German Car Zone

Originally Posted by cawimmer430

Maybe in America the lack of leather in luxury and higher end mainstream cars is frowned upon. Here it isn't. The vast majority of C-Classes in Europe are going to be sold with cloth seats. Our E320 even has cloth seats. It's no big deal. I personally don't see the big deal with leather. You just sit on it, that's it. I know it's a visual thing for some people but I personally don't need leather in my luxury car and I am sure there are some people in the US who feel the same way. They want the car because they like it and they couldn't care less about leather seats.

Also, the interior of the W204 C-Class is a quality interior. In case you have not noticed, every car in this class uses a lot of plastic for their interiors. Some just present them better than others, like Audi for example. The A4 interior is very plasticky, but the build quality is good and the presentation is very good, hence it is often called a quality interior. The C-Class interior has good materials and the build quality in my experiences looks and feels superb. The only thing the C-Class interior does poorly is presentation, hence many people immediately scream "cheap" without even having seen or felt the real thing.

Kia interiors can't touch the cars in this class, even if it is the Amanti. I've seen the car up close (called Opirus in Europe) and the interior is at best on the same level as the original W203 C-Class, which had a horrible interior for a luxury car.

Originally Posted by RICHBOY

You know what cawimmer430, I can't recall the last time I've seen a luxury sedan without it! Me personally leather is a must have in my car or SUV, leather is more resistent to odors for one where cloth absorbs them, also leather interior can be wiped down if food or drink spills on it, and lets be honest here, it looks and feels great! Who doesn't want that?

Originally Posted by cawimmer430

I know that leather is a must for a luxury brand in the US, but in Europe it's not and I am just presenting the general European point of view.

I know leather feels great, but do you meant to tell me you go into your car just to feel the leather and get high on it or something?

Originally Posted by RICHBOY

You mean you don't?

Originally Posted by RICHBOY

No but seriously, I would never consider buying a car without leather, as if I could find one in the states! I'm also one of the few car buyers who believes the interior should bring me more delight then the exterior, that's where I'll be spending most my time right? I don't know, thats just me..

Originally Posted by cawimmer430

Maybe in America the lack of leather in luxury and higher end mainstream cars is frowned upon. Here it isn't. The vast majority of C-Classes in Europe are going to be sold with cloth seats. Our E320 even has cloth seats. It's no big deal. I personally don't see the big deal with leather. You just sit on it, that's it. I know it's a visual thing for some people but I personally don't need leather in my luxury car and I am sure there are some people in the US who feel the same way. They want the car because they like it and they couldn't care less about leather seats.

Also, the interior of the W204 C-Class is a quality interior. In case you have not noticed, every car in this class uses a lot of plastic for their interiors. Some just present them better than others, like Audi for example. The A4 interior is very plasticky, but the build quality is good and the presentation is very good, hence it is often called a quality interior. The C-Class interior has good materials and the build quality in my experiences looks and feels superb. The only thing the C-Class interior does poorly is presentation, hence many people immediately scream "cheap" without even having seen or felt the real thing.

Kia interiors can't touch the cars in this class, even if it is the Amanti. I've seen the car up close (called Opirus in Europe) and the interior is at best on the same level as the original W203 C-Class, which had a horrible interior for a luxury car.

Originally Posted by cawimmer430

Dude, try smoking weed!


j/k



I agree with you that the interior has to make you feel good, but for some people that can also mean they feel good about having saved themselves a ton of money by not ticking off the leather seats option box.

Originally Posted by RICHBOY

You mean you don't? No but seriously, I would never consider buying a car without leather, as if I could find one in the states! I'm also one of the few car buyers who believes the interior should bring me more delight then the exterior, that's where I'll be spending most my time right? I don't know, thats just me..

Originally Posted by RICHBOY

You know what cawimmer430, I can't recall the last time I've seen a luxury sedan without it! Me personally leather is a must have in my car or SUV, leather is more resistent to odors for one where cloth absorbs them, also leather interior can be wiped down if food or drink spills on it, and lets be honest here, it looks and feels great! Who doesn't want that?

Originally Posted by RICHBOY

If saving the extra dough is more important then leather to you then... I don't know how much the different variants of E-Classes cost in your country, but in the US there pretty costly imo. If you have to make a decision concerning leather or Cloth, then you probably shouldn't be looking at the E-Class at all imho!

Originally Posted by Deutsch

Couldn't agree w/ you more Christian. In America, everything is about perception, and only a minority of the population could care less(including myself). Luxury is associated with excess here, not a standard or a quality, but more a look and how much can you get for how much? I personally don't care for leather(though my current car has leather, didn't have much of a choice) because it wears after only four years, even less than that. I'd much rather have something like MBTex, or leatherette in my premium vehicle. It just makes more sense, and the difference is negligible(very few people if any at all would notice the difference between the two). Quality is not so much something you can see in my eyes, more something you can feel, and leather alone doesn't add up.

And speaking of the W204 vs. current B7 A4 interior, I believe the W204's is much much nicer and of a higher build. The materials are unique(especially the dash texture, whatever you call it). I think most of the people(if not all) that take issue w/ the interior of the W204, don't take issue with the build quality as much as the presentation, which I'll admit is unique and of subjective taste like anything else. I'm sure there are people out there that hate the interior of the B7 A4, all comes down to a matter of personal preference.