. In Canada, to get into the trims with leather, it is significantly more $. I see in Canada, even on the base LX model, we get all of the goodies that I would want (AWD, heated seats, Honda sensing, larger touchscreen, 18" wheels, carplay); minus things I don't care about (sunroof, truckbed audio, nav or sat radio). The next step up to the Sport does give the power rear window and seatback pockets. Not sure that's worth an extra $3000 to me although I'd like to have the rear sliding window. Plus the LX only comes in black or white, could get sport in silver.

Wondering if anyone has had experience with aftermarket leather. I see Katzkin has kits for the G2 with different patterns and options, for a little less than $1000 Cdn plus installation. I have a friend who does upholstery who can probably do it for cheap. But I would want to do it to look equally nice to OEM. Plus I think I could get a kit that included seatback pockets so could get those added.

So, Canadian LX version $36590 CDN + leather install
versus EXL $42590.

Thoughts?

 

[TommyDeVito]

It's more common than you think to do this. It's done all the time here.

I wish our sport was like yours and got the moonroof and sliding rear glass, but unlike yours also, we only get one color. But a silver sport canadian model is what Is buy if we had the option here. Unfortunately you guys get better trim options and cooled seats. Someone in Torrance needs their ass kicked. The southern US gets awfully hot in the summers, much hotter than Canadian summers and not offering cooled seats is stupid.

 

[noside85]

It's more common than you think to do this. It's done all the time here.

I wish our sport was like yours and got the moonroof and sliding rear glass, but unlike yours also, we only get one color. But a silver sport canadian model is what Is buy if we had the option here. Unfortunately you guys get better trim options and cooled seats. Someone in Torrance needs their ass kicked. The southern US gets awfully hot in the summers, much hotter than Canadian summers and not offering cooled seats is stupid.

All North American Lives Matter.

I don't understand why Canada RLs have so many more options than we do for the most part.

 

[MrClam]

All North American Lives Matter.

I don't understand why Canada RLs have so many more options than we do for the most part.

Yeah...they don't need the back window open...it gets cold up there. :laugh:

 

[Nervey]

Yeah...they don't need the back window open...it gets cold up there. :laugh:

For beer cans... and dogs.

(why dogs are boozing in the car is another story)

 

[4family]

All of this being true (-: My dog prefers Canadian Club whiskey though.

Rare for Canadians to actually get an advantage over the US in the car world, we usually get screwed with much higher pricing and fewer choices.

Anyway, back to the original question: is aftermarket leather worth it? Is it as good as OEM? I did a search here, has anybody done it on their Ridgeline?

 

[LadharK]

I am from Alberta. I bought the sport. I am also looking to get the Leather done. I looked at Katzkin. I saw their Leather on one guys ford. It actually felt better than OEM. but for Ridgeline the Katzkin website was saying around $2k so I thought I should wait. Do you know how much exactly they want for the covers and how much for installation? I would like to get this kind of interior color. I am not sure they can do it in this color or just the few option they offer on the website

 

[Mr. Black]

I did a Katzkins installation on my prior Superduty Ford crew cab and their stuff is 100% first rate. Blows factory leather out of the water. As mentioned though, extremely expensive. I have no doubts they will have something for the Ridgeline given enough time.

 

[ScooterS]

I installed leather myself in my old RAV4. It wasn't as hard as you might think if you are so inclined. I belive that I got it from an online leather seats company. It looked great, but didn't have the long lasting quality that I hoped for.

I would REALLY make sure that you take a ride in both models before you decide. We rode in the cloth and leather versions of the G2 before we made our selection... We found the seats themselves much more comfortable in the upper end version with leather. I think that the seats are constructed and padded much better in the upper end models.

Of course, YMMV

 

[4family]

That's interesting, I didn't realize the seats or padding themselves might be different, other than just the covering material.

Some different online places that sell Katzkin have a kit for 2017 RL that starts at $799USD. I have a US drop box where I get stuff shipped, so about $1000 Cdn. Installation cost depends on whether you DIY or get a shop to do it. Looks like lots of colour and trim options.