[Kolyan2k]

I think this is from BMW. PS. with proper use leather should be just as durable as SensaTec (not all though). Some say Dakota wears better then Nappa too due to coating that protects it. The softer the leather the more wear it will have and more maintenance it will need, it will cost more and it will feel luxury. There are lots of horror stories on Merino leather, and yet its the best. For me its down to Nappa or Dakota, both Merino and SensaTec are out of question. Not sure if its me who doesnt really like black leather/sensatec interior, but car I drove with black SensaTec looked and felt cheap to me vs saddle/coral leather.



Merino Leather

Usually in M models and BMW Individual orders. This is genuine fine-grain natural leather, it is dyed with no artificial coating applied.

Nappa Leather

This is an optional upgrade for the higher-level BMW models (such as the 5, 6 and 7-Series, X5 etc). It is a full-grain, un-split semi-aniline leather with a light clear coating on top of the surface for protection. Its grain quality is not as high as the Merino leather, and it is considered to be the 2nd highest quality leather in BMW cars.

Dakota/Nevada Leather

Used on most model’s base trims. This is a lower grade leather, usually corrected-grain or even created from the split, and coated with a synthetic polymer paint. Its surface is embossed with an artificial grain.

SensaTec

Used on some lower-level models’ base trims. Previously known as the “Leatherette”, this is not a real leather material. In fact this is just a vinyl material tries to mimic the look and feel of the leather sheets. This fake leather material does not breath as good as leather, so you will feel hot after sitting on it for an extended time period. However, it wears better than Merino/Nappa leather, easier to clean and maintain, and it is not animal-based.

[Rayscott]

I own a detailing business and tell my customers to clean/condition their leather/leatherette regularly. Use Leatherique cleaner and conditioner on leatherette and a good cleaner/conditioner on leather. Lexol is a good over the counter product. I use a professional leather cleaner/conditioner. I use them on my X3 (Leatherique 5 years old) and now my 228ix (Leather). Leather drys out and will start to crack if not maintained. Be especially attentive to the bolsters which you rub every time you enter and exit the vehicle. I move my seat back a little as they wear the most.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by englishguy84

Thank you so much! The pictures are really helpful. It looks almost new. The seat bottom seems like it will show age sooner than the rest of the seat. How do you like the leather itself?

The leather in the 1, 2, and 3 series is not that great, but it's decent enough.
Black leather holds up the best as it won't show the thigh bolsters wear area, which is were the most wear occurs followed by the side bolsters, namely the left side as that is the side left hand drivers get in and out of.
I had coral red in my 135i and have the same coral red in my current 340i, and in both cars I can see the color has worn off in those areas and I can some "black" showing through. I had black leather in my 335i and those seats only showed some wear with very little color wear/fade.

The other problem with this leather is that it's not very durable as you will get more noticeable wear on the left side thigh and side bolsters, and this wear starts to appear with less than a year of use.
The leather BMW use isn't that thin, but for whatever reason it's also not that durable.

I had the sensatec vinyl in my first BMW an E46 325i sport, and that material is excellent! It's much more durable than the leather BMW uses in the "lower" series. The sensatec in my 325i still looked like new even after a lot of use over the 3 years I had it.

As for any smell, honestly the leather in a BMW doesn't smell all that great.
In general, a BMW's new-car smell is not that good to my nose. I think it's stinky, and mostly from the overall materials used in the whole car and not just the seats. The sensatec seat 325i was no worse or better than the leather seated BMW's I've had.

I don't believe, nor felt, that there is more breathe-ability from the leather seats. Either material can leave you with some moisture on your back if it's hot enough outside.
And in the winter the vinyl sensatec may have been just a tad harder on extremely cold mornings, but not much as I don't recall that being a big issue.
Sensatec really is a great and more durable seat covering, especially compared to the poorly stained/painted leather that bmw uses in the 2 and 3 series. I don't know if the 5 and above series have leather that's much better as I've not owned those.
I did have a 1981 Audi 5000 turbo, that I bought used in 1988, and the leather seats in that car was awesome. The leather was very supple yet thick. Even being 7 years old the leather didn't look worn, but had a nice "worn-in" look. And it had the smell that some people like in high quality leather products. I haven't had that same experience with any of the BMW's I've had, nor from the
2006 Audi A4 w/leather that I had. The A4 leather was nicer than the leather in my 135i, 335i, and 340i.

For me, I get the leather mostly because it didn't cost much more when it's part of a lease. Personally, I really like the sensatec. IMO it's a more durable seat covering than the leather that BMW use, and it looks great too.
BTW, we got my mom a new VW Passat last year and she wanted the leatherette type seats because she transports the grand kids all over the place, and that material is sturdy, durable, VERY easy to clean, and stays looking great over time.

As for cleaning and conditioning the BMW leather, I do it once per year in the spring and that seems to work fine. I think if you wanted to get the leather more supple than do it at least twice per year, and allow a good amount of time leaving the conditioner on the leather so it can do it's work.

