Sorry if this has already been covered:

My wife and I are looking at purchasing a GL. We will be using car seats and transporting little kids for the life of this vehicle.

How we'll does the MB text wear? My wife really likes light interiors, but I am afraid that it will look dirty.

I am new here so please excuse any stupid questions or not knowing this board's etiquette.

 

I bought my GL a few months back and decided to go with the MB TEX since I have children and based on everyone's view on it. I believe the MB tex is more durable than leather especially when you have kids and pets.

I have enjoyed the MB Tex and not miss or feel that I should have went with the leather.

 

I don't think you'll go wrong if you haven't had it before. My only commentary on the difference is that I think the Tex is much hotter in warm weather. My wife has Tex in her R, and I have leather in the GL, and I am bothered on a hot day in her car. But if the kids are the important factor, Tex is probably fine.

Also, you can't get the ventilated seats without leather, if you wanted them...

Good luck!

 

I drove a loaner car with MB Tex for two months while waiting for my new ML. It was aweful! Fake, sticky and smelled bad. I love my leather seats!! I would not buy a MB without real leather!

 

Very happy with MB-Tex (Almond) and two little kids (2 yr, 8 mos). Very easy to wipe clean and looks fantastic paired with the matte wood trim, IMHO.

Did the first road trip (six hours) last week and never thought the MB-Tex was hot or uncomfortable with lots of sun and temps in the 90s. We also have a BMW and a Mini, both with leather, for comparison.


YMMV

 

i've had both in black. the leather is surprisingly easy to wipe clean, and i have two young kids. i just use a soft cloth and water and done.

the leather does appear more "wrinkly" than the MB Tex, which I suppose is to be expected. nothing bad, but just not as taut as Tex.

MB Tex is not bad at all - i never had anyone ask me if it was fake leather, and to be honest i don't think that many people can tell the difference. mercedes did a great job on that. i agree that it felt a little more "sticky" and hot given that it's not a natural material, but the difference isn't substantial.

We went with leather the second time around because we wanted the ventilated seats (HUGE bonus in my opinion) and opted for the 550 which comes with all this stuff standard.

now that i have had both, i would choose leather for the multi contour seats (so comfortable) and the ventilation. it's one of those things, once you'd had them, you probably won't go back ... but when i hadn't had them before, i didn't know what i was missing.

 

Have seen my almond Tex picking up a bit of dye if you have heavily dyed jeans or belts. So far the jeans dye came off with some rubbing and clean white towels, but the belt mark is tough to get out.

 

I have grey MB-Tex. It is easy to clean and shows absolutely no sign of wear after 1.5 years. I don't find it to be hot or a problem at any time. I live in New England. Something tells me that after about 5 years MB-Tex might hold up better. Just a guess. Also, I would think that maintenance of MB-Tex is minimal as compared to leather. However, with all of this said, I don't know what I'll do on my next GL.

 

MB tex over leather any day, I have the leather on mine and before anyone sat in the car the rear seats were already stretched.

 

The construction of MBTex bears mention - you have a dense cotton webbing as a backing - with the synthetic top later boned to it.

My impression - in direct sunlight MBTex, especially darker colors, will not get as scalding hot as smooth leather dark seats - anyone in shorts who has gotten in a dark smooth leather seat in direct sunlight has felt that "scalding" on the bottom thighs.

My impression - in cold winters/freezing temperatures - to me MBTex also does not feel as frigid.bone-sucking cold as smooth leather.

I am not saying MBTex is a "miracle" what I am saying is direct comparison - for me - of MBTex versus smooth leather in temperature extremes.

Due to the cotton webbing backing - it is not possible to ventilate MBTex - on the same hand with the "perforated"/actually-peppered MBTex now in the SUV's - I have not had any comment whatsoever on "sweaty seats" or "sticky seats" on MBTex. The exception to that is when a owner uses the wrong cleaner on MBTex that leaves some type of residue film,

The other interesting characteristic of the synthetic layer is that is more "scratch" resistant than leather - especially with jean rivets and other accessories - and with the cotton webbing backing more resistant to outright puncture than leather - again, not a "miracle" product but a positive characteristic in those particular situations.

