Comfort Seats
 

About to pull the trigger on an X5 4.8i with the sport package. The wife is not real fond of the firmness of the sport seats and finds the comfort seats way more pleasant to sit in. We were intrigued by the active ventilated seats, but found both the active and ventilation functions to be almost too subtle to notice upon a quick trial (perhaps this is more appreciated in the long run). I am curious for those that have tried (or owned) the following configurations which they would prefer:

1) Comfort seats with base nevada leather

2) Active ventilated seats (i.e. comfort seats with perforated nevada leather)

3) Comfort seats with the upgraded napa leather

We are leaning toward either option 2 or 3, unless we are made aware of a reason not to have perforated seats or the "softer" napa leather. I know it is a personal thing, but for those that faced a similar decision...I would be interested in your thoughts.

Loki

i have the comfort seats with the soft nappa leather and prefer these over the sport nappa seat i had in my last sport exclusive x5.

Nappa have a nice feel to it

Had the ventilated seats in the M5, would not go back. They do work but your not going to feel instant cool, rather the air will work to reduce sweating on hot days normally induced by leather. Just picked up X5 so not alot of experience as i have not driven it much but so far seems to work as i expected. My 2 cents.

To make clear, would not go back to a non ventilated seat.

I have the comfort seats w/ active vent option and they are my favorite option on the X5...wouldnt do w/o them . The vent portion is a must have if you live in a hot environ. I use mine all summer and the active part is very usefull on long trips. Its really not that usable on short trips, but on long trips it makes a big difference in comfort. I regularly travel between ours homes in Baton Rouge and Austin TX and the 8 hr drive is like a 2 hr drive with these options.

I tried the comfort seats and love them and plan to get them. I wish I could get the Active Vent seats, unfortunately they only come in two colors (balck, beige) neither of which is what I want (Tobacco or Saddle brown)

I vote for #3 (comfort seats with nappa).

I got #2 (comfort seats with perforated nevada leather) in mine.

I initially didn't want nappa for durability concerns. In general softer leather is easier to tear. The nappa in our MB S550 is pretty delicate, I accidentally made a small hole in it but a pen that I left in my back pocket the first day we brought it home. :(

I didn't feel the nappa for the BMW X5 until after I my ordered car was already built and waiting from transport. It feels more durable (than MB) and is very smooth and soft. Thus the added comfort and luxury would be a good trade-off for not having ventilated seats.

Ventilated seats are okay. They are on the loud side, but it doesn't bother me.

I'm still trying to figure out in what situation they work the best. On some hot days, they seem worthless while other hot days I'm very glad to have gotten them. I'm guessing that it might have to do with the amount of prespiration that's on ones back or how close you are to the seats.

I've noticed that when my shirt is wet in the back and I don't put my back against the seat, I can really feel the air cooling my back down! But when my back is dry and I lean back against the chair, it doesn't seem to feel like much. I don't regret getting them, but would be perfectly fine trading the ventilation feature for nappa instead.

What tips my vote now is that the black nevada seems to get dirty very easily! I constantly see grey dirt that seems to be on it! Much more prominent than black leathers in all cars that I've owned before. I'm guessing the smoother texture of the nappa would be less proned to holding onto dirt.

I have the comfort seats (compared to the Z4 I had with sport seats) I LOVE the comfort seats with the lumbar support, very very comfy!

As to ventilated seats, I wish I gotten it with the x5, but at one point we had a loaded lexus LS, which had the ventilated seats, not sure how they compare to the ones in BMW's, however in hot weather they feel very comfy, I feel its a missing option on the X5

I too didn't find the active ventilated seats to be a must have. (I live in New York, so it is only really hot about 2-3 months a year). I think the comfort seats are DEFINITELY a must have though. They are really comfortable. Personally I like the rugged look of the Nevada leather, but the Napa leather is very nice too.

Go for the ventilated seats. I have the Comfort seats with Nappa in a X5 and the perforated vented Comfort seats in another BMW. They are the best

comfort nappa much more.. er..comfortable :)
both front and rear seats btw..

If there's one thing I wish I would've gotten instead it is the comfort seats... mostly because everybody else who rides in my X says the sport seats are difficult to get out of. :(

Sat in both last night. First I briefly sat in the perforated nevada comfort seat (car not powered on yet so no AVS). Then I briefly sat in the napa comfort. The napa was WAY softer and "nicer" to the touch. In this brief test I didn't notice much of a difference in their overall comfort level. It seemed muich more of an appearance difference. But it was very brief as I was eager to test drive the one with AVS since that is the one that is otherwise equipped as I want.

I then went on a test drive with the AVS and found them very nice and sufficient, but after thinking about it more (while on the test drive) I am still unsure. The AVS feature seems nice, but very subtle...really hard to tell how much I am going to appreciate the AVS features. It sounds like I will from those who have them...maybe it just takes time to notice how wonderful they are. I do like the fact that they are perforated and can "breathe".

The nevada leather, while more rugged and probably much more durable, still feels somewhat cheap in comparison to the napa to me. The napa seemed much more elegant and cushier (but maybe this "cushiness" was because the one with napa had been broken in...it was an 07 CPO with low mileage). I know this is a BMW and not a Mercedes (thus sportier and firmer seats), but it should still feel and look like the $70k car that it is.

I am probably overanalyzing this. They are both nice...but at a car at this price point and the fact that I do make long drives reasonably often, I want to make sure comfort is optimal.

Do the seats (with nevada in particular) break in and become less firm over time? Is it likely that was the difference in comfort levels as opposed to the grade of leather?

Active Ventilated Comfort seats option is the one I enjoy the most. I would never buy a BMW without this option again.

The active part is OK, but the ventilated feature makes a hugh difference on a hot day. As others have stated, the air flow is subtle, but is enough to keep you dry. It does not blow as hard as my wife's IS-350, but it does do the job well.

As far the the comfort adjustment features, there is not a better seat on the market IMO - except of course, the rear seat in a Maybach.

:iagree:
it makes a big difference on longer trips too.

+1