SacGuy, I had the same question.
I only have two MB exoeriences, a SL500 with leather and a 240C with MB-Tex. So, like you, I asked the forum.
No
SClass, SL and beyond, leather is part of the no holds bard experience.

MB-Tex is so close to leather with better life span and less maitenance, that many practical minded MB owners prefer MB-Tex. I can tell you that it feels good, looks good and lasts.

Like you, I am not sure I completely understand the details. I have read that the seating surface of MB-Tex is leather and the side surfaces are synthetic leather. Not sure that is fact. I think MB-Tex is all synthetic leather.

I live in SoCal and have had both, leather and MB-Tex. For warm climates, I like MB-Tex. Based on leather experience, I like leather for very cold environments.

I think forum members will give us some good info.

 

Much of what you have written is true, although the entire surface of MB Tex seats are synthetic. However, based on my own experiences with real leather in MBs and BMWs, both here in the Northwest and down south in warmer places, I much prefer genuine leather. In hotter areas, the MB Tex tends to smell like synthetic, which it is, and it will feel hotter and clammier than leather. As far as appearance is concerned, at first glance, there really isn't a lot of difference.
As far as long time wear is concerned, I have read many reports about the longevity of MB Tex, but real leather, if properly maintained, also has a long life.
It really comes down to a cost/benefit analysis, which is highly subjective. If you can afford and justify the extra cost for leather, then order it. You will never be disappointed, once you have lived with it in your car.

 

In order to keep retail prices as low as possible, I suspect that most of the initial supply of GLKs were ordered with MB Tex. It is true that for the higher priced MB sedans, leather is much more popular.

 

One of the posts says that there is a mixture of leather and MB Tex, this is no longer true. MB used to do "Leather Seating Inserts" which meant that the seat center had leather and everything else was MB Tex. Now if MB Tex is ordered, everything is fake.

My first MB had the leather seating inserts and I always liked that because the car at least had the smell of leather. My new E-Class has all MB Tex which is fine most of the time, but it does feel weird in the hot weather.

 

There is something not right about the GLK intro in USA.

You tell dealer sales rep you want a GLK. You tell them you are a cash buyer. You tell them you want a fully loaded GLK, (added margin). You tell them you want wood trim interior (may be the killer).

Response, no interest and delayed resposne. Translation, you are asking for a car I cannot deliver in next 60 days.

I am not faulting the sales reps, they know what they can sell, near term, and how to take care of their family.

I just do not think MB is in position to deliver GLK's, as marketed.

 

GLK is not all what MB have been advertised.

 

So drpasteur, what insight does your post deliver? What premise does your post support?

 

Feel free to expound on your pithy hypothesis.

 

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...ive/index.html

 

Thanks. Still don't see how you reached the conclusion that GLK is not MB has advertised.

 

I agree with Oknish. I thought the article gave the GLK a

 

You know something is wrong when you tell three MB sales agents that you want a GLK, you are not hitting for big discount and you are a cash buyer, ready to put down $$$ to order, if car is not in inventory and none of the dealer reps follow thru.

Fully loaded, wood trim GLKs must not be deliverable. So sales reps do not waste their time.

I have not seen a single GLK on the road yet in SoCal. We spend half our week in LA and half our week in Laguna/Newport. Not a single GLK sighted on the road or in a parking lot.

This is my strangest car buying experience ever. I cannot believe that I have not seen a single GLK on PCH or SoCal freeway yet.

Very strange new car launch.

 

Just a few thoughts on the GLK. . .

We took delivery of our new GLK last Monday. It replaced a fully optioned '07 GL450. We wanted a smaller SUV, so we downsized to the GLK. We are very happy with the size of this new model and it is one of our most favorite parts of the car. Parking is a pleasure, both parking in parking lots and parking in our garage. And, for a small SUV, there is still plenty of storage room in the back, too. The leg room for the rear seats isn't great, but it is ok for short trips.

We ordered our GLK (Black/Almond leather/Wood trim) at the end of November and it was built mid-December. It DOES have wood trim, but it does not have folding mirrors. The two options we miss are folding mirrors and keyless-go. Our GLK has most of the other options, though. We opted for the leather trim instead of the MB Tex because it looks nicer. We have MB Tex in our ML550 (and we had it in our GL, too), and for an SUV, we are fans of it because it cleans easily, but we saw the MB Tex in the demo GLK and opted to upgrade to the leather. The upholstery fit and finish of the leather is nicer than the MB Tex (in the GLK).

The option my husband wishes he didn't get was the 20" wheels. The sportscar fanatics that we are, he has an '08 Audi R8 and I have an '09 SL63, we found the look of the 20" wheels too tempting and we opted for them. But, we have now learned that if you have an SUV, you want/need to be able to drive it like an SUV. He ended up curbing the driver's front wheel within two hours of taking delivery of our GLK. He was used to being able to take the GL anywhere (in the GL you could easily drive up over a curb if you needed to), but you can't with this car (with these low-profile tires). To make matters worse, because of their design, the GLK 20" wheels bulge out, making curbing even easier. So, THAT is going to be a problem. Today he took the GLK on a dirt road and complained about the 20" wheels even more. He came home raving about the car (he loves the handling), but he complained bitterly about the low-profile tires. Those wheels and those low-profile tires are going to be a pain for us to deal with. They are attractive and sporty, but if you are going to use the car (at all!) off-road, forget about them. I now have an appointment next week to have the wheel repaired.

