SLclass

I would appreciate any technical information or your personal opinions on standard leather versus Nappa leather. Thanks in advance!

Wolfman

My feeling is that the SL is a luxury cruiser. As such, upgraded leather provides a more luxurious feel and you are surrounded by the interior, so to me it makes a significant difference. More so than Magic sky or upgraded audio, etc.

We have more or less all options with the exception of the B&O audio which I find wasteful in a convertible.

There are 4 leather options but only 3 leather grades. Standard, Nappa, exclusive Nappa and Designo.

I would avoid the base leather because it's not that nice and the upgrade to nappa is ridiculously cheap.
With the Nappa leather, large portions of the car are still covered by MB-Tex which is a practical material, but artificial (fake) leather. Areas covered with MB-Tex are dash, door panels, rear panels, center sides and rear cover.

Exclusive Nappa covers all that with nice nappa leather as well plus you get a much nicer headliner (Dynamica-ultrasuede vs. fabric). All for only a $1000 more.

Designo gains nothing more than exclusive Nappa besides different color combos. The leather grade and coverage is identical.
Only other difference is some difference in stiching on doors/seats.

I stayed with the exclusive Nappa because my preferred interior is the porcelain/black over any other combo. The tone of the platinum white was too cool for me.

Exclusive Nappa has the biggest bang for the buck IMO.

Good luck!

Streamliner

Pretty much my feelings exactly. I would pop for the Designo, IF there was a color combo in that line that I preferred, but there isn't. I like the Ginger Beige/Espresso Brown, mainly because the dash & door panel tops are in a complimentary color to the rest of the interior. EVERY other color combo has black dash & door panel tops, which I find unappealing in several of the other colors I might have considered. In addition, I feel that the upgrade to the Exclusive Nappa is a bargain for the richness it adds and the luxurious feel.

Even though I agree with Wolf about the B&O sound in a convertible, I think I will go for it, just for fun. The Magic Sky in a warm climate, isn't a good choice, as it isn't opaque enough on hot, sunny days when you want to escape the heat. When you want the sun, simply put the top down. The glass roof on the SL makes zero sense to me, but I won't get started on that one.

SLclass

I initially went with black versus porcelain due to my wife's nagging concerns about keeping the porcelain clean, the potential for stains, etc. I have since decided that her concerns should not prevent me from getting what I like much better than any other interior combination offered. So, I just had my order changed, this morning, from black to porcelain/black. I really think I will be happy that I did!

*Forgot to note that the exterior paint color is designo Cardinal Red metallic (996)...

seascape

FWIW, I went with the standard bengal red / black leather, because my wife, who's a designer, persuaded me that it looks better in that color without all the extra stitching on the seat cushion. That said, she agreed that the designo platinum white / black exclusive nappa leather (which we test drove) looks better with the extra stitching, but we didn't like the look along the upper door panels. (And I wanted a red interior.)

That said, they're all good choices!

SLclass

I initially went with black versus porcelain due to my wife's nagging concerns about keeping the porcelain clean, the potential for stains, etc. I have since decided that her concerns should not prevent me from getting what I like much better than any other interior combination offered. So, I just had my order changed, this morning, from black to porcelain/black. I really think I will be happy that I did!

*Forgot to note that my exterior paint color is designo Cardinal Red metallic (996)...

Wolfman

Great move! I have had porcelain white now for almost 4 years in 2 SL's. It looked new from the first day to the last. Never ever used nay treatment either. Just a wet cotton cloth followed immediately by a dry one. Jeans only stained very lightly and that was wiped away as described.
Keep im mind that the SL's leather is covered by a UV and heat reflective coating to keep the leather cool. It appears that the coating also helps with dirt.

That said, convertibles are like vacuum cleaners with the windows down and will suck in more dust/dirt so keeping the interior clean is important.
i typically drive with the top down, windows and screen up. Best for airflow, at speed and to keep everything clean inside

Chef Ray

So no issues with the white nappa leather? I'm considering this color option for my next mercedes when current lease is up. I'm concerned about the white getting dirty from normal wear.

Wolfman

No issues at all. Look like new 15 months in on our MY17 and looked great over 30 months in the previous SL (MY13),

Interesting that my wife's jeans stained the beige MB-Tex of a brand-new C300 Cab rental we drove a few days ago, but not the Porcelain white Nappa leather. It could be the heat reflective coating.

But...
I recently saw a G63 with a white Designo interior (German-plate car in Amsterdam) and the seats were so dirty they looked 20 years old. The car was likely 3-4 years old but filthy throughout. No sure how anyone can mess ups a car like that. Owner was a pig but comes to show that white interior can be stained

F456 V12

Our SL has the same exterior color and we have the Nappa Porcelain interior. It will pick up some dirt and a "blue" hue from jeans if not careful, but a good cleaning once a years makes it all look brand new. For what it's worth, we love the interior, but still not loving Cardinal Red after almost 3 years. But since the car was leased we did our sales guy a "solid" by taking a car needing a special buyer (12 cars in 12 years). They certainly priced it right.

MB

SLclass

Dang! So glad I did not make that mistake! I special ordered my 2018 SL550 exactly like I wanted it.

nuketopia

I totally love the Designo Titanium Grey in my 2015. It is a huge upcharge, but I really like it a lot. So much so I'd like to have another one with it.

That Designo gray leather and the Mars Red are what got me into the car. I was there shopping with my ex-girlfriend. She'd dragged me to every Mercedes dealer within 100 miles looking for her unicorn used SLK. I got to where I'd wander off while she went and talked herself out of everything on the lot.

I set eyes on the red SL 400 and saw the grey leather. I don't care for black, especially in a convertible. But I need a dark color since I wear blue jeans most of the time and the grey is beautiful.

Lasted about 5 days - then went back and got it.

Turns out the grey leather is still orderable. My dealer found my near unicorn SL450 today, except in blue. Wish it was Mars Red or Jupiter Red. I probably would have jumped on it. LOL No self control.

Streamliner

Mars Red with Designo Titanium Gray is a VERY rare combination. I and I’m sure others here would just LOVE to see photos. And, FYI, Mars Red is no longer available on ANY MB vehicle. Jupiter Red is very similar, but not offered on the SL.

nuketopia

My pics are on the forum!!! Just search on my name. The grey is really hard to capture in the photo. Think of the color of a graphite pencil lead in bright sunlight. Fell in love with it 3 years ago.

I saw Jupiter Red on the GT. I'd be plenty happy with it. What can I say - red is super sharp on the SL. Too much for me to resist anyway.