The other potential consideration is resale value. In the US, most people who seek a used BMW are also expecting it to have heated leather seats. Of course BMW can't seem to bring themselves to include heated leather seats as standard in all of their cars. It's true that in Europe BMW is not seen as just a "premium" or "luxury" brand, as many Euro market BMW's have manually operated, cloth seats as standard.

However, in the US and Canada, BMW's are seen as premium luxury cars even though all variants of the lower series lines do not include powered, heated leather as standard in all models. As you likely know, the 225/230i come with manually operated, sensatec seats as standard. Power, leather, and heat are all added cost options. The M235i/M240i has at least powered seats, but still non heated sensatec is standard.
So, if you want the best resale value and easiest to sell options, then it's important to have at least leather seats and optimally powered, heated, leather seats.

I remember when I had the sensatec 325i, one day I was driving somewhere with a buddy of mine and he made a comment about how nice the leather seats were in my 325i. I laughed and told him that the seats were vinyl not leather. He was fooled by the sensatec.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by Sportstick

Unless you have a cooled/ventilated seat, which the 2 does not offer to my knowledge, I see no reason why SensaTec would be different than leather in that regard. I've sweated plenty against leather seat backs over the years. My suggestion is to order the packages and other content you wish, and if it forces you into leather, so be it. If not, save the $$ and take the SensaTec.

Same here.
I get a moist back with the leather seats when it's hot and humid, just like when I had the sensatec.
If BMW would simply use perforated sensatec and leather, like Audi does, then sweaty backs would less of a consideration.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

The leather is treated with some sort of UV protection which keeps it slightly cooler - at least that's the voodoo nonsense a salesman once told me when I was looking st convertibles. So take it for what it's worth I never investigated since I wanted red interior anyway.

Yeah, some sales people will just make up crap just to do it.
UV protection that keeps a person cooler!?

[XutvJet]

I have the Coral Red leather and I'm closing in on 1 year of ownership. I have no wear on the seats at all. I'm 6' 2" 175lb and when I get in and out of the car, I'm careful to keep from rubbing and otherwise taxing the outside bolsters.

When it comes to care, this leather is already sealed and coated as with most any other leather found in most entry level luxury and below type cars. Short of wiping the seats down with a hot and damp cloth, spot cleaning here and there, and keeping the seats vacuumed of debris that gets into crevices, there's not more needed for care. This is what I've done for my leather interiors since the mid 1990s. Sure, you can use leather cleaning and protection lubricants, but they're only going to sit on the coated surface unless you've managed to wear through it and are down to the actual leather.

Also, I highly recommend tinted windows and using a sunshade. All that goes a long way in preserving the leather. I'm not talking about heavy tint either, just quality tint that reflects UV and keeps interior temps down.

[Kolyan2k]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

I have the Coral Red leather and I'm closing in on 1 year of ownership. I have no wear on the seats at all. I'm 6' 2" 175lb and when I get in and out of the car, I'm careful to keep from rubbing and otherwise taxing the outside bolsters.

When it comes to care, this leather is already sealed and coated as with most any other leather found in most entry level luxury and below type cars. Short of wiping the seats down with a hot and damp cloth, spot cleaning here and there, and keeping the seats vacuumed of debris that gets into crevices, there's not more needed for care. This is what I've done for my leather interiors since the mid 1990s. Sure, you can use leather cleaning and protection lubricants, but they're only going to sit on the coated surface unless you've managed to wear through it and are down to the actual leather.

Also, I highly recommend tinted windows and using a sunshade. All that goes a long way in preserving the leather. I'm not talking about heavy tint either, just quality tint that reflects UV and keeps interior temps down.

1 year is not enough.....I have 10 year old Lexus, premium leather looks brand new.

[XutvJet]

The leather in my M235 is wearing no differently than the leather I've had in my prior cars I've the past 20 years, including my wife's cars, most of which were already used at the time of purchase. It's all about how you treat it.

[shark715]

We have had both the Dakota leather and Sensatec product on several BMW products.

Sensatec is definitely the more durable product if you were not going to maintain it.

But I use Lexol at least a couple times a year on all our vehicles with leather, and what I really like about leather, if maintained, is how it looks after several years versus Sensatec. After several years it is softer and looks more luxurious.

But I am not trying to knock Sensatec as it is very durable, and I question if the optional leather is really worth with BMW charges for it on the 2 series.

We did order the leather on our 235 convertible, especially given that we were ordering a black interior, because it's definitely much cooler in the summer with the special pigment that BMW uses when the leather is being treated. We saw a side-by-side demonstration of black Sensatec and black leather in the direct sun, and the difference in temperature was substantial.

Obviously if you don't own a convertible, this would be less significant, and we probably could have achieved the same result by ordering lighter colored Sensatec seats.

