Is Artico as good as leather..?

[Skiing Moose]

No, I realise that Artico is not as good as leather, otherwise everyone would use it. What I really want to know is whether anyone has long-term experience of living with Artico. My current leather upholstery (in an Audi A6) is 6 years old and has worn really well. Sure, it has gathered a few scuffs and marks, but it still looks and feels good.

Does Artico feel as comfortable as leather?
Is it more/less slippery?
Does it get sweaty in hot weather?
Does it cope OK with kids in the back (sticky fingers, travel sickness, etc)?​

Perhaps hardest to tell when looking at a car in the showroom, how well does it wear after 5 years?

As far as I can see, the main benefits in upgrading from SE to Avantgarde (for a new E class estate) are leather upholstery and xenon headlights. What I am trying to asess is whether these are worth the extra £2,500...

 

[*Thumper]

Artico is good stuff ............. and is a long lasting product ... had it in a couple of cars....... one of which is still in the family and is now coming up 7 years old.

In terms of handle ........ it does everything leather does ........ ie wipe clean, not sweaty in warm weather etc .............. it's just not leather ...... and for some thats not good enough .............. I prefer it to leather, in a car !

 

[antijam]

Manufacturers extras are things no-one ever makes a rational decision on. To decide if they're genuinely worth it, look at the difference they make to the second-hand value of the car - normally a fraction of the original price.

No-one believes it costs the manufacturer £2.5k to fit leather in place of Artico and to fit xenons instead of halogens. It's where they make the bulk of their profit.

I have no direct experience of leather vs Artico, but I doubt if the long term practical experience is significantly different - I'm sure others will comment more helpfully. Whether their 'aspirational' value is worth it is up to you.

 

[whitenemesis]

Does Artico feel as comfortable as leather? No
Is it more/less slippery? More
Does it get sweaty in hot weather? Yes
Does it cope OK with kids in the back (sticky fingers, travel sickness, etc)? YES
Perhaps hardest to tell when looking at a car in the showroom, how well does it wear after 5 years? German Taxi all have Artico, says it all?


All IMHO and experience of traveling in taxis. I had leather in my car and changed it for Nappa leather and the difference is amazing! Normal leather was very similar to Artica, Nappa is soooo soft and wonderful to sit on.

Is it worth it, Nappa over leather over Artico? Only you can answer, for me, definately

 

[television]

If you are old fashioned like me then leather all the way, just the smell is so wonderful. I am lucky in that my car is lined through out with leather including all the doors and side panel trim, this was dropped in 03

 

[survey]

Artico is good stuff ............. and is a long lasting product ... had it in a couple of cars....... one of which is still in the family and is now coming up 7 years old.

In terms of handle ........ it does everything leather does ........ ie wipe clean, not sweaty in warm weather etc .............. it's just not leather ...... and for some thats not good enough .............. I prefer it to leather, in a car !

I am with Thumper here unless you go for nappa leather.

 

[Skiing Moose]

Thank you to everyone for their responses - gives me more to think about.

I'm off to MB in Aylesbury at the weekend....

 

[rf065]

Most of my previous cars had leather interiors, the CLK has artico. Not once since I bought it have I got into the car and thought I really should have got leather instead.

Russ

 

[88H]

My 13 year old CLK has ARTICO and is in excellent condition.

 

[bigtwin]

Are nylon shirts as nice as cotton ones.

 

[S.Speed]

I love leather interiors..
My only gripe is that the Germans insist on plasticizing the leather and so you don't get that gorgeous smell.
A friend has an Aston martin Vantage S and his car smells like a shoe shop when you get in.. Absolutely gorgeous interior (and sound)..

 

[rf065]

Are nylon shirts as nice as cotton ones.

Is cotton as nice as silk?
Why not forget about leather and get alcantara instead, much nicer all round.

Russ

 

[whitenemesis]

Is cotton as nice as silk?
Why not forget about leather and get alcantara instead, much nicer all round.

