Originally Posted by Och

Well, the new RX is Lexus' latest effort, and with single stitched leather and door panels that belong in a 90ies GMC truck, doesnt seem like Toyota is trying to fix the problem, does it?

Originally Posted by RXSF

agreed. in lexus' defense though, the RX is really cheap at a starting price under 37K. i wonder if the semianaline leather makes a difference in the stitching

Originally Posted by mmarshall

Slightly off-topic, but what needs just as much, if not more, attention, in today's cars is the the quality of not so much the stitches but the seat leather itself. Those of you who follow my reviews know that I've looked at a number of relatively expensive upmarket, premium vehicles in the last couple of years that had "Leather" seats that were rough, grainy, poorly-finished, and cheap-looking/feeling. For instance, in the Mercedes and Audi lines, what I myself would call "Leather" seems to be now confined only to the most expensive, AMG, and S/RS versions. Others get "Leatherette", which looks and feels more like patterned vinyl than leather. In the BMW line, I did not find the "Navajo" Leather used in several of its vehicles to be very impressive, either. The BMW people admit that it does not have the smooth, plush texture of Lexus leather, but counter by saying that it is thicker, more durable, and will not deteriorate as fast. Only time, of course, can determine that.