ferrariyellow44

Do the new E classes have real wood trim??? Also, I was watching a YouTube video and the commentator mentioned that all new 2012 C classes have standard leather????

hyperion667

I hope so! veneer is super thin, but hopefully it is wood you know?
I really love that teak that Land Rover uses too

K-A

Yes, absolutely real wood (I've also been told that M-B grows their own trees and uses wood from them, but it was from a Car Salesman, so it could be total BS).

The C definitely does not have Leather standard.

ImInPA

It is infact real wood. Through the wonders of modern science, they are able to make the veneer almost wafer thin. I loved the matte finish natural wood that Volvo uses in the S80. The MB wood and Lexus wood looks like they spent a lot of time making it look like the fake wood in a Buick. Go figure.

ferrariyellow44

Ah wow im pleasently surprised! I had a 1998 Jag XJ8 and it had this wonderful solid piece of wood going all across the dash....I asked the salesman if it was real, It was a FAKE!

And I thought that the C had standard MB tex but I thought maybe to bump up their efforts against the A4's standard leather, they may have changed it for 2012.

Mr Snappy

The leather thing, in my opinion, is MB's greatest weakness and most stupid decesion...I mean, CHRIST, my wife's GMC SUV has standard leather!!!

It is simply inexcusable for cars of this price range not to have standard leather. I cringe every time some asks me if it's real leather when the get in my new E....it's embarrassing.

(I would have paid for the option, but since I was looking for a year-end deal, none were available...this does not matter, it should be standard, ESPECIALLY on the E's)

ImInPA

I have never had any ever ask me if my MB-Tex is real leather. I get asked a lot of questions but never if anything is real. In fact, when I tell folks that the MB-Tex is not leather, most are quite surprised and tell me it feel great. Go figure.

BudC

The majority of E-Class business Mercedes dealers do is leasing. What they stock are Sport versions with the P1 option. That's what moves.

I stopped buying cars off dealer's lots. First of all, it's probably been sitting around for a long time getting dirty. It's probably been used as a demo. It probably won't be what I would really like.

I also stopped buying cars at the end of the model year because the money I saved wouldn't equal the loss of depreciation of a one year old car.

Next time, order the car from the factory. You can get exactly what you want and the cost to own the car won't be any worse than if you'd bought something leftover at the end of the model year.

Then since you have what you want, drive the wheels off it.

BudC

The current MB-Tex isn't as good as it used to be but it will still look good and last a long time. My wife drove an '84 190D for 17 years and when she sold it, the MB-Tex looked like the day we bought the car. Of course I have a 20 year old 300E and the leather in it looks like the day I bought it. I doubt I'd be able to say that about the new E550 I recently bought but I won't live long enough to find out

ImInPA

I agree 100%. The point I was making is that no one has ever inquired as to weather or not my interior is leather or not. Pretty gauche if you ask me. I feel sorry for the person above that is embarrassed.

K-A

I've also never had anyone ask if it was "real leather". Whoever would actually ask that is probably somebody I wouldn't be interested in having in my car.

I've had people of enough walks of cars and life in my car, and none of them have questioned whether the Tex wasn't real leather. M-B Tex is not only that good, but IMO superior to M-B's gritty leather Option on the W212's (feels about the same, and you lose the durability factor). If you're gonna go leather, it's gotta be Nappa or something similar enough to it at least, as you can really smell and feel the plushness in that, and it might be the only way to justify dead carcass in your whip.

Mr Snappy

Nobody asks you if it's real leather

My buds are all car guys and can tell immediately when something is fishy....MB-Tex is fishy.

It's obviously not a huge issue or I never would have bought the car, but it is the single biggest dissapointment with it.

And if you guys can't tell MB-Tex from real leather....uh, i'm not sure we have common ground for discussion here.

CEB

Uhhhh, I don't believe that Jag ever used fake wood in their XJs. It was real wood - although "real" may mean a microscopiclayer of wood veneer layered over some plastic substance. Aside from the weight of solid wood, it is unlikely that it would pass any current crash testing standards.

I am also at a loss as to why MB uses "MB Taxi" material in their cars. True, most Euro imports come standard with some sort of vinyl, but virtually all BMWs on dealers lots will include the premium package that has leather as a part of the package.

Most MBs in the rest of the western world (aside from taxis) come standard with cloth or leather. Even the least expensive E series comes with cloth as standard, with ARTICO vinyl as an upgrade or leather. I don't see the words "MB-Tex" anywhere on the MB Germany website.

K-A

Nope, not one. I don't think anyone's ever gotten the impression that the Tex isn't real leather, not that we ever engage in a conversation over it (I'd gladly tell them that it isn't cow a$$).

