Leather or leatherette

I haven't gotten a chance to check out the leatherette but i do like my leather seats however theres a difference between the X5 leather seats and the 3

Originally Posted by captainaudio

Went to the Lexus Web Site and could not build an ES with Leatherette. I rented a Mercedes C Class with MBTex a months ago. I did not mind it at all.

The redesigned 2013, not the currently available 2012 ES.

Here's a quote from the Press Release:
"The new ES will feature enhanced NuLuxe seating surfaces, developed to reduce environmental impact. Genuine leather is also available, as is semi-aniline leather for an even more refined look and feel."
http://pressroom.lexus.com/releases/...+auto+show.htm

Originally Posted by 3ismagic#

The other side of the coin is that BMW Dakota Leather sucks. You can still see the marks from where the jockey was beating it. It's leather only in the technical sense in that it once was the skin of an animal.

Maybe one would feel like they were compromising with the leatherette if the quality difference between the two was larger.

+1

Every car interior looks great in Year 1. It's Years 2 through 5 that are the judge and BMW's leather is really sloppy and ages poorly. Just yesterday I was in my local BMW dealer's showroom, looking for an elusive F30 with a saddle interior, and they had a ton of CPO E90's on the floor instead. Lots of colors, lots of different interiors, like walking through a time machine to ancient Rome. And each E90 I leaned into had a ratty leather interior that looked like my dad's old Lay-Z-Boy recliner from 1981. Discoloration, cracks, dryness, flabby skin folds, the interiors looked worse than the NJ tanning mom.

Leatherette, while downmarket and artificial, looks as good in Year 5 as it did on the day you got it from the showroom. Just a few squirts of Fantastik and it's factory-fresh.

BJ

Originally Posted by boltjaM3s

+1

Every car interior looks great in Year 1. It's Years 2 through 5 that are the judge and BMW's leather is really sloppy and ages poorly. Just yesterday I was in my local BMW dealer's showroom, looking for an elusive F30 with a saddle interior, and they had a ton of CPO E90's on the floor instead. Lots of colors, lots of different interiors, like walking through a time machine to ancient Rome. And each E90 I leaned into had a ratty leather interior that looked like my dad's old Lay-Z-Boy recliner from 1981. Discoloration, cracks, dryness, flabby skin folds, the interiors looked worse than the NJ tanning mom.

Leatherette, while downmarket and artificial, looks as good in Year 5 as it did on the day you got it from the showroom. Just a few squirts of Fantastik and it's factory-fresh.

BJ

I don't know what dealer you went to but I was in the CPO showroom at BMW Manhattan recently and the leather interiors on the CPO cars whether they were 3s, 5s or .7s were indistinguishable from new.

I specifically picked my BMW because it has synthetic seats. BMW is one of the few luxury car makers that even makes not having leather seats an available option.

Originally Posted by boltjaM3s

I have experience with both, and I'll tell you the honest truth:

The leatherette looks better, resists wear better, and maintains better.

No BMW owner is going to want fake leather. They will spend as much as it takes to have real leather to impress the unwashed masses who aspire all their lives to own a 3 Series, even if you have to replace the leather every 6 months due to wear...

All kidding aside, I have to agree with BJ and everyone else: It comes down to a matter of preference. Some people want the look, feel and smell of real leather. Those are its advantages. The disadvantage is the fact that it is a more wearable material that requires more upkeep to look good.

I had a 2003 330i with leather sports seats for 2.5 years. The black leather showed wear after even that short time, despite the fact that I used Lexol leather cleaner and conditioner often. My 10 year old M3's gray leather is completely trashed and requires extensive restoration (Leatherique treatment, crack filler, and redyeing.) On the other hand, my 2005 VW has gray leatherette which I have pretty much ignored since the day I got it and it looks exactly the same as it did 7 years ago! Most people think my VW has leather.

Personally I think the "premium cars need leather and wood to be premium" mentality needs to come to the modern age. There are other materials out there that are just as good or better in looks and quality to the "old fashioned" leather and wood. I would have no problem ordering an F30 with 'ette, and only wish it could be had with features of the premium package and in other colors.

