How do you feel about the premium synthetic leather mesh look seats? Is the real leather worth the difference?

 

Hi Mustang welcome to CL. If you do a search you'll find a lot of discussion on synthetic vs. real leather. Very subjective - How do you feel about each?

 

Yes, welcome to CL. Agree with LexBob2 regarding extensive previous discussions on most model forums as well as the subjective nature of the choice.

We have had both the standard leather in Lexus vehicles and the NuLuxe in the premium models and I can't really tell much difference except for the smell and the absence of fine lines along the stretch marks in the animal hides. I think most people will be very happy with either seating surface. I can't contrast the semi analine leather in the Ultra Luxury model as I have never had that particular seating material.

Some past discussions:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es-...uxe-vinal.html
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es-...-interior.html

 

The New LUX synthetic material is garage and wears prematurely. The leather I had in my Cadillac ATS was far superior
and Cadillac backed their CPO cars far better than Lexus. I purchased a CPO 2014 ES from Germain Lexus in Naples.
They must ave tried to dye the seats. because after 4 months they look terrible. Discolored, cracks on the outer areas.
I talked with the service adviser and he said normal wear and tear is not covered. So much for Lexus quality.

I use use the better (lexol) leather cleaner and conditioner on my seats weekly, due to the heat in SW Florida.

 

The NuLuxe is actually a very nice fake leather. It has a nice feel to it. Since it has now been available on the Generation 6 ES for over 5 years and since I haven't seen posts here with people complaining about its durability, it would appear that it wears well. It is actually a bit softer than the standard leather available on the ES, and it has a feel that is actually similar to that of the semi-aniline leather on the Ultra Luxury ES.

The main issue that I have with the NuLuxe is not related to how the NuLuxe feels or wears. Instead, it is that the NuLuxe only comes on base or Premium Package ES vehicles, and there are other desirable options that only come on the ES with the Luxury Package or Ultra Luxury Package. Thus, if you want those other options, you have no choice except to buy a Luxury Package ES with the standard leather or an Ultra Luxury Package ES with the semi-aniline leather.

 

I just bought a brand new UL for one reason—once you have a car with semi-aniline leather you will never go back to standard leather.

 

Care to explain why?

 

It feels unlike any other leather. It’s buttery-soft and smooth, it looks nicer because they have to use higher quality hides, too.

If you take care of it (I use the Leatherique system once a year) it wears a lot nicer without drying and cracking.

It WILL scratch easier though, so if you’re “rough” on car interiors I wouldn’t recommend it.

When I bought my 2010 IS they had the exact same car, colors, except one had the regular leather and one had the semi-aniline and it took literally 10 seconds to make a decision to pay more for the IS with the semi-aniline.

And I just sold her after 170,000 miles and those seats still looked perfect.

 

Here are the pics of my semi-aniline leather seats in my 2010 IS 250 I just sold with 170,000 miles. I had it since new.

 

I thought all semi-aniline came perforated.

The 2010 manual shows this as well. http://www.lexus.com/documents/broch...S-Brochure.pdf

 

Yes they are, zoom into the photo, you will see it.

 

Yes, I see it! Really had to zoom, though.

 

They are perforated.

LoL....Zoom is your friend, I guess.

 

I recently traded a 2008 ES350 for a 2014 CPO ES350 that has the nuluxe seats. The leather on one of my seats in the 2008 did not hold up well (after about 9 years) and had to be repaired twice so I was not concerned about trying the nuluxe. So far, after 5 months, I have to say that I have not had any issues at all and aside from the smell, can't tell the difference between leather and the nuluxe.

 

Over the long haul, I prefer the vinyl. My current car has them and despite being a light color, it looks like it came right off the showroom floor.

My previous LS had real leather, and it had stretched out and hardened over the years. I had a Volvo 240 that was absolutely ancient and it had the vinyl, still looked new. Same with Mercedes and the MB Tex.


But if you're the type that gets a new car every 3 years or so, I could see the appeal of real leather.