leather or leatherette?!

[trueX5er]

My office chair is leatherette/vinyl. It smells worse than leather

[xnsf]

Originally Posted by dkl

This car does have the premium package (auto climate, moonroof and wood trim are the give-away), thus it has leather. Early models does not necessarily come with the BC button.

I found that leatherette have more of a spongy feel to it than leather.

oh really? ...anyway...the seller lists the upholstery as leatherette...

[AzNMpower32]

Originally Posted by dkl

I found that leatherette have more of a spongy feel to it than leather.

I agree. Just run your hands over the surface and push around a little. It's hard to tell for most people, but I can tell the difference. My friend's X5 3.0i, for example, is leatherette.

[asawadude]

Originally Posted by crosvs

haha ok cool, good to know -- and yes, the quality of the leather in his 528 DEFINITELY seemed much nicer

*sigh*

Yo Marc,

Montana leather is coarser and grainier as opposed to Nappa which is softer and more supple. Montana gets brittle with age and requires a heavy periodic dousing of leather conditioner, but eventually it will crack. Nappa actually holds up better while staying softer. But it also needs periodic cleaning and condition, but nothing to the extent of Montana leather. Montana often gets mistaken for leatherette because it's so hard and coarse.

I believe both the early E34 and E39 5 series had an upgrade option to move up from Montana to Nappa leather which is why your friend had the nice interior in his 528i.