[VegasG42]

Originally Posted by Pentland

You can tell just by looking they are leather.
He answered your question above, seats were dirty.

Looks a bit rough. Wonder how much milage on the M3

[Pentland]

Originally Posted by VegasG42

Looks a bit rough. Wonder how much milage on the M3

That’s not an M3 in the photo. It’s an M240i. (And I agree, the stitching looks worn for example)

He said his mum had the M3.

[jpcoop]

Originally Posted by kudos

I don't understand why someone would choose Sensatec over real leather.

Scenario: Someone gets into your car and says "oh nice leather seats".

Do you correct them and explain it's fake leather?
Do you say nothing?
Do you lie and go with it?

All 3 options are awkward unless you're a vegan or something.

I can think of about $2000 reasons not to get leather. I have the money, I just don’t care. It’s one thing if there’s an appreciable quality difference (like the higher grade leathers not available on this car), but they feel basically the same to me. Save yourself the money and go buy a new TV or something.

Also your hypothetical leather seat conversation does not sound like anything I’ve experienced before. I don’t think most people talk like that?

[Baldilocks73]

Originally Posted by jpcoop

I can think of about $2000 reasons not to get leather. I have the money, I just don’t care. It’s one thing if there’s an appreciable quality difference (like the higher grade leathers not available on this car), but they feel basically the same to me. Save yourself the money and go buy a new TV or something.

Also your hypothetical leather seat conversation does not sound like anything I’ve experienced before. I don’t think most people talk like that?

I just wish they put the same stitching on the Sensatec sears as they do with the leather.

[ryo-]

apparently the steering wheel is merino leather and I wish my seats were that material.

[jpcoop]

Originally Posted by ryo-

apparently the steering wheel is merino leather and I wish my seats were that material.

I’d be much more willing to pay extra if you could get something better like the Merino.

[jayritchie]

Originally Posted by VegasG42

Is this the real leather ? Looks a bit worn , no ? Has it ever been conditioned ?

Yeah Vernasca - Cleaned them with a damp microfibre. Came up brand new.

They’re treated with G Techniq Leather Guard AB for a bit of protection.

[WilcoJunoHotel]

When I was optioning my 24MY M240i here in the US, the Sensatec seats did not appear to have the lumbar or side bolster adjustment options. Never got a straight answer from my dealer so I went with leather to be certain that I got those 2 features. My bad back needs all the help it can get.

[Baldilocks73]

Originally Posted by WilcoJunoHotel

When I was optioning my 24MY M240i here in the US, the Sensatec seats did not appear to have the lumbar or side bolster adjustment options. Never got a straight answer from my dealer so I went with leather to be certain that I got those 2 features. My bad back needs all the help it can get.

You can get lumbar support but no side bolster support for the Sensatec seats. Doesn’t really make much sense.

[WilcoJunoHotel]

IIRC there was also a question about whether heat was available in the sensatec - something about the perforations being an issue with the heating elements (what the salesmen said) which didn't make sense because I have had heated and cooled perforated seats in other vehicles before. It has been 2 months since I ordered my car and I do recall wanting heat, lumbar and side bolster and I wound up with leather in order to get those. Ideally, I would have had perforated leather with heat, lumbar and bolster but alas not an option on my lowly M240i.

[IT guy]

So it is a warm day here in Sydney today - about 30 C.
I went for a walk and then got in my wifes X1 and was sweaty, hence the seats also a sweaty.
That would have been right on the Alcantara inlay.

That's the bit that's been worrying me.

I'm in the same position that its not a $ issue. I guess that I'm worried about my choice means maybe I should upgrade. I don;t want buyers remose over this.

On a similar point I'm getting the HK stereo upgrade which also comes with the upgraded alarm, camera recording and tyre pressure montoring.

[kudos]

Originally Posted by jpcoop

I don’t think most people talk like that?

It's fine if you like fake stuff. I'm just saying it's awkward if you ever do get questions about your car from a passenger.

If you wore a fake Rolex it'd be just as awkward in my opinion. Fake is fake.

[jayritchie]

Originally Posted by IT guy

So it is a warm day here in Sydney today - about 30 C.
I went for a walk and then got in my wifes X1 and was sweaty, hence the seats also a sweaty.
That would have been right on the Alcantara inlay.

I would rather wipe sweat off the surface of leather than have it soak into alcantara.

Also, use remote start and never get into a hot car ever again.

[pantdino]

I prefer leather, but all the leather colors offered here are too dark except for the almost-white, which would be impossible to keep clean. In SoCal the darkness of the interior is important- black leather results in a baking hot interior if left in the sun, even with sun shades up.

You can turn on the AC and feel cold air blowing on you, but the heat radiating from all the surfaces still makes you feel hot.

[jpcoop]

Originally Posted by kudos

It's fine if you like fake stuff. I'm just saying it's awkward if you ever do get questions about your car from a passenger.

If you wore a fake Rolex it'd be just as awkward in my opinion. Fake is fake.

It’s not “fake” if you never call it leather (which they don’t). The fact that this feels awkward to you says more about you than anything else IMO. “They’re vinyl”. Easy.

[Pentland]

Originally Posted by pantdino

I prefer leather, but all the leather colors offered here are too dark except for the almost-white, which would be impossible to keep clean.

Don’t have the preconceived idea light coloured seats are hard to keep clean. I had ivory seats in my 4 series and they immaculate after 7 years. A wipe with Dr Leather wipes every 2-4 weeks kept them in check. You could also lightly steam clean them for stubborn marks and of course a regular (in my case annual) condition and deep clean.
It wasn’t that onerous.

Originally Posted by jpcoop

It’s not “fake” if you never call it leather (which they don’t). The fact that this feels awkward to you says more about you than anything else IMO. “They’re vinyl”. Easy.

So plastic then? Cheap and nasty

[pw4]

Originally Posted by WilcoJunoHotel

When I was optioning my 24MY M240i here in the US, the Sensatec seats did not appear to have the lumbar or side bolster adjustment options. Never got a straight answer from my dealer so I went with leather to be certain that I got those 2 features. My bad back needs all the help it can get.

That must just be a US marketing thing. My F22 220i had Sensatec seats with lumbar and side bolster adjustment, along with seat heating. No technical reason not to offer it.

[Baldilocks73]

Originally Posted by pw4

That must just be a US marketing thing. My F22 220i had Sensatec seats with lumbar and side bolster adjustment, along with seat heating. No technical reason not to offer it.

Nope, it's simply to up sell the not much better Vernasca leather seating.

[Littlecoupe]

Originally Posted by Baldilocks73

Nope, it's simply to up sell the not much better Vernasca leather seating.

This is essential what happened to me. I likely would have been fine with Sensatec, and I would have liked the Cognac interior with my Portimao blue, but I wasn't willing to compromise on the seat width adjustment. I ended up having to "upgrade" to black Vernasca with blue stitching to get the seat width adjustment.

I did have Superman spec originally ordered (red interior, blue exterior) but I wasn't sure how bad it would clash, there were no examples around for me to see. Yes, I know red is Vernasca, but I liked the idea of saving $1,900 CAD if I stepped down to Cognac Sensatec, but not if I lost the seat width. I basically paid $1,900 for my adjustable bolsters...

[darkvader0]

I went in fully expecting to order with Black Vernasca/Blue stitching. But when I arrived and closely examined all the different seat configurations they had at the dealer I found I actually preferred the Sensatec in Cognac better than everything else. I didn't even bother to get lumbar since I have never used that feature in my other vehicles once, and the seat width adjustment was also a non-issue for me. So my choice was easy: Portmao Blue w/Cognac Senstac.