Have you ever checked out a W212 with the Leather option? The Leather is terrible (relative to what you'd expect). I was actually very set on getting leather in my first W212 (same reasons as you guys, i.e "ridiculous that an M-B doesn't offer standard leather", etc., but when I compared one W212 with Tex VS one with Leather, I was hard pressed to tell a difference. The "real" leather is rough, pebbly, not very luxurious, and didn't give off the rich aroma of Nappa and the like. I found the advantages of it were outweighed by the disadvantages, in the particular case of the W212, as you don't get much extra richness with it (IMO), and you lose out on the incredible durability and if you care, humane aspect.

Mr Snappy

Yes, they did have a W212 with leather in the showroom. It was very nice, and was not the "Nappa", it was the regular. I wonder if you just were unlucky enough to see a really poor version, because the leather I saw was teriffic. But the color was goofy and the car had like $20K in other options I would never want.

I will confess that the MB-Tex is damn good for vinyl/plastic...or whatever it is.

oh, and supporting the beef and leather industry would actually appeal to me rather than turn me off to it.

YYZ-E55

I buy the "nobody asks" argument. They don't have to ask! Unless you're a smoker and your car reeks of cigarette residue, anyone with a nose could instantly identify that cheap, plastic odor as MB-Tex (ARTICO).

ARTICO is a good, durable product that would be right at home in any respectable work truck or taxi.

Also, leather is biodegradable

ImInPA

YYZ, when I was shopping my E, I sat in an E with the leather package and was immediately turned off by the lack of leather smell. My Volvo S80 smells like a saddle shop, rich leather aromas. I was disappointed in the lack of leather smell in the E. The texture of the leather in the E was also not what I would have expected. I think I would have to do designo for leather in the E.

YYZ-E55

The "real" leather in the E is textured (stamped) to match the grain of the ARTICO. This is so that small amounts of ARTICO can be used in conjunction with the real leather (sides of seats, door panels, etc).

While I agree that there is not a strong "saddle shop" smell, it sure beats the chemical smell of ARTICO. The additional color options are a bonus, too.

As for designo, obviously it's the cream of the crop. Check out the new ML designo interior:

hyperion667

haha, "saddle Shop"......that sounds good....
true: I have leather in both cars.....and the scent isn't overwhelming.......(the good kind)
I have leather coats that smell better you know?

Tai230K

I had MB-tex in 4 c-classes (2 w203s and 2 w204s) and real leather in my R171 and the chemical MB Tex off gassing was overbearing. R171 was less noticeable. E550 came standard with leather and even though I ordered from factory the new car smell was less noticeable, which is what I wanted.

Less Fumes = Better

Real Wood, fake wood, don't care as long as it looks nice.

K-A

Same here. The best part of Leather interior is the smell, IMO, and the Benz E Options just don't have any. I agree with Hype about the coats, I've actually had people with Leather Jackets in my car who's jackets send off an aroma more "Leather-y" than what the E Leather Option gives out altogether (tip for M-B Tex guys, get an old and aroma-spewing Leather jacket, and stick it under the seat ).

People always comment on how my car has the "nice new car smell", so I definitely am not unlucky enough to get a stinky plastic type of smell in my car.

golfster

MB using MB Tex certainly isn't new. Even when I was a kid, you could get SL's with MB Tex. It's just one of those odd things that make it a Mercedes.

El Cid

The wood is real, but I have read (maybe here) that M-B uses a process to impregnate it with polymers(?) or something so it will last longer. The great variation in temperatures and sunlight can be very adverse to "ordinary" wood.
I have found that wiping the wood surfaces down with a damp cloth, as per the manual, works very well for cleaning.
As re: MB Tex; I'm fairly happy with mine. Have had three cars with leather and even with maintenance, they all suffered over time. Have friends who had similar experiences.
Leather seats are nice and soft, but I wasn't willing to pay $1,500 just for leather on the seating surfaces.
BTW, everybody thinks my seats are leather, even those that have cars with leather seats. Who am I to argue with them?

K-A

My Dad was telling me that he was in his friends W221 S65 (you can't really get a higher end interior on a Benz). My Dad is famous for being a complete "car-layman" (like most), and not only did he say (to his friends not too thrilled reaction, lol) that his car "looks just like my Sons", but when he was in my car, he said the interiors were close enough to him as well (in a convo about how he couldn't believe why the other car costs like $150K), and needless to say that means he assumed mine is real Leather.

YYZ-E55

Summary: automotive layman demonstrates automotive ignorance.