R55 Need Advice! Clubman S PW w/Leather Lounge Interior

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Jul 26, 2008 | 05:18 PM

daffy

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Need Advice! Clubman S PW w/Leather Lounge Interior

We're about to place our order for 2009 Clubman S PW/PW and need your advice which leather lounge color seating will wear out better in long term - Hot Chocolate or Black? We both like the look of the leather lounge interior but we are concern how this leather will hold up if we decide to keep the car long term.

I read that leather looks worn out after a couple years (puckering, wrinkles, tears, high maintenance, etc) and it doesn't keep it's shape and appearance as well as the leatherette. Is this really true?

Since we plan to keep the car long term, would it be a best to have a leatherette since the appearance will look better than leather in a long run? Or, should we go for the leather and comfort?

We are planning to have a Navigation system, cold weather and convenience package, xenon lights, 6-speed Auto. We just now need to decide if we should add the Leather Lounge seating or 17" wheel. If we add the leather lounge seating, should we get the black or hot chocolate? Which color will wear out better long term? Or, should we get the leatherette and upgrade to 17" wheel?

I know that it's a personal choice, but we really appreciate if you can share your experience and comments. Thanks!

Jul 26, 2008 | 05:29 PM

proximal

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From: Southern California

Quote:

Originally Posted by daffy

I read that leather looks worn out after a couple years (puckering, wrinkles, tears, high maintenance, etc) and it doesn't keep it's shape and appearance as well as the leatherette. Is this really true?

Modern treated leathers tend to hold up rather well, but Leatherette will last forever with more or less no care. Ever look inside a 1970's/early 80's Mercedes (for instance this one) and wonder why the seats look so new? It's because they are a material called MB-Tex, which is a synthetic like Leatherette.

That said, I have PW with the Hot Chocolate Lounge leather just because I love the color and wasn't too excited about the cloth option. Between black and Hot Chocolate, I think HC will wear better; black shows all flaws.

Jul 26, 2008 | 05:45 PM

Otra

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From: Kent, CT

Just fyi, in my first I had black leather (forget what they called it) - it was very nice...only kept the car up to 50k miles (2 years)...from then on I went with the leatherette and have no regrets at all. Granted, that said if I could afford the Tuscan beige...and didn't have to weigh various other options due to the bottom line (price) - I would have loved to have had it.

Jul 26, 2008 | 06:17 PM

wampa

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From: Charlotte, NC

The Leatherette stands up better. Leather always looks worn no matter how nice it is in a few years, IMHO. I had an old 318 that was 6 years old and the seats looked brand new because they were leatherette. It is sturdier.

That being said, I got the black lounge leather because I feel in love with the white piping.

Jul 26, 2008 | 06:27 PM

lurch70

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Personally if I was going to spend extra I would go for the leather/cloth combo.

I agree with others that leather wears quick, but leatherette you WILL be sweating a lot

... it wears well, but does not breathe.

Jul 26, 2008 | 06:38 PM

bobj

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I have mostly had Leather seats in my cars. I have the malt lounge leather with white piping in my MINI. These seats are very comfortable. I always care for my Leather with Lexol Leather care products, and they hold up well for years.

Jul 26, 2008 | 07:04 PM

rikmeister

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i would not get the navi. just get a garmin or tomtom and you can take it from one car to another for lots less money

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Jul 26, 2008 | 08:09 PM

daffy

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Quote:

Originally Posted by proximal

Wow, the leatherette seat on that Mercedes does look brand new! My first choice of color on the LL is HC, but hubby thought that HC will look odd with the black trim, and the armrest doesn't match the seat color. Our dealer here do not have any model with HC available for us to see.

Jul 26, 2008 | 08:13 PM

daffy

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Otra

Granted, that said if I could afford the Tuscan beige...

We thought about the Tuscan beige but thought that it would get dirty easily and any marks on it will show immediately, so that's why I thought about the HC. Would you know if the leather on the Tuscan is sturdier than the HC?

Jul 26, 2008 | 08:20 PM

#10

daffy

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Quote:

Originally Posted by wampa

That being said, I got the black lounge leather because I feel in love with the white piping.