Originally Posted by OBS3SSION

No BMW owner is going to want fake leather. They will spend as much as it takes to have real leather to impress the unwashed masses who aspire all their lives to own a 3 Series, even if you have to replace the leather every 6 months due to wear...

All kidding aside, I have to agree with BJ and everyone else: It comes down to a matter of preference. Some people want the look, feel and smell of real leather. Those are its advantages. The disadvantage is the fact that it is a more wearable material that requires more upkeep to look good.

I had a 2003 330i with leather sports seats for 2.5 years. The black leather showed wear after even that short time, despite the fact that I used Lexol leather cleaner and conditioner often. My 10 year old M3's gray leather is completely trashed and requires extensive restoration (Leatherique treatment, crack filler, and redyeing.) On the other hand, my 2005 VW has gray leatherette which I have pretty much ignored since the day I got it and it looks exactly the same as it did 7 years ago! Most people think my VW has leather.

Personally I think the "premium cars need leather and wood to be premium" mentality needs to come to the modern age. There are other materials out there that are just as good or better in looks and quality to the "old fashioned" leather and wood. I would have no problem ordering an F30 with 'ette, and only wish it could be had with features of the premium package and in other colors.

I agree that it is a matter of personal preference. IMO the BMW leatherette is uncomfortable in ot weather although I have limited experience with it.

We have leather in all of our cars and I have not had an issue with wear. After 5 years and 40,000 miles the interior of the 335i looks the same as it did when the car was new. This may be at least partially due to the fact that it is black leather. If I compare the drivers seat to the rear seats (which are almost never used) there is no noticeable difference in wear.

The 7 is only a few weeks old and as would be expected shows no wear. The 7 has a light colored interior so time will tell. The leather in the 7 looks and feels very different than the Dakota leather in the 3 but I think the "grippier" nature of the Dakota works well with the sport seats.

BMWNA does not offer cloth upholstery in the U.S. because Americans would rather at least pretend they have leather in their BMW even if they don't get the real thing. That's not saying that is the reason Bimmerfesters get leatherette, it is the reason most leatherette buyers get it. In the U.S. cloth upholstery is anathema to a premium car. Heaven forbid it.

I had saddle brown leather in my 2007 E92 335i and it didn't wear at all after 3.5 years and over 40k miles when I sold it. Looked flawless. The full merino leather on my 2008 M5 looked awful when I got rid of it after 3.5 years and over 40k miles. The saddle brown leather was much harder than the full merino leather which may have been why it didn't wear as much.

This go around on my 2013 335i I got leatherette, in part because I feared my 2 year old destroying it, and because I was leasing the car so resale wasn't an issue. However, I'm probably going to sweat my butt off in Phoenix. On the flip side, I hear it's warmer in the winter and since I didn't order heated seats, that could be a bonus.

Well I got leather seats because I figure if youre going to buy a Luxury car you need true leather

Dakota leather may not have the highest "quality" feel but its seems to wear well. My 135 is 3 yrs old and the leather looks as new.

The BMW leatherette does look awfully close to the Dakota but I am not sure I would want to get into the car on a very hot day if it had vinyl seats.

I wanted comfort access so there was no fence sitting for me on this choice.

Originally Posted by junji98

for the leather owners, how do you maintain/clean the leather? what do you use?

thanks.

Leather is an organic thing. You need to take care of it. There are a lot of good leather products out there. Personally, I use the Zaino 9 cleaner and 10 "Leather in a Bottle". NOTHING smells better than the Z10. It's instant "New Car Leather Smell". Fantastic!!!

Originally Posted by CE750Jockey

Leather is an organic thing. You need to take care of it. There are a lot of good leather products out there. Personally, I use the Zaino 9 cleaner and 10 "Leather in a Bottle". NOTHING smells better than the Z10. It's instant "New Car Leather Smell". Fantastic!!!

Hmm, maybe I'll get that Z10 for my leatherette and get that "New Car Leather Smell"...then, no one would know the difference! Easy upkeep plus leather smell - best of both worlds!

Originally Posted by CE750Jockey

Leather is an organic thing.

I am not sure how organic Dakota leather is. It is at best corrected-grain leather, at worst split/bicast/bonded leather. The Dakota texture is almost certainly due to impressing/embossing, possibly of non-organic material (hopefully not). That's why leatherette may seem such a good imitation. It is imitating highly processed leather, often treated with polyurethanes. It is because what is being sold as the real thing actually barely qualifies as the real deal to begin with.

