'Man made leather'?
Discussion
When I worked in a SAAB dealer ,in 1984 when a customer bought one of the very first 900T 16s ,he specced leather and didn't
think it leather enough.
He got a free full leather re-trim by a specialist ,including extra bits that weren't leather in the standard car ,such as part of the door cards.
think it leather enough.
He got a free full leather re-trim by a specialist ,including extra bits that weren't leather in the standard car ,such as part of the door cards.
Most car leather is spray painted anyway so in theory it doesn't really matter, you're sitting on a layer of overcoat anyway.
Having said that the Merc Artico/MB Tex is notorious for being weak and splitting on the bolsters.
Look at the amount of W164 ML Sports, that have alcantara with MB Tex bolsters, are for sale with rips on the drivers side.
You sued to be able to tell if a Merc had leather as the door cards were ruffled, where as the plastic was flat. That changed around 2010 though.
Having said that the Merc Artico/MB Tex is notorious for being weak and splitting on the bolsters.
Look at the amount of W164 ML Sports, that have alcantara with MB Tex bolsters, are for sale with rips on the drivers side.
You sued to be able to tell if a Merc had leather as the door cards were ruffled, where as the plastic was flat. That changed around 2010 though.
Ari said:
Wasn't there a massive fuss about VW leather a few years ago? People were complaining that a lot of what appeared to be leather was vinyl (although I seem to recall the seat facings were leather).
I seem to recall it was Jaguar, and the fuss was in the US. Jaguar claimed that the car had "full leather interior" when in fact only the bits you normally touch (seat facings etc.) were leather and the rest was plastic. Customer sued and won, Jaguar had to change their advertising, and the rest of the industry followed.So now you see "leather interior". Or "full leather interior" but with the small print saying that this means leather seat facings only.
rockin said:
I have man-made seat coverings in both my Merc and my Porsche. It's fashionable on PH to sneer at such things and pretty clear that many people on here enjoy looking down their noses at inferior mortals who drive such cars....
Next question?
Heathen Next question?
Dont you know leather is a natural product whereas man-made comes from oil?
Now what else uses oil?
BMW leather is unusual, but all do contain some cow in them.
Dakota is the basic leather, probably what you get as the first option up from cloth seats in the 1 and 3 series. It is partially man made but has mainly a leather element to it. It's OK, a bit tough and grainy but looks and feels like leather, which is what all want.
Then there is Nevada leather (in our car). Much smoother, much softer, smells more like leather as well. Quite nice actually.
There is then Nappa leather, which is a smoother, still slightly grainy leather that is much softer still than Nevada.
Finally, there is Merino leather, which is as soft as can be, but you would expect that when the option is £3k+!
Mercedes are very guilty for it, makes people in their A-Class feel they have 'luxury' when there is some vinyl on the seats.
Dakota is the basic leather, probably what you get as the first option up from cloth seats in the 1 and 3 series. It is partially man made but has mainly a leather element to it. It's OK, a bit tough and grainy but looks and feels like leather, which is what all want.
Then there is Nevada leather (in our car). Much smoother, much softer, smells more like leather as well. Quite nice actually.
There is then Nappa leather, which is a smoother, still slightly grainy leather that is much softer still than Nevada.
Finally, there is Merino leather, which is as soft as can be, but you would expect that when the option is £3k+!
Mercedes are very guilty for it, makes people in their A-Class feel they have 'luxury' when there is some vinyl on the seats.
AmitG said:
I wonder if anyone has ever done a blind test where people are given samples of natural and artificial leather and asked to classify them.
Personally I would be hard-pressed to tell the difference, on the sort of stuff that is used by the luxury brands.
You wouldn't be able to tell the difference, both are top coated and then spray painted in cars, with the exception of a very few high end models with aniline leathers. Personally I would be hard-pressed to tell the difference, on the sort of stuff that is used by the luxury brands.
gizlaroc said:
You sued to be able to tell if a Merc had leather as the door cards were ruffled, where as the plastic was flat. That changed around 2010 though.
rockin said:
I have man-made seat coverings in both my Merc and my Porsche. It's fashionable on PH to sneer at such things and pretty clear that many people on here enjoy looking down their noses at inferior mortals who drive such cars....
Next question?
Just... Wow. Next question?
It was just something that amused me, I'm sorry if it made you feel a bit inferior, that wasn't the intention at all.
But jolly well done on crowbarring in that you own a Merc AND a Porsche, I'm sure that must have helped make you feel better about it all, and if it helps, my Merc is too old to have the fake stuff.
gizlaroc said:
AmitG said:
I wonder if anyone has ever done a blind test where people are given samples of natural and artificial leather and asked to classify them.
Personally I would be hard-pressed to tell the difference, on the sort of stuff that is used by the luxury brands.
You wouldn't be able to tell the difference, both are top coated and then spray painted in cars, with the exception of a very few high end models with aniline leathers. Personally I would be hard-pressed to tell the difference, on the sort of stuff that is used by the luxury brands.
Ari said:
But jolly well done on crowbarring in that you own a Merc AND a Porsche, I'm sure that must have helped make you feel better about it all, and if it helps, my Merc is too old to have the fake stuff.
MB tex has been around since at least the eighties, is your Merc older than that?
Ten years ago we were considering a Volvo and the salesman made a big deal out of the man made seat covering which was I recall like a high grade plastic. It was actually OK.
I wonder if modern cloth and other fabrics are coming back into fashion? I was in a new Range Rover Velar recently that had really good looking and feeling seats made I was told out of recycled plastics.
Bring back good old crushed velour. Our 1979 Chrysler Horizon was way posher than next door's Marina with its plastic seats.
"Leather" is pretty standard on most car types these days. Is it guessing passé?
I wonder if modern cloth and other fabrics are coming back into fashion? I was in a new Range Rover Velar recently that had really good looking and feeling seats made I was told out of recycled plastics.
Bring back good old crushed velour. Our 1979 Chrysler Horizon was way posher than next door's Marina with its plastic seats.
"Leather" is pretty standard on most car types these days. Is it guessing passé?
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