YYZ-E55

The 211 and 212 (non-AMG) offer the same grades of interior finish for North America - ARTICO/MB-Tex (vinyl) as base, standard leather (not nappa) as an upgrade (standard on 550). The vinyl is meant to match the leather in terms of texture and feel as much as possible, so you're not going to see the two side by each and think that the leather is "better", hence the upholstery design differences to differentiate the two. Nappa leather is the softer variety with much less grain/texture, as found on your steering wheel rim.

212 AMG was messed up because North America could not get the P34 exclusive package, which offers nappa leather seats and dashboard due to crash test requirements. So while the 2009 E63 got nappa leather, the 2010 has standard leather (the same as the 550). The only way to move from standard leather to nappa is through designo. For 2011, the E63 gets nappa leather (a huge upgrade) and a stitched ARTICO/MB-Tex dashboard in Canada as of September production and I would assume in USA as well.

K-A

Oh wow, the E63 finally has Nappa again? Huge improvement indeed. What a cheap move by them to take that away, especially due to AMG's history of always providing the finest Leather. I still think they're not giving the E63 what it deserves until they put the standard Alcantra headliner back.

YYZ-E55

Only V12 trim Benzs have the finest leather (exclusive passion), standard AMGs are just nappa at best.

The lack of Alcantara headliner in the E63 is a MBUSA decision. Canada makes it standard (as well as other options such as bixenons, pano roof, navi), but the car is also more expensive.

samkimg

My E350 has a lot of the "bells and whistles" that others either love or hate above, but IMHO I love them all. The weakest portion is the lane assist, but the rest of my ride I use regularly.
- Night Vision is great on those rural roads where pedestrians tend to walk along in the middle of the road wearing their earphones and ignoring any/all incoming cars.
- Distronic is used every day in commute ... OK, it's to help me avoid speeding tickets while the police are hunting for their quotas.
- Pre-Safe braking has saved me (and my car) twice by hitting the brakes faster than I could have when drivers ahead of me do something stupid.
- Voice control is like learning a new language. You have to learn to speak what your car understands. But, it is worth keeping your two hands on the wheel instead of looking to push some button somewhere.
- navigation systems is a bit more restrained than the newer Lexus or garmin systems, but hasn't tried to send me off a cliff (another story)
- Blind spot assist is great during commute when those little cars and trucks sneak up into your back corners
- And if my massaging contour driver's seat every fails, I might stop driving my car until it's fixed. Best seat I've ever owned!

All in all, I love each and every part of my MB.

K-A

Grr, I wish I still had DD Seats! (Or DD Seat now).

Love that Massage feature.

pmb600

If you get designo on an S550 it is the same quality and quantity of leather as in the V12 models. The S and CL-Classes use semi-aniline leather as their highest quality leather.