BMW using plastic and not real leather for seats?
Discussion
I owned a BMW X5 4.4I From new, for 20 years. I looked after it well and it repaid me in spades. It always smelt wonderful when I opened the door. It still smelt of well maintained leather. However, I recently bought a low mileage, very well maintained BMW X3 30d sport. A wonderful car.... but the seats and door coverings are plastic and this seems widespread, with my Sister's new Mercedes 200 Turbo having the same covering. This is a sad indictment of Accountants cost cutting with no regard to the quality of the brand.
Car companies have been using coated plastic “leather” materials for years. I had a 1990 vw Passat with a leather interior, only the seat faces were leather all the door cards and seat backs were coated plastic.
I have an e39 5 series with the upgraded nappa leather, there’s a definite difference between the thick leather they used on that and the base spec leather used on BMWs of the same era.
I have an e39 5 series with the upgraded nappa leather, there’s a definite difference between the thick leather they used on that and the base spec leather used on BMWs of the same era.
Are you talking about "Dakota" leather or "SensaTec"? SensaTec is basically plastic - it's not even trying to be leather. Horrid stuff. Dakota is cheaper but more hardwearing leather which isn't as nice as Merino. Merino leather is much nicer but, to my eye, doesn't wear as well. A five year old car with Dakota leather will look tidier with little effort than a five year old car with Merino, unless the owner with Merino has maintained it obsessively. All just depends what you want and how much time you're prepared to spend looking after it.
lufbramatt said:
I have an e39 5 series with the upgraded nappa leather, there’s a definite difference between the thick leather they used on that and the base spec leather used on BMWs of the same era.
I had several e39's and then an e61 and whilst the interior quality on the e61 wasn't bad it wasn't a patch on the older cars, the cost cutting was very evident. I thought the same about my e46 vs e90's I've been in also.njw1 said:
I had several e39's and then an e61 and whilst the interior quality on the e61 wasn't bad it wasn't a patch on the older cars, the cost cutting was very evident. I thought the same about my e46 vs e90's I've been in also.
There may have been some cost cutting on the interiors on the E9x / E6x cars but they did improve the rust proving a whole lot.MitchT said:
Are you talking about "Dakota" leather or "SensaTec"? SensaTec is basically plastic - it's not even trying to be leather. Horrid stuff. Dakota is cheaper but more hardwearing leather which isn't as nice as Merino. Merino leather is much nicer but, to my eye, doesn't wear as well. A five year old car with Dakota leather will look tidier with little effort than a five year old car with Merino, unless the owner with Merino has maintained it obsessively. All just depends what you want and how much time you're prepared to spend looking after it.
Dakota neither looks that great or feels great but does wear really well. My wife’s E91 still looks pretty good after 174k.I have nappa leather in my Z4 which feels really nice but hasn’t worn all that well.
Court_S said:
MitchT said:
Are you talking about "Dakota" leather or "SensaTec"? SensaTec is basically plastic - it's not even trying to be leather. Horrid stuff. Dakota is cheaper but more hardwearing leather which isn't as nice as Merino. Merino leather is much nicer but, to my eye, doesn't wear as well. A five year old car with Dakota leather will look tidier with little effort than a five year old car with Merino, unless the owner with Merino has maintained it obsessively. All just depends what you want and how much time you're prepared to spend looking after it.
Dakota neither looks that great or feels great but does wear really well. My wife’s E91 still looks pretty good after 174k.I have nappa leather in my Z4 which feels really nice but hasn’t worn all that well.
I had half-leather before on an E36, and the side bolsters on the exit side looked quite roughed up after 100k miles.
Court_S said:
There may have been some cost cutting on the interiors on the E9x / E6x cars but they did improve the rust proving a whole lot.
Absolutely, all of my e39's had the jacking points and inner sills welded, my e61 at 17 years old was still rust free. And as for e46 front wings and rear arches, the less said the better I think!Thanks for those enlightening answers. As I was in a trade that used leather and suede to cover armchairs, club chairs and the like, I have always thought that if you occasionally feed leather it will outlast almost anything else and improve in looks too. Some of the old MG's that had serious leather seats still looked good years later, but must be oiled or waxed.
I agree with the fact that my new BMW is not in the same class as the old, however, I feel that BMW and Mercedes are both sold as a class and price, above other brands, so would expect them to want to give their customers the right feel. However, as I said before, once you let the Finance Directors dictate to the Board, quality is sacrificed for profit.
I agree with the fact that my new BMW is not in the same class as the old, however, I feel that BMW and Mercedes are both sold as a class and price, above other brands, so would expect them to want to give their customers the right feel. However, as I said before, once you let the Finance Directors dictate to the Board, quality is sacrificed for profit.
I agree with Lufbramatt, that they have been using coated leather plastic, but this is really plastic and should be called that. I contacted the trade descriptions guys about this 'plastic leather' and they said that particularly the Chinese covered plastic with a micro' thin leather covering, but to their minds leather was not this and had to be 100% leather, if called "leather".
First, you are comparing an X5 to an X3. Second, you chose to buy the X3 with what that seat option: Sensatec is plastic, Dakota is coated leather and merino is first choice leather, much softer and nicer (and fragile than Dakota). Third, in my experience, there is even a perceived difference in merino leather between classes of vehicle. As an example, the M5 and X5 I have had with full leather merino had a higher quality than the merino in my most recent G81 M3.
The plastic on the X3/3 series is also harder, especially lower down, than a 5 series/X5.
The plastic on the X3/3 series is also harder, especially lower down, than a 5 series/X5.
Johann 0-1. said:
This is a sad indictment of Accountants cost cutting with no regard to the quality of the brand.
Johann 0-1. said:
However, as I said before, once you let the Finance Directors dictate to the Board, quality is sacrificed for profit.
Accountants generally are not the ones who make the decision, they will give options and perhaps make recommendations, but ultimately decisions are made by the Senior Management / Board of Directors with the ultimate aim of pleasing investors.
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