06-22-2019, 08:39 PM | #1 |
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M340i with 'Merino' full extended leather - Worth it?
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I am debating what to do with the upholstery for my M340i here in the UK. I have 3 options: - Mocha 'Vernasca' leather (Included) - Ivory or Black 'Merino' leather (around $1.2K) - Ivory or Black 'Merino' full extended leather (around $3K) I quite liked the Mocha interior, but its true the Merino leather feels noticeably nicer. The only Merino colours I can deal with is Black (a bit boring) or Ivory. Ivory looks nice on paper, but is it a pain to maintain? Will it last? Also, is the extended leather worth the big premium? As far as I understand it, it replaces the Sensatec on the dashboard with real leather and adds leather to the top of the doors. What do you guys think is the best option? |
06-22-2019, 09:11 PM | #