Then you should be also be careful of Dinamica inserts that VW and Benz has used.I’ll take either but please no alcantara inserts
As others have noted, it's a vinyl used as an alternative to leather. It's not bad but it's definitely not indistinguishable from leather, regardless of what somebody else might say. When my dad was looking at a GL several years back he immediately noticed it and it was a big turn-off for him.
The Audi e-tron I owned briefly had "leather seating surfaces" which is of course code for only there being leather where your butt sits. The rest of it being vinyl was quite obvious.
Ford has done a very good job with their "ActiveX" faux leather/leatherette but you can still tell it isn't the real thing. As somebody else noted, cheap leather is also usually vinyl coated, cracks easily and is quite thin. The "Laguna leather" that Stellantis (formerly FCA) is currently using is VERY nice, quite thick and feels extremely luxurious, it's one of my favourite leathers I've owned, right up there with the leather that was in my M5, which was also excellent and seemed to wear extremely well.
My dads favorite car was a 1977 Bonneville and he would get pissed when us kids would leave crumbs around the buttons. Those **** buttons would pop off as well. Oh the memories. rofl.The stuff these days is much better than the old vinyl seats way back when. The old vinyl was thick of course and prone to cracking after exposure to extreme temperatures and getting sat on. Those thick edges were actually sharp and would cause pain if inflicted properly. Duct tape wasn’t a big thing then.
The automakers latest design buzz is quilting. Quilted seats are coming back though they don’t have those buttons anchoring the quilts like the Naugahyde Davenports of the the 70’s. If you start seeing that, run away.
My dads favorite car was a 1977 Bonneville and he would get pissed when us kids would leave crumbs around the buttons. Those **** buttons would pop off as well. Oh the memories. rofl.
these were nice. mine was the color of a caramel sweetView attachment 53393
These were some of the most comfortable seats in any vehicle I've owned. Car was a 2001 BMW M5, this pic was taken in 2013 or 2014, so the car was 12 or 13 years old. Not sure on the mileage in the picture, probably 160,000Km? So roughly 100,000 miles.
We had a 2000 328i and its seats (vinyl) were cracked pretty good. I probably have a pic here somewhere actually. My sister has an '03 330i and her seats are in good condition still (vinyl) but you definitely are not mistaking it for leather.these were nice. mine was the color of a caramel sweet
the regular 530 and 540 sports seats looked nice by they’re horrible for anything longer than a 5 minute drive. probably made of recycled rocks
Found them!We had a 2000 328i and its seats (vinyl) were cracked pretty good. I probably have a pic here somewhere actually. My sister has an '03 330i and her seats are in good condition still (vinyl) but you definitely are not mistaking it for leather.
No reason to avoid MB Tex!MB-Tex is MB’s vinyl. In the 80s and and 90s it had legendary durability, nowadays it’s best to avoid it.
Leatherette refers to the vinyl in poverty trim VWs and BMWs, the latter usually comes with manual seats. it’s not particularly durable and tends to tear easily in my experience
With the exception of the W212. And even then, I would not let MB Tex seats stop me from buying a car I otherwise love. Just understand that it is all but a given that the front seat covers will need to be replaced at some time. Unless they have already been replaced.No reason to avoid MB Tex!