Russ

Brushed nylon

 

[st4]

Brushed nylon

Its very nice though:lol::lol:

 

[television]

My 1999 SL had leather always smelt so nice, with that one could use hyde food and this brought out the smell, my 2002 SL was fully lined and always filled the garage with the lovely smell, cannot use hyde food on that leather.
Both of my CLs have Napa and this gives off some aroma but not like the SL 230 did as the CLs have plastic door panels with leather inserts.

My V70R has leather and alcantara and offers superb grip and keeps you snug and still like new at 15 years old. I keep leather off cuts under the seats to get the smell

 

[NJP]

I'm sure the op has bought a car by now but for anyone else reading I had a 210 with real leather and currently have a 211 with artico.To be honest I didnt know the difference until I started reading posts on here and only when you look a little closer can you see the difference.

On the plus side artico works just as well as leather for everyday use and wears well.There was no discernable smell of leather in the 210 anyway.

Would I prefer real leather?Yes, but only because I would never buy fake designer sunglasses or a watch either.

Would I pay a premium for it?Maybe,but only because I would be expecting extra toys along with it.Any car I have looked at doesnt seem to command a premium when it get to about three years old anyway.

 

[television]

Fully loaded or a car with extras does command a better price when on the secondhand market, it also makes it more desirable than a basic model.

The higher the class the more difference it makes, I think that one could say that a top end car with leather and a few goodies in the £12k secondhand price bracket could influence the price by up to £1k. None of it is easy to work out, there will always be the odd one who just wanted a MB and buys what he fancies without ever knowing that options ever existed. This has been seen as on many of the post here.

We had one today with a late 06 car and non folding mirrors.

Sorry its all a bit off topic, but part of some of the answers.

 

[Rob Thailand]

rob thailand

I am very disappointed that the MB brochure for my e300 hybrid amg spec stated leather upholstery when in fact it is vinyl. I wondered why it did not have that magic new car smell and quite frankly I feel cheated.
This car is assembled in Thailand but still costs 82000 pounds so one would expect as the top Thai E Class it would have what it says on the packet - leather! My Toyota Hilux pickup has real leather and you could buy 4 of these for the price of the e class (3 litre 4 x 4 auto 4 door). Indeed you could buy 2 Toyota Camry's or Honda Accords plus have 6000 pounds to go on holiday. But unfortunately my bucket list included a new Merc.

 

[television]

I am very disappointed that the MB brochure for my e300 hybrid amg spec stated leather upholstery when in fact it is vinyl. I wondered why it did not have that magic new car smell and quite frankly I feel cheated.
This car is assembled in Thailand but still costs 82000 pounds so one would expect as the top Thai E Class it would have what it says on the packet - leather! My Toyota Hilux pickup has real leather and you could buy 4 of these for the price of the e class (3 litre 4 x 4 auto 4 door). Indeed you could buy 2 Toyota Camry's or Honda Accords plus have 6000 pounds to go on holiday. But unfortunately my bucket list included a new Merc.

I know how you feel Rob, many others feel the same.

 

[L John]

I am very disappointed that the MB brochure for my e300 hybrid amg spec stated leather upholstery when in fact it is vinyl.

If it said "leather upholstery" they would be in trouble under the trade descriptions act, are you sure it didn't say "man made leather" or "Artico man made leather"?

Lots of people complain about vinyl having different names but it's no different to sugar in foods having different names (people complain about that too), all companies do it.

It's up to the buyer to do a little research, if it doesn't say leather upholstery it isn't leather. Just because it has leather in among the other words doesn't mean it should be leather either, e.g. "fake leather" wouldn't mean its leather.

As this is a trick of all manufacturers, no one should be angry at the car makers.
They should be angry that the trade descriptions act doesn't do more to stop this trick that puts the blame on the buyer for not knowing the difference between man made leather and real leather.

Sure, it would be easier if the option was vinyl or leather but the information is there.