mmarshall

Agreed. It depends on your desires and priorities. For instance, I'd probably be happier with an AWD Audi Quattro than either a BMW or Mercedes, even though both of them offer AWD as an option. The Audi Quattro system, IMO, is a better design (for several technical reasons), and AWD is something that rates highly in my book.

KILLERGS4

you are wrong about something here...

In many newer Mercedes-Benz models "MBTEX has Leather inserts" as the standard equipment. Full leather interior is often an option and not included without an additional cost. Many Mercedes-Benz owners have probably bought their car not realizing that the seats are not full leather.

MBTEX can be very difficult to tell from Leather, as without really close inspection there is not a real "obvious" difference. I sold MB for some time, and trust me, MOST people don't know the difference. Most cars that are sold with "MBTEX with Leather inserts" have the center parts of the seats (the parts you sit on and your back rests against) as real leather, and the seat bolsters, sides, headrests, armrests and seat backs as MBTEX. You can often tell the parts of your seats that are real leather as they are usually perforated (the perforation is necessary in order to allow the leather to "breath"). This real leather is often the panels where your bottom sits and where your back rests against the seat. There is also often sections of real leather on the door panels. Everything else is usually MBTEX, unless you got the full leather option of course.

Many dealers and people who are familiar with MBTEX will actually recommend it over Leather. It is commonly joked that you can tell if a 10 year old car has leather or MBTEX. The car with MBTEX interior will still look new while the car with leather will look worn. MBTEX is much more durable than leather, easier to clean and requires less attention. MBTEX is also a good idea to have on the seat bolsters as this is an area that is commonly worked well by drivers and passengers entering and exiting the vehicle. Leather bolsters will eventually crease and these creases over time develop into cracks. MBTEX does not have this crease problem.

MBTEX will outlast leather many times over and most individuals can not tell its difference from leather. MBTEX is an excellent choice for anyone who has children, or plans on owning their Mercedes-Benz for a long time.

mmarshall

The M-B Tex may (?) be more durable, but, IMO, it looks and feels out of place in an upmarket, luxury-grade vehicle. So, to some extent, does even the "regular" grade M-B, BMW, and Audi leather. All three manufacturers (as I have noted several times) now restrict the former smooth, soft leather they once used across the board to only their highest-priced cars now.

OK.....let's look at it this way: We can compare it to a men's clothing store, for example. Suppose that, for years, the store had been selling silk ties for X number of dollars. Then, all of a sudden, you go in to buy a silk tie, pull X number of dollars out of your wallet, and find that that will now buy only a cotton tie, not a silk one. So you ask..."What did you do with all the silk ties for X amount of dollars". The store manager replies: "Because of cost-cutting, our company will no longer sell nice silk ties at X number of dollars. From now on, for the same price, you only get a cotton tie unless you pay a lot more for the silk ones". But then, you protest........."Why did you do this when the price of silk hasn't gone up; there is no practical or economic reason for it?". The manager replies, "That's true, but the company marketers made the decision anyway....we simply wanted to make more profit".

Now, I hope you can see the difference.

mmarshall

Well, that's just it.......for a long time, it WAS included without additional cost.
(see my reply to dunnojack, above)



Obviously, you have to LOOK at what you are buying. I've seen people come home with new vehicles that, never mind the seats, have a whole bunch of options on the car they didn't need, want, or realize they were getting. One of my neighbors, for example (on his own, without my advice), some time ago, bought a new Altima SE that had a lot of sport-oriented equipment on it that he didn't need or want. He would have bought the less-expensive base, XE model if he had known about it......or asked me first.


I guess I am not "most" people.

You sold cars and you want people to TRUST you?

(Just kidding.....don't get angry)



Well, you could say the same for the old vinyl interiors of the 1960s and 70s, but they would still be cheap looking/feeling and be out of place in today's upmarket vehicles.


And if automakers want to use this stuff on the door panels, fine, but again, I think it's out of place on the actual seats, at least in an upmarket vehicle.

But, don't think I'm a leather junkie; that's not necessarily the case. One of my favorites, for car seats, is the old soft velour/tufted-velvet cloth you used to see in upmarket American cars from the 70's. Granted, the overall quality of many of those cars was junk, but I DID like the material they used on the seats.

KILLERGS4

I guess I am not "most" people.
That's very obvious...

You sold cars and you want people to TRUST you?
I knew this was coming sooner or later...

