Re: Leatherette is better (archive)

I can't quite agree that Leatherette breathes better. We borrowed a 328i from local BMW used lot and seats were Leatherette -- sweated backs of my legs after 2 hours with air full blast. Now have 540 w/leather -- legs do not sweat. Also the idiots told me they were leather -- but I could tell they were Vinyl. What!!! I said - Vinyl seats in a BMW!?!?! Not on MY BMW!!! Get Connoly Hide Food, apply it every couple months or so - a pain but well worth it. Car retains that new leather smell --- wonderful!

Leatherette is BETTER than leather because leatherette will not crack with age, is resistant to soiling, easy to clean, and requires almost no maintenance. The BMW brochure even says the leatherette breathes like leather. Thus it feels the same as leather in the summer and your skin will not stick to it. I've it in my 97 528i, and everyone thinks it's leather. It still looks & feels new. No regrets.

One thing most people don't realize is the leather in cars is of an inferior quality compared to the leather used in high grade clothing or furniture. There are many grades of leather. The good stuff is called top grain. The lower quality ones are called split hide. The color on a split hide is applied almost like spraying it with paint rather then anilin dyed. Split hide is normally stiff, and the processing pounds it to break up the fiber and make it soft (like tenderizing meat) and stamp the surface with a leather pattern. Unfortunately the leather in cars is made from split hide, which is why it cracks and feels like vinyl. It does not feel anything like a Emerson leather sofa. Some times the leather comes from goats rather than cows. Car seats are often made from several pieces of leather (see how many pieces there are to cover the seat & seat back?), which is not nearly as robust as havng it made from a single large piece like they do on an Emerson leather sofa. This is why the leather option is only a thousand dollar (the material cost for the leather must be only a few hundred dollars), whereas a leather sofa with superior material can cost 2x or 3x more for similar square footage.

The bottom line is the leather in 99% of cars is cheap stuff (not just BMW). The leatherette will give you much longer lasting service and is a superior material to use in cars under the extreme temperatures and humidities that it experiences.

Anyone got a 5 series with leatherette upholstery? How do you like it? Any regrets about not springing for the real leather?

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