One other thing that I have repeatedly experienced…many people shopping for used BMWs do expect them to be equipped with leather, and I have had several potential purchasers of my used BMW vehicles pass on a vehicle because it did not have the leather option.

[shark715]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

The leather is treated with some sort of UV protection which keeps it slightly cooler - at least that's the voodoo nonsense a salesman once told me when I was looking st convertibles. So take it for what it's worth I never investigated since I wanted red interior anyway.

The salesperson was not making this up:
http://www.bmw.com/com/en/insights/t...echnology.html

We saw a side by side demonstration of Sensatec versus leather, and the difference is substantial, especially with dark colored leather.

It was very significant to us as we were ordering a convertible. If we were not ordering a convertible, obviously it's less significant.

And we probably could have achieved more or less the same by ordering lighter colored Sensatec, but our preference was the richer look of a darker colored interior.

[Rayscott]

Originally Posted by Kolyan2k

1 year is not enough.....I have 10 year old Lexus, premium leather looks brand new.

I owned 4 Lexus sedans, never a problem with the leather because it is a better grade of leather. More supple than BMW's which are not.

[Kolyan2k]

Originally Posted by shark715

The salesperson was not making this up:
http://www.bmw.com/com/en/insights/t...echnology.html

We saw a side by side demonstration of Sensatec versus leather, and the difference is substantial, especially with dark colored leather.

It was very significant to us as we were ordering a convertible. If we were not ordering a convertible, obviously it's less significant.

And we probably could have achieved more or less the same by ordering lighter colored Sensatec, but our preference was the richer look of a darker colored interior.

Thanks for the link......interesting.

PS. If someone wants the most durable seats.....you get the cloth....cheap, durable, and zero maintenance. Buddy has over 200k+ miles on his and they look fine. Each time to step up to luxury and quality, you compromise with more maintenance and somewhat less durability. Its the same with home furniture by the way.

[shark715]

Originally Posted by Kolyan2k

If someone wants the most durable seats.....you get the cloth....cheap, durable, and zero maintenance. Buddy has over 200k+ miles on his and they look fine.

Cloth is not offered in the United States.

[harma24]

Originally Posted by shark715

Cloth is not offered in the United States.

Which is a shame, because I have seen a reallly nice black & blue cloth seat! I'd much prefer cloth, and would have opted for it if it had been available.

[shark715]

Originally Posted by harma24

Which is a shame, because I have seen a reallly nice black & blue cloth seat! I'd much prefer cloth, and would have opted for it if it had been available.

Yep, I think if you look at the BMW Great Britain website you will see the cloth you are speaking of.

Warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer, and grippy in the curves :-)

[Maynard]

There are a bunch of different artificial leather scents out there, so if that is what you miss, you can use those - I've had several people fooled by the sensatech, thinking it was leather (at times, specifically because it feels softer and less shiny/slippery). Just with they would put some of that UV reflector on the sensatech too. Or add the damned ventilation option - I'd have paid what they wanted for leather to have that (grudgingly, since it is just a vent, but would still be a huge step up)

[harma24]

Originally Posted by shark715

Yep, I think if you look at the BMW Great Britain website you will see the cloth you are speaking of.

Warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer, and grippy in the curves :-)

Yep, the sport seat in cloth/Alcantara combination Hexagon Anthracite with contrast stitching in Royal Blue. Nice to find another person who understands that leather is not always better! I don't want "luxury", I want performance! Cloth is also lighter than leather, for those truly concerned about minimizing weight.

[ortoLANparty]

My first choice for durability would be cloth, which we can't have in the US. Having had a few cars with leather (2 Acuras, an Audi, and one Miata with aftermarket leather), the leather interior is the first thing to show wear.

Thus, when I got the BMW, Sensatec was mandatory. I can't report on long-term durability, since I've only had the car for 3.5k so far. There is one nasty scratch so far, but it's barely noticeable. In terms of heat and sweat -- the Sensatec is fine. Mind you, I'm in the moderate PNW, but after spending a summer driving a Miata with black leather and no AC in SoCal, my expectations are low.

Sensatec - feels like the plastic leather offered on most leather-clad vehicles. Real leather - feels like the plastic substitute on lower trim levels of nicer cars. Unless you opt for premium leather, tanned from the hides of kittens and premature fetuses, odds are, you won't feel much difference between Sensatec and BMW's bargain-basement coated "leather"." And such sorts of nicer leather simply aren't offered on our entry-level BMWs...

[Fugly M3]

I haven't had enough experience in my Oyster SensaTec to give an accurate review...still waiting for the car to get back to me from ED...that said I had an e92 with the Cream Beige leather and it held up very well with regular Lexol cleaner and conditioner. It was a demo car and the edge of the bolster was worn when i got it. Other than that pre-existing condition it held up well. The biggest reason to get the leather is the smell. It holds the new smell for over a year. The fake stuff smells like sitting in a box of crayons...oh well.