I do love the softness of Lexus Leather, but they do break down more easily IMO... There are AGAIN pluses and minuses to both Lex Soft Leathers and MB-Tex w/ Leather Inserts...

Here are more pluses (4 me) for the 2010 (I don't know if you agree)
Rear-seat entertainment system (like having this as option on high end car)
Interior ambient lighting (Lexus will copy this IMO)
Drive-dynamic multicontour driver seat with massage (opt)
From pictures, daytime running lights also look HID/LED
PARKTRONIC with Parking Guidance (opt) not as good as the LS460, but still decent
Driver Assistance Package (opt)
Electronic Trunk Closer (opt)

Okay, Okay, I really like this car...

mmarshall

I was just kidding about the car salesman part.

But it seems like we've both pretty much made our points on this issue and had our say......no need to keep dragging it out any further. And I do respect your opinion.

DustinV

Thank you. I look forward to presenting my new car when the time comes. Right now, I am still enjoying the qualities of the E23. A great car.

I fully agree. Mercedes is missing out on the C class market in the US regarding their estates. The C class is probably one of the most family-friendly cars in its class and the estate would be perfect for a lot of potential consumers who are shopping in this class.



Trust me, it's all a matter of how often you drive the car. You'll get used to it. I have no problems with this function in my E class. It did take some time to get used to in my ex-C class but I eventually got used to it and then it wasn't a big deal anymore.



Good points.

There was a study though that supported the removal of spare tires because tire punctures rarely happen. Perhaps this study applies to Europe but the Europeans also are heavily into getting good gas mileage and a spare tire does add weight and this naturally affects gas mileage.

rdgdawg

Can you imagine it as a COUPE???!!!!??? an MB E63 AMG coupe... I'd order it right now!!!

The coupe rocks the sedan out of the building... a MUCH nicer car and I think its more comfortable than the sedan.

DustinV

I think Mercedes has always offered this type of leather since the 1960s. I'm not sure, though. I know that India is a big market for Mercedes products with artificial leather because of the prevalence of Hinduism (cows = holy) on the subcontinent.

I personally don't really see a problem with MB Tex. As long as it looks good it does the job in my opinion. Hell, my E230 has cloth seats and they feel and look good!

Some Mercedes taxis here have Tex leather seats and it looks quite convincingly real. I think most people won't care what it is as long as it looks like real leather and feels good. And in my experience MB Tex feels good enough. It has a definite premium feel and appearance to it.

Although I am an American, I never fully understood our fascination with leather in cars. Back home I know some people who want to drive a Honda Civic or a Yaris with leather seats! Geez! Poor cows!

mmarshall

I totally agree. My comments about leather are not made because I'm a leather junkie myself....I'm not. Given the choice, I actually prefer cloth, for several reasons.....I even got cloth seats in my first Lexus, an IS300. Like you, though I'm not an extreme animal-rights activist, I don't favor cruelty to animals, especially for just cosmetic reasons (though animals are often more cruel to each other than we are to them). But, my philosophy is, if you're going to do leather in spite of all this, then you might as well do it right, like Lexus does.

KILLERGS4

too be totally honest (i know u want to put this to rest), I don't think the Leather in S65 AMG is as smooth as the LS460, therefore it's MB philosophy of choosing leather is different than Lexus, they do care about softness/smoothness but also durability is a bigger concern. I find MB Leather and Tex definitely outlast Lexus Leather interiors.

LOL!

Your reviews are awesome, Marshall. Always look forward to them...

LexFather

It clearly has the tech and Benz really went back to building it solid as a tank. I cannot begin to get past the looks of it. I find the previous E-class to be not just best looking in class but one the best looking sedans PERIOD. This new one does nothing for me, I just see German Camry...I'm sorry Reviews in EVO/Top Gear etc deem it as average with the V-8 but first with the diesel.

Mike very thorough review.

mmarshall

Thanks. I look forward to some of them myself. I have become very impressed recently with BMW's steering/chassis engineering, Hyundai's overall value/quality for the money, Subaru's excellent chassis/AWD powertrains, Honda's assembly quality, and Lexus smoothness/refinement/noise isolation.

mmarshall

Thanks.

I wouldn't go quite that far. The chassis engineering and safety features are quite good, but, while better then some other recent M-B products, it clearly doesn't have the tank-solidness of M-B products from, say, 20-25 years ago. Check out an S-Class from the late 1980's if you want to see real solidness. The doors, for example, were like bank vaults.