Stiff leather on seats
 

The leather on my A4 seems a lot stiffer and harder than on the Q7.

I don't mind the fact that the seats are not soft, but I am concerned that it is indicative of low-quality leather. The leather on my Ford Focus even seemed nicer.

Am I mis-reading this? Are they made from super durable leather? Or are they prone to cracking?

I'm not sure about other cars - or even about the A4's, but I know there is very little actual/real leather in the A4's (and most other cars).IIRC, only parts of the seats and the steering wheel are leather and that leather is coated for protection. I'm guessing that the coating adds to the stiffness of the leather.

The steering wheel feels great. The seats may be leather but don’t feel like it. They may as well be fake leather.

The steering wheel may be uncoated leather, not sure, but even the little actual leather is coated - on all cars nowadays.

I have not figured out why in my 2017 Allroad there is one little patch of suede leather where the seat belt comes between the seat and the back. The rest is the coated leather common on almost every new car.

The seats and steering wheel are leather. Fully coated. They've changed the coating and weight of the leather from the B8 generation. I'm hoping it wears a little better. B8 got shiny and "slick" too fast - even as kept it clean.

I don't think that patch for the seat belt is leather - I believe it's just cloth - otherwise the rubbing of the seatbelt would just ruin it.

Go sit in a Volvo and then in an A4 and you'll realize how cheap the A4's leather really is.
.
.
.

Go sit in a King Ranch F150 if you want sexy leather!

The leather in my wife's Land Rover is already cracking at 2 years. Despite my best efforts. THAT's some cheap leather.

The leather used for the sport package seats is less soft than other leather seats I’ve seen. But I don’t mind, they are comfortable and supportive and the leather wears well. It should also hold up better on the bolsters as I slide over them to enter and exit the car.

I don't mind if it is stiff for it to be durable or supportive. I am just wondering if it is stiff due to being lower grade leather than typical.