With Mercedes - across all models - their is Premium leather - Nappa leather - and Designo leather - and in this thread so far the discussion has been limited to to Premium leather.

If I was choosing mercedes leather - focus here on Premium - then personally I would choose to separate added Ventilation option - multi-contour on Mercedes sedans and Mercedes SUV's is a somewhat different animal due to the differences in seat construction - personally I wuld be more likely to add mulit-c if I was choosing a sedan - and less likely to add multi-c if it was a SUV - for me, it is a difference berween a "cradled hold" in the sedan seat versus more upright seating in the SUV - different driving position for me, that's me.

Dye transfer from indigo denim, and/or leather belts - is a nature of the jeans/belt - of course a darker interior in less subject to this - the lighter interior is more likely.

Waiting too long on a dye stain can :set" into either light MBTex, and set more quickly in light leather - Lexol pH Leather Cleaner is a ooverall good and safe product to use for either Leather or MBTex - best cleaning effect is using a cotton, rather than microfiber towel for interior cleaning.

At time of purchase - if your MB had a light interior - pay attention to the Interior Protection Package the dealer finance department will offer. The MB interior protection package is in partnership with DuPont - and offers increased "protection" - and/or the dealer may offer a non-MB package and most of those work well too - that is your decision - just imagine my situation with a customer who orders a SL65 with Deep White Designo interior !

That's a short recap/summary from my side - just trying to help !

 

Another excellent post.

mP

 

my neighbor has a 2008 R class with very light color (light grey) MB tex interior and it still looks as new as my 2014 GL with Beige MB tex. No cracks at all and very few wrinkles if any and he has 4 kids who beat up on it pretty hard.

 

Thank you all for your help and input. fabbrisd1 - that was an incredibly helpful post.

I guess it will depend on whether I buy or lease. I love the look of the designo, but this car is already costing me more than I would like.

A

 

TZhe key to value in Designo is not necessarily the "look" - it's the "feel" - and frankly Designo Black is dang sexy feel for anyone who hasn't had a Bentley or better Maserati experience !

 

on our 12 GL we had MB Tex and i didn't mind it even fought i pitched a fit comparing it to our E55 - my only ***** was the fact that it didn't slide like leather when getting in and out - while we were out looking at 14's last week the gent told us the front seats are MB Tex center and the edges are leather so easier to get in and out of - if that makes sense.

 

Fabbrisd1:

I am sure that it would feel amazing! Funny that you mention Bentley - that's exactly the car I thought of when I saw the pics.

We got to the dealership late, and felt bad asking him to show me yet another GL well after the dealership closed.

I would love to get it, as I do think that would add a lot to the overall experience of the car - just not sure I can justify the additional cost. As it is, a relatively base version of this car would be indulgent for me at this time. Also, we have a little one, and I am concerned about her (or her car seat) ruining the leather.

A

 

FWIW, there is also a middle ground between "stock" and full up Designo that would be more family friendly if you select your options carefully.

Combine an optional wood (example: Brown Satin Ash) with the U09 special order option (lower dash and upper doors in MB-Tex) and you'll have a small part of the appearance of Designo in the forward cabin except for the seats and headliner, of course, but everything is swathed in easy to clean MB-Tex.

Note: the upper dash of the GL is MB-Tex as standard equipment --at least in the USA-- so compare to a ML (not standard) to see the difference in texture and appearance that the MB-Tex and stitching makes.

 

I love Cali salepeople - "14's last week the gent told us the front seats are MB Tex center and the edges are leather" - well, no... the side panels are smoother MBtex.

Last post hit one thing on the head - with a order vehcile there are several affordable options that make sense - wrapped lower dash 9which includes upper door panels - heated windshield reservoir - 2nd row sunshades, etc..