Artico?

[Deleted member 6183]

My W212 has, according to the datacard, "Embossed Leather" on the dashboard. It's plastic; but (to mix metaphors) as it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck... It might as well be leather.

Does it smell like a duck?

 

[E55BOF]

Well, it smells fowl, actually...

 

[markjay]

Actually it smells grouse.

 

[Justintyme]

Had Leather before, have Artico now.

Leather Pros: smells and feels like leather. Nothing else does...
Leather Cons: sags and develops cracking. I know, it's called 'character', but I prefer my cars looking as new as possible... Also, requires treatment from time to time.

Artico Pros: always looks new even after a few years. Very easy to clean (well, it would be, aftr all it's plastic...). Looks and feels *almost* like real leather.
Artico Cons: 'almost' is not quite the same as the real thing.

Given the choice, I would have preferred leather. But on the C-Class leather is difficult to find, and overall I am happy with the Artico - it's not leather, but it's good enough (for me).

When I was looking for a Merc, exactly 1 year ago,,,,,,the dealer had about 8 mercs on site..mainly e Class, w212's. So when I looked at the 1st one, I saw that the drivers seat cushion had a split seam. So I told the salesman, forget it, this one has to have been clocked with a seat looking like this. Nope he replied....ALL the mercs are like this, and to prove it, he showed the rest of them. Without exception the ones that had Artico fabric covering, were all cracked or had seams split. So I picked out the one I thought was the best for me, and bought it. As my Merc experience up to this was basically "NIL", after becoming the proud owner of my 1st one, I did some research amongst my friends ( some of who were indeed experienced Merc owners ) and it seems that there is a big problem with Artico covered seats. Strangely, it seems that older Mercs fitted with Artico, did not have this problem. See attached pic of my one.

 

[markjay]

I guess I am lucky with the Artico on my 2013 car....

 

[slade1]

MB use to be a class act, not any more. Poor quality materials used. Have a look at MBs 108 114/5 etc with MB Tex it will look like new. I use to have a 67 BMW 2000 4 door Saloon with similar seat materials (could be same.) It had no cracks etc and spent most of time out side in tropical sun. It was the same with the 2001 Nissan Primera P11 I had, leather interior, including driver’s seat a bit grubby like new when I sold it.

 

[Gazwould]

Same here got a 1996 S14 Touring , leather is still mint .

 

[ShaunB]

I guess the seats in my wifes A200 are artico, it feels quit rigid in comparison to the very soft leather in my E63.
But there are certainly no cracks or anything like that in the seats in the A class.
A previous car I had must have had artico thinking back, they were recaro bucket seats, with quite large bolsters, which had started to deteriorate quite a lot after only a year due to rubbing against the bolster getting out of the car

 

[Justintyme]

I guess I am lucky with the Artico on my 2013 car....

Yes, it seems that you are, but I think that after 2012 they made some changes in the Artico, because I have not seen any flaws in cars from 2012 onward's. But in the w212 from 2009-2011, there are plenty of examples that I have seen, at least here in Ireland. I have not seen any flaws in the w2111 models either. So I guess, it only came with the 1st models of the re-vamped w212. Even though I have used seat covers on the front seats, it still annoy's me, as it's the first thing you see when you open the door

 

[Benzowner]

Has to be better than the plastic of the 70’s

 

[whitenemesis]

Has to be better than the plastic of the 70’s

But inferior to the MBTex of the era ....

 

[slade1]

Has to be better than the plastic of the 70’s

No

 

[Gazwould]

Those summer ass burning Vauxhall Viva seats .

 

[Yugguy]

It's basically cold plastic.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

When I was looking for a Merc, exactly 1 year ago,,,,,,the dealer had about 8 mercs on site..mainly e Class, w212's. So when I looked at the 1st one, I saw that the drivers seat cushion had a split seam. So I told the salesman, forget it, this one has to have been clocked with a seat looking like this. Nope he replied....ALL the mercs are like this, and to prove it, he showed the rest of them. Without exception the ones that had Artico fabric covering, were all cracked or had seams split. So I picked out the one I thought was the best for me, and bought it. As my Merc experience up to this was basically "NIL", after becoming the proud owner of my 1st one, I did some research amongst my friends ( some of who were indeed experienced Merc owners ) and it seems that there is a big problem with Artico covered seats. Strangely, it seems that older Mercs fitted with Artico, did not have this problem. See attached pic of my one.View attachment 82578

Poor, I've not seen seats like that since the 70s.

 

[Rory]

AFAIK virtually all car leather is coated/sealed?

Mine is leather - light grey - and is in great condition except that the coating has flaked off in a couple of small areas.

I'm wondering if it can be touched up?

 

[AntMB]

Makes me wonder what my seats are made of. According to my build sheet there appears to be a mixture, but I don't know what and where. It's an E class S211, build information is this

AMARETTA/LEATHER/NAPPA/SEMI-ANILINE - BLACK/ANTH. (831A)

 

[Gazwould]

I think there was a disgruntled 50k Merc owner somewhere with fake leather .

 

[Justintyme]

Poor, I've not seen seats like that since the 70s.

They exist DrFeelgood, even long after the 70's ( unfortunately, ) And I have seen plenty of examples since I bought mine..especially from 2009- 2012 E Class w212. Have a look around next time you are in a dealership, and see if you can spot any....I presume that it was the same Artico covered seating in all the E Class w212's produced between 2009-2012, regardless of final destination, either England, Ireland, or anywhere else?