Hubby likes the black lounge leather as well because of the white piping and he thought that it will compliment the black trim and the armrest, and will look a lot better than the HC. My thought was if we're getting a black leather, we might as well stick with the leatherette because they look kind of similar to me, except for the white piping.

Last edited by daffy; Jul 27, 2008 at 07:53 AM.

Jul 26, 2008 | 08:27 PM

#11

daffy

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Quote:

Originally Posted by lurch70

Personally if I was going to spend extra I would go for the leather/cloth combo.

I agree with others that leather wears quick, but leatherette you WILL be sweating a lot

... it wears well, but does not breathe.

Unfortunately, both of us are not a fan of cloth, so that's a no go. Hubby hates the heat and does sweat a lot and this is why we are not getting the sunroof option. He likes the color coordination look, that is why he's voting for the black lounge leather. To me having the HC or the tuscan beige will make the car look and feel cooler in the summer than the black interior. Ohhhhh, choices, choices, too many choices.

Last edited by daffy; Jul 27, 2008 at 07:54 AM.

Jul 26, 2008 | 08:29 PM

#12

daffy

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Quote:

Originally Posted by bobj

I always care for my Leather with Lexol Leather care products, and they hold up well for years.

Thanks, that's good to know!

Jul 26, 2008 | 08:31 PM

#13

Terry F.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by daffy

......My first choice of color on the LL is HC, but hubby thought that HC will look odd with the black trim, and the armrest doesn't match the seat color.

Have you considered Oak trim with the HC? Oak will give you piano black door trim. I have a few HC interior pics in my gallery, if you are interested.

Quote:

Originally Posted by daffy

The beige is beautiful too but will show dirt quicker. Quality-wise, the HC leather seems a little plusher but the beige interior is very, very nice.

When it became time for use to decide, we chose the HC LL and have never second-guessed the decision.

Terry

Jul 26, 2008 | 08:32 PM

#14

daffy

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Quote:

Originally Posted by rikmeister

i would not get the navi. just get a garmin or tomtom and you can take it from one car to another for lots less money

This is one option that I didn't want to negotiate with hubby because I want it to be available anytime I need and not have to worry about putting it away all the time, plus I like the real time traffic feature, not sure yet how that works, but it sounded pretty cool!

Jul 26, 2008 | 08:41 PM

#15

daffy

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Terry F.

Have you considered Oak trim with the HC? Oak will give you piano black door trim.

If we get the LL, we're opting for the brushed alloy trim because of the no fingerprints feature. The piano black door trim will show a lot of fingerprints and we can already imagine our son putting his fingerprints all over it.

I showed hubby a few pictures that I saw on this forum with PW/HC combo but he still can't seem to imagine how it will look in person. He thinks that the HC color interior will look so awkward with the gray/black console, and especially having a dark gray armrest between the two HC seats.

I don't know how to assure him that it will look just fine.

Last edited by daffy; Jul 27, 2008 at 07:58 AM.

Jul 26, 2008 | 08:43 PM

#16

proximal

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Quote:

Originally Posted by daffy

I wrote something about it on another forum:

Quote:

Yesterday, I tried the dynamic navigation for the first time. The system gets traffic updates through FM stations and can adjust its directions on the fly to get around jams. My Friday commute is Northridge to Irvine, about 65 miles. Average time is about 2 hours, 20 minutes. I was hoping the nav could help me out.

It didn't. I took 3 hours to get home yesterday. The problem is that there's so much stuff going on in LA at rush hour and the system tries to recalculate a route each time something comes up. I made a few U-turns, doubled back, etc. It also doesn't account for how crowded surface streets are. The instructions took me through Downtown LA at 5:30, generally a bad idea. The other problem is that it takes into account traffic along the entire route. That means it will recalculate around something that's 50+ miles ahead, which in all likelihood would be cleared by the time I actually got there. Sometimes, traffic info didn't update and it told me told me to go around jams that weren't there anymore.