Our dealership has four GLKs in stock, so they are out there. All of the ones on our dealership lot have aluminum trim, except ours. I guess we lucked out with wood. We think the wood looks MUCH nicer/richer than the aluminum trim.

These GLKs are a nice-quality car. I was fortunate enough to go through the GLK MB dealership training where they pitted the GLK against the Acura RDX and the BMW X3 side-by-side. I can't tell you how happy I was to have a GLK on order after seeing the GLK's competition. Not only because of the fit and finish of the GLK (just the number of door seals and the large engine seal on the GLK was amazing-it's exceptional!), but MB has exceptional safety standards, too. I would rather be in an accident in an MB than any other car on the planet. As a car nut, it was an exceptionally interesting day for me to experience a head-to-head comparison of these three cars. Every time I see an RDX or X3 now, well. . . never mind. :-) I don't want to offend anyone.

 

[QUOTE=spnslc;3336053]Just a few thoughts on the GLK. . .

How refreshing to read some objective feedback from a thoughtful GLK owner.
Your comments on the 20" wheels are especially interesting. I was very close to ordering them, but I came to my senses as far as the practical limitations were concerned.

Thanks for sharing your detailed impressions !

 

Thank you for posting your real world review and great to see you are enjoying your new GLK, Enjoy!! Nice combo - black, almond leather and wood.

 

I concur......very nice overview and thanks for taking the time to put your thoughts down. I have on 07 GL450 too and I can completely relate to "curb climbing". However, we are looking at the GLK for my wife so now I will make sure to stay away from the 20" wheels (which I do love the look of).

Now if only some would start posting pics of their new rides

 

Here are a few pics of our new '10 GLK. It is black/stone with burl walnut wood. We live in snow country, so the GLK is very dirty right now (all our cars are.) But, I will post pics of it anyways, dirt and all.

The GLK shares the garage with my '08 ML550 and my (very favorite) '09 SL63 AMG. :-) All are black/stone.

Check out the GLK's 20" wheels. They kind of bulge out, so for those of you who are getting that option, be careful. You can curb them easily. They are nice-looking, though, and in person, they are a nice quality wheel. They are heavy-duty and they have that nice blue/silver MB medallion in the center of the wheel that you often see on the hood of MBs.

 

spnslc, the interior looks GREAT. Sooo much nicer than the blk/blk with aluminum trim IMO.

 

Here is another interior shot. Look at the leather fold on the front of the seat bottoms. It is a nice "fit and finish" touch added to the leather package. Also, there is double stitching on the leather arm rests on the doors. Another nice touch.

Another nice surprise are the new MB floor mats that are available for the GLK. You can see them in the photo. They fit beautifully and they have those little "wells" to hold dirt and water. I haven't bought MB-brand rubber mats in a few years. The ones I bought a few years ago had a smooth rubber surface and they scuffed badly, they didn't hold water or dirt, and I threw them out soon after buying them. MB finally got it right with these new GLK mats!

 

I agree. There are four GLKs on my dealership's lot and they all have the aluminum trim. The wood trim adds a TON of warmth and richness to the interior. That, coupled with the leather, makes a nice interior.

I am a fan of the MB Tex in an SUV, though. MB Tex holds up well against dogs and kids. I have only had leather in my SLs, and then MB Tex in my SUVs, so this is going to be an experiment in the GLK. I just don't think the leather will do as well as the MB Tex, but we will see.

For now, the leather is very attractive in the GLK. A year from now. . . ??? Any thoughts, anyone? Are we going to regret the leather in the GLK?

 

very nice pics, spnslc......thanks for posting and enjoy that nice ride.

FWIW, I have 2 young ones (6 and 3) and have leather in my GL. I don't regret it all.

 

How would you compare the driving experience between your ML and your GLK ???
Thanks for sharing your pics of your beautiful GLK interior.

 

Hint - this is not the ML forum

 

The strange saga of the GLK launch continues.

A week after a promised call back and order status for a new GLK, my dealer sales rep tells me they can build the GLK to my spec on April 10, 2009.
All wood trim for Feb/Mch builds are allocated and April 10 is first build date opportunity for my order placed with wood trim. Car to be delivered very late April or mid May.

My current rep is the only rep in "four" contacted that even bothered to follow-up. I think MB sales people know this car is not in full launch/delviery mode and cannot waste their sales time for the few 90 day out customers.

It is interesting that Aluminum interior GLKs are just sitting on the lot. I counted 12 GLKs sitting since mid December at closest dealer. This looks like a forced release date. MB had to know that most MB buyers would want the wood trim.

This is the first Mercedes I have purchased in "7" years. Three BMWs purchased and a Range Rover since, but this is my worst car buying experience in a decade.

I sure hope the GLK is better than the MB buying experience.

 

But it is a question related to the GLK they bought recently and I want to know how it compares in real life to the ML too. Inquiring minds want to know, so SPNSLC...if you want to give us a real life rundown on the two SUV's....you can do it in the ML forum too or start a new thread!!!