lexes350ow

I have never had any doubt regarding the genuineity of the leather used in the Lexus vehicle, until someone very recently said it's not really a Leather but it's Leatherette which is a mix of Leather and Rexine material. Is that true?

Canesguy

It's a type of pleather (synthetic), from Lexus called NuLux, unless you specifically have optional leather (check your retail window sticker, if you have yours).

Interestingly, my most expensive vehicle currently, the Lexus, is the only one without leather.

lexes350ow

So as the competitors say Lexus is working really hard and transcending into Luxury car line. It will get there, soon. This doesn't change my heart towards Lexus.

jfelbab

Lexus offers two leather options on most of their vehicles. Real coated leather or NuLuxe, an engineered faux leather. In vehicles with real leather, only the contact facing areas are real leather and the rest is faux leather. This practice is common in the automotive industry. As to NuLuxe, the material may turn out to be superior to real leather but it is just too soon to know how it will hold up over time. In the past, faux leather products were inferior to real leather over time and would fade or crack more readily. This type of engineered leather is becoming much more common. Most of the auto manufacturers now offer this type of faux leather likely to reduce cost.

Bode1016

Anyone changing their interior to Alcantara? I'm in the process of it now. Waiting for more Alcantara fabric to arrive. If you are interested in it check out my profile and photos. I will post photos of what they look like installed in the vehicle once it's complete.

80es300

I believe there is also upgraded leather offered by Lexus. For example: Luxury package in RX350 gets you upgraded leather, which I assume would be better than the base leather.

sc400

Right. That would be Simi-aniline leather.

jfelbab

The three most common types of automotive leather in use today are:

Aniline: Leather thats dyed and painted with an opaque pigment to yield uniform color to hide blemishes and then clear coated. This type of leather does not reveal hide scars, pores or blemishes and displays a uniform embossed grain pattern. This is what you typically find with the leather upgrade option. The most obvious indicators are a uniform grain pattern, uniform color and lack of any visible blemishes or scars. This is like painting your wood deck with an opaque paint.

Semi-Aniline: Leather thats dyed and coated with a semi-transparent pigment then clear coated. This type of leather may reveal some of the underlying scars and blemishes of the hide as well as some color and grain variation. This is like staining your deck with a semi-transparent stain.

Synthetic: Much of the leather, and in some vehicles all of the leather, in today's vehicles is entirely synthetic or engineered faux leather. It looks like real aniline leather but is entirely synthetic. This material is in use in some high ticket brands like Lexus, MB and Infinity for example. It is often difficult to tell what is real leather and what is engineered leather. This product looks like aniline leather and often comes in a wider choice of colors than the aniline option. In my experience, this product feels much thinner than aniline leather. The longevity of this faux leather remains to be seen.

Many vehicles today have real leather as an upgrade option and this real leather is typically only used in facing or contact panels. Seat sides, seat backs, etc., are typically faux leather even if you have the upgraded leather option. It is very difficult to visually tell the difference between the two without seeing the backside of the material.

Fortunately this engineered leather is cared for just like its aniline lookalike. Cleaning is performed the same way with the same products but conditioning is not useful. Protection is beneficial to avoid dye transfer so I'd suggest regular use of a water-based fluorocarbon protectant. Unlike aniline leather, faux leather does not need, or benefit from, any hydration process.