What I've learned is that it's best to keep going based on the original directions until you're actually stuck (or, turn off the traffic avoidance until you're actually in traffic). The system is at least useful at telling you what lane is blocked ahead and gives info on where the traffic clears.

I'm still glad I got the navigation since it integrates a lot of other features nicely. Also, check out my gallery for some PW/HC Leather pics.

Jul 26, 2008 | 08:46 PM

#17

Terry F.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by daffy

I showed hubby a few pictures that I saw on this forum with PW/HC combo but he still can't seem to imagine how it will look in person. He thinks that the HC color interior will look so awkward with the black trim, and especially having a dark gray armrest between the two HC seats.

I don't know how to assure him that it will look just fine.

As for the armrest, you could probably get leather dye, from the Leatherique people, in or near the HC color and dye the the top it. Very small project and will solve the armrest issue. Just a suggestion.....

Jul 26, 2008 | 08:57 PM

#18

daffy

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Quote:

Originally Posted by proximal

I'm still glad I got the navigation since it integrates a lot of other features nicely. Also, check out my gallery for some PW/HC Leather pics.

Your car is the exact color combo exterior that we are getting, including the wheels - 17" 5-star!

Can you please tell us how you like the HC interior? Does having the armrest with HC look awkward? How do you think your leather will hold up after 5 years or so? Is the LL really soft or is it somewhat pretty durable? After having the HC, would you do it again? Or, would you choose black LL or tuscan beige instead or stick with the leatherette option? Sorry for all the questions, but I need to gather info to discuss with hubby. Thanks!

Last edited by daffy; Jul 26, 2008 at 09:09 PM.

Jul 26, 2008 | 09:02 PM

#19

daffy

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Terry F.

Never even crossed my mind that would be possible. Hopefully, hubby will go for that possibility.

Jul 26, 2008 | 09:14 PM

#20

proximal

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From: Southern California

Quote:

Originally Posted by daffy

Your car is the exact color combo exterior that we are getting, including the wheels - 17" 5-star!

Can you please tell us how you like the HC interior? Does having the armrest with HC look awkward? How do you think your leather will hold up after 5 years or so? Is the LL really soft or is it somewhat pretty durable? After having the HC, would you do it again? Or, would you choose black LL instead or stick with the leatherette option? Sorry for all the questions, but I need to gather info to discuss with hubby. Thanks!

I love the HC, as does everyone who has had a look inside my car. The armrest doesn't look awkward to me since I have the seat positioned far enough forward that I can barely see it. The rest of the console is black anyway so I don't think it would be a huge deal regardless. I think the leather will hold up fine; it feels very soft but not fragile. I'm very happy with the HC leather and would order it again. I was wavering for a bit between the HC cloth and leather, but I'm sure I made the right choice. If I was going to get black, I'd just get the Leatherette. That white piping isn't worth $2000! As far as breathability goes, leather is not that great either- I wish this car had ventilated seats like my old IS350.

By the way, the armrest is plastic and not leather. You can get this guy to make a leather cover for you, but last time I checked he didn't offer any colors close to Hot Chocolate. There is a cream color though, and that would match the armrests on the doors.

Jul 27, 2008 | 07:36 AM

#21

daffy

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Quote:

Originally Posted by proximal

By the way, the armrest is plastic and not leather. You can get this guy to make a leather cover for you, but last time I checked he didn't offer any colors close to Hot Chocolate. There is a cream color though, and that would match the armrests on the doors.

I saw this picture on the link you provided and this is the sample of the leather seat that I'm trying to avoid after owning the car for a while, but maybe HC will hide the dark lines better than the Tuscan beige. I love the leather cover armrest, I may have to think about that if I get the leather option.

Last edited by daffy; Jul 27, 2008 at 07:59 AM.

Jul 27, 2008 | 11:27 AM

#22

proximal

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Quote:

Originally Posted by daffy

It takes a bit of work, but that can be cleaned up. The leather probably won't look like that for at least 5-6 years, and when it does there's always products like Leatherique.

I dunno, aged leather can be a beautiful thing. On the Volvo S60R, the leather is untreated so each car's seats take on a unique aged (not cracked or torn) look as they wear.