Full grain leather, the highest grade leather, is actually extremely durable when well maintained. Think of the stresses leather shoes endure, yet good quality old school leather shoes can last nearly a lifetime. Think saddles, etc. You have then progressively lower grade leathers, all the way to stuff that is actually a mix of leather and other crap. The cheaper stuff cracks/splits and rips. If you want to compare it to wood, there are the hardwoods, then softwoods, then plywood, and then the engineered woods (saw dust and glue). The question is whether Dakota leather is high density or medium density fiberboard Hopefully it is not low density fiberboard

I did some research.

BMW Dakota leather is Top-grain leather. One step below Full-grain leather. The difference is top-grain leather is "finished" and full-grain leather is not. Nappa leather is full-grain leather. Dakota leather is a sealed, pigmented leather. It has a urethane, water-based, protective top coat. It only requires water based cleaning products. It does not require oil based conditioners. In fact, oil based products can cause the finish of the leather to de-laminate and lead to cracking.

Dakota leather is hand selected from European and New Zealand cattle hides. These hides are known for their clean surfaces. Its thickness enables it to exhibit a pronounced grain and features even coloration.

This info is from non-BMW sources.

Originally Posted by windsor027

i ordered Leatherette. The reason is simple, it hold up better than leather, especially if you have kids and dogs like I do. Yea I love taking my dog (female Pitbull) for rides and the hikes and she loves being in the car also. Cleaning is also easier I found. There are some people that can tell right away the difference between the two, most can't. it depends what you consider a must IMO and how you are going to use your car.

I have a female APBT as well and that was my reasoning for getting the leatherette.
However, the dog when we travel is in the crate for safety reasons.

Originally Posted by verbs

I had saddle brown leather in my 2007 E92 335i and it didn't wear at all after 3.5 years and over 40k miles when I sold it. Looked flawless. The full merino leather on my 2008 M5 looked awful when I got rid of it after 3.5 years and over 40k miles. The saddle brown leather was much harder than the full merino leather which may have been why it didn't wear as much.

This go around on my 2013 335i I got leatherette, in part because I feared my 2 year old destroying it, and because I was leasing the car so resale wasn't an issue. However, I'm probably going to sweat my butt off in Phoenix. On the flip side, I hear it's warmer in the winter and since I didn't order heated seats, that could be a bonus.

I went from Dakota to leatherette in my F30. Could not be happier. My Dakota was just as bad in the Florida heat as my leatherette.

How do people like the smell of leather?

My car is in the shop so I have a loaner car with leather interior. It smells terrible. It's especially bad when it's hot.

This experience just reinforces that leatherette is superior to leather.

Originally Posted by ShackleMeNot

How do people like the smell of leather?

My car is in the shop so I have a loaner car with leather interior. It smells terrible. It's especially bad when it's hot.

This experience just reinforces that leatherette is superior to leather.

For you.

Originally Posted by ShackleMeNot

How do people like the smell of leather?

My car is in the shop so I have a loaner car with leather interior. It smells terrible. It's especially bad when it's hot.

This experience just reinforces that leatherette is superior to leather.

Why would you conclude that it is the leather upholstery that is the sourco of the bad smell?

Originally Posted by captainaudio

Why would you conclude that it is the leather upholstery that is the sourco of the bad smell?

Because the strong smell smells like......leather.

Originally Posted by ShackleMeNot

Because the strong smell smells like......leather.

That is not normal. The leather smell, if even noticeable will be subtle and generally goes away completely after the car is a few weeks old.

CA

BMW uses fake leather even when you pay extra for real leather...so theyre both fake...you can base your opinions based on experience but you cannot get real hide on a bmw...atleast not on the cheap models like 1 3 x1 x3 z4....

Originally Posted by powerhouseN55

BMW uses fake leather even when you pay extra for real leather...so theyre both fake...you can base your opinions based on experience but you cannot get real hide on a bmw...atleast not on the cheap models like 1 3 x1 x3 z4....

100% false.

I have leatherette and no regret.
glad I skipped the Premium Package.