why black leather?

[glojo]

We were very fortunate and specc'd our car to exactly how we wanted it. I agreewith everyone that statesMercedes-Benz are not the most fashion conscious manufacturers on the block, but I looked at the designo interiors and there wasnot a combination that said, "Oohhh!"

I went for the light grey leather interior as it just makes the interior look light and airy.

Our previous estate was dark metallic blue with a subtle coloured darkish grey designo leather interior. It was just too depressing

The light grey is an amazingly easy colour to keep clean and still looks in pristine condition. If we ever decide to sell this car then the next vehicle will undoubtedly have light interior and no way will it be either black or silver

Is it me or is Mercedes-Benz cutting down on the choice of exterior colours?

 

[MrT]

Beige leather might look good when it's new, but I've had one car with a beige leather interior, only kept it a year and would never have another beige interior - horrendous to keep clean, even with light use.

 

[N/B]

The 'traditional' Mercedes colour combination was always white with red leather - this goes back at least to the 1920's when white was the German national racing colour ( just as the British had Green , the Italians Red and the French Blue ) ; the silver famously came about when the paint had to be scraped off all the cars prior to a race to bring the cars just under the weight limit - henceforth the Mercedes fixation with silver .

And after that, the interior for sporting Mercedes cars often featured Check cloth...

A wonderful homage paid here, I think these may just be my dream track-day seats;

 

[Skintia99]

I wish MB would bring back red leather across the range and not just on seats but on dashboard as well, In the 80's greens, browns and red's weren't uncommon.

Current Merc interior favourite has to be Cashmere Beige with a metallic black exterior

 

[glojo]

Beige leather might look good when it's new, but I've had one car with a beige leather interior, only kept it a year and would never have another beige interior - horrendous to keep clean, even with light use.

We have what is called palma grey (not sure of the spelling) It is a light (very light grey colour) We have the estate to chaffuer our long haired German Shepherd and I am amazed at how easy the interior is to keep clean. the interior is immaculate, although our dog has never learnt to wipe either his hands or feet prior to taking up residence

 

[NuisanceValue]

Beige leather might look good when it's new, but I've had one car with a beige leather interior, only kept it a year and would never have another beige interior - horrendous to keep clean, even with light use.

My beige interior is 13 years old now and to be fair is still in very good condition, including the carpets. I'm not fanatical about keeping it clean either. The worst bits are the door speaker grills which seem to get scuffed quite easily.

 

[Zulu-Boy]

Theres a kit for cleaning leather upholstery. I dont mean the sort that car accessory shops sell. The kit is called a Connollizing Kit and it includes the base tanning dyes that restore upholstery to original condition (specific to the colour you need). The kit is available on flea-bay but I dont have a link. I'll post the link after a bit of research.

Another basic tip to help leather seats, is to clean upholstery as normal but finish off by wiping seats down with baby lotion. Allow to seep in and after a fews hours buff it up with a dry cloth (mutton cloth is ideal). I've used this method on my Moggy 1000 for the last 23 years.

 

[mercedes lover]

Black leather is very good if you have a baby and they're sick on the seats

 

[trando]

My tanzanite blue C55 has a black leather interior but I think the aluminium inserts set it off really well. Yes it gets hot in the summer but with air on full blast it gets ice cold in minutes. My wife complains it makes her thighs stick to the seats when she first gets in, but that's soon fixed...

 

[bluevenetian]

Midnight blue with dark blue MB tex -- the latter is so easy to keep looking smart. Just a quick wipe down and hey presto, looks as good as new despite car's 137k mileage. In previous two cars had beige leather with avocado green exterior and dark blue with light metallic blue ---- I will never want a silver/black combination car, although silver and cherry red might be fun.
70s family cars included a maroon morris marina -- the 1.8 super!!!! -- with maroon interior and a granada ghia -- silver/ black roof and sky blue velour interior....ahhhhhh

 

[stevieb15]

because its easier to keep clean, I always specified light leather in my company cars but tend to buy blue or black now I am paying myself

 

[renault12ts]

Midnight blue with dark blue MB tex -- the latter is so easy to keep looking smart. Just a quick wipe down and hey presto, looks as good as new despite car's 137k mileage. In previous two cars had beige leather with avocado green exterior and dark blue with light metallic blue ---- I will never want a silver/black combination car, although silver and cherry red might be fun.
70s family cars included a maroon morris marina -- the 1.8 super!!!! -- with maroon interior and a granada ghia -- silver/ black roof and sky blue velour interior....ahhhhhh

You're right, remember when all cars had vinyl, they were easy to keep clean. Only Mercedes persists with vinyl ( afaik ).

 

[bluevenetian]

Yes, happy memories of getting stuck on plastic seats, but with aircon, MB-tex seats are no more sticky than leather. The trouble with a lot of modern cars with leather seats is the leather is pretty poor quality. I was in a friends mini cooper at the weekend which had this horrendous embossed leather that looked just horrible and didn't feel nice either

 

[Londonscottish]

Black leather = smart and easy to keep clean.

I occassionally look at s/h cars online and immediately ignore anything with light grey, beige etc.

Some combos of dark paint and light leather look ok - but a mate with a black E270 estate with light beige leather (and kids) was on a permanent mission to keep it looking good inside and out. Backs of front seats looked particularly awful with scuff marks from kids' feet always re-appearing.

Now he's got black/black CLS 500. One less cleaning chore....

 

[Baron_Samedi]

+1 for baby wipes (good for leather steering wheels too!)

 

[NewMB]

Black leather every time.

Have had (and have on my classic car) beige leather. Total nightmare to keep clean. Looks good through.

Having driven many various cars with leather, it is easy to see the quality difference between the makes.

MB has cheap stuff I think, unless you specify Nappa at silly money.

BMW has also really cheap leather.

Audi, Volvo, Saab and all pretty good quality for a reasonable price.

Really nasty stuff in Vauxhall, Hyundai, Kia, Ford and VW.

 

[A210AMG]

I agree black leather stands the test of time better,

Loading stuff in and also having a little one / friends that spill 'stuff' it does always look new, even the creases on the drivers seat from wear don't look bad with black leather.

Also generally if you specify a light leather the rest of the cars trim is lighter and again if you use your car as we do, camping trips, walking, mountain bikes, b&q, garden centres etc etc then this also marks a lot easier.


Grey, beige or light colours look great in the showrooms but depending on your use not that practical. On a sports car SL, SLK type car fine as I guess they are not used the same as other cars.

What I do think we should have the option of though is a lighter headlining to give a 'brighter' feel to the cabin.

 

[beem]

Black leather = smart and easy to keep clean.

I occassionally look at s/h cars online and immediately ignore anything with light grey, beige etc.

Some combos of dark paint and light leather look ok - but a mate with a black E270 estate with light beige leather (and kids) was on a permanent mission to keep it looking good inside and out. Backs of front seats looked particularly awful with scuff marks from kids' feet always re-appearing.

Now he's got black/black CLS 500. One less cleaning chore....

Cheepest an most efective solution is to sell the kids, clean interior, no scuffs and the money you save over the years will by a nice merc 2 seater (no need for 4 seats, no kids)