not all leather is created equally.
the biggest difference is how hot you will be in the summer. vinyl doesn't breathe ... and if you tend to sweat more than average, you will probably be less comfortable. vinyl holds heat more in the summer and is also colder in the winter. i can tell you that high quality vinyl can fool many people in uniform appearance and can also be very soft. what it has difficulty doing is having a natural appearance with minor subtleties in the grain and finish. vinyl is easier to care for - but, both can tear, crack or rip, both can be damaged by UV rays ... but leather requires more care.
that being said, there are two basic types of leather - full grain and top(ped) grain. do not be fooled by full top grain - marketing ploy. the expensive part of the leather is the full grain portion of the hide ... which is the top. it has the pores that breathe. top grain is the portion of the hide that is left over after the full grain has been removed ... hence topped grain, which has been shortened to top grain. it doesn't have the same pores. it also is generally not as soft, but softness isn't necessarily the key to high quality leather. price is also not a good barometer of how good leather is either. but that is a much longer discussion. leather comes in two basic dye finishes - topical dyes and aniline dyes ... aniline penetrates the entire hide, topical is a lot like your basic paint job. most automotive leathers are not aniline dye process ... and it should be. please note that residential leathers will be destroyed by the UV light in the car environment.
you can overcome the lack of pores in the top grain or vinyl, by micro-perforating the material. you do need to clean leather to remove dirt out of the pores - products like Leatherique pristine clean. and then you need to keep the nutrients in the hide.
