rb23lb

ya i know it doesn't have the leather smell, but dealer told me the seats were firmer and would stay in shape longer and that it would not crack or fade nearly as easy as leather would....

so based of this, since I dont care for the smell of leather as much as I do the new car smell which is good enough for me, I dont feel too bad...

the 3 people that have been in my car since i picked it up yesterday all were suprised when I told them it was not leather, and said If i didnt tell them they would bever know...

i think most people just expect benzs are leather and the mb-tex does a great job as an imposter who non-benz drivers will NEVER recognize, at least from my experiences so far... but yes, if leather was free i would prefer it over MB-tex just for the fact I could say I have real leather...

CarGuru

I sat in a SFA W204 on the showroom floor, it had "real" leather, I honestly could not tell a difference from the MB-Tex in my car, neither interior appeared more comfortable than the other. Only noticeable difference was the SFA did not have the perforations which I think add to the sportiness of the "Sport" anyway. Also many of the Benz's from the 1980's had vinyl seats, looked like leather but it wasn't. Most of those interiors still look new today.

-Ryan

chilledbenz

I agree with the comment about people not being able to tell the difference between the leather and the mb tex. Only crazy car nuts like myself would probably be able to tell, only real give aways are as mentioned above the mb tex has the perferations in the center sections of the seats, and the leather package has the stitching in the door inserts. I've always been happy with the mb tex and only ran into a problem with it cracking on an 00 ML, but they happily replaced both front seat cussions at no cost under warranty.

G.Man

Ohhhhh leather it has that feel about it, just kidding, it comes standard in the Avantgarde here in Aus so I had no choice, in saying that I'm happy with leather knowing all to well that I have to look after it with leather conditioner etc.

A friend of mine who has owned several MB with MB-Tex said that MB-Tex was harder wearing, easier to maintain, didn't crack over time and was also very hard to pick that it wasn't leather, and would not hesitate to get MB-Tex again, the only problem is that he also has just purchased an C 200k Avantgarde which comes with leather.

Untertürkheim

I once had a car with MB tex, and I can remember several people saying how the interior felt like plastic. I eventually put sheepskin seat covers on because I hated sitting on what really is plastic. It is not by any means a substitute.

Needless to say, it was the first and last car with MB Tex for me.

Kieffer

To me, this new MBTex seems nothing like the old, plastic-looking stuff. I agree that some of their older, man-made leather looked nothing like leather. But this new stuff seems to be an entirely different "animal" (bad joke). When I sat in the SFA edition, it was the first time I had been in a C-class with leather. The leather seemed very hard. It didn't have that soft feel at all. I'm glad I ordered the Tex.

MBTex

I was in several W203's with MB-Tex prior to even becoming interested in buying an MB and didn't know that it wasn't leather. That's why when my dealer asked me about leather in the car I said "Of course". Then he explained and showed me what MB-Tex really is and I immediately decided I didn't need to spend the extra $1500 for the leather.

Is leather nicer? Yes. But you do have to take care of it and I know that I won't. Add that to kiddo's on the way and the durability of the MB-Tex won me over...especially when I consider the fact that I had sat in MB-Tex cars previously and had assumed it was leather.

To me, the only reason to get leather in this car is just because you have to have it in there as you couldn't imagine spending $40K plus for a car without leather. For me...I'll get much more enjoyment out of the MM then leather seats.

rb23lb

+1

thaihula

this is exactly what I think about mb tex +1+1

Chaz00Blue

Add another +1 for me.

peabers

I agree with your point... I have tried to avoid leather seats in my cars when I can. It's not forgiving to the Canadian winters, and I think the interior of my 4 year old TL looks older than it really is. My friends were surprised that the IS300 even came in cloth (it was so grippy).

This time around, I chose MBTEX because I have a kid... I hate the thought of the carseat stretching out the leather.

oblu

My wife still hasn't figured out my car is vinyl ... she noticed the material isn't the same quality as the upgraded leather in her Q7 (which is suffering color transfer from her designer dark jeans btw). Based on her previous comment about the car not having memory seats, she won't be that understanding.

Jorg

I feel that MBTex is unsurpased for wear and tear. Why do you think that most German Taxis, which are mostly Diesel Models have MBTex? The interior looks great after 20 years. Easy to clean.

Leather is leather and very luxurious. Can't beat a luxury car with fine leather interior.

Jorg

peabers

If I did not need to put in a Child Seat, and only kept my car for two years... i.e., a perfect world. I would consider leather. But I don't live in my dream world.

CarGuru

We have reef interior, I have to wipe down the driver seat weekly to keep the transfer down from blue jeans. I think the light gray is the best color choice for the 204, but I warn you all in advance, you will clean it frequently.

-Ryan

rb23lb

exactly why i got black, hate dealing with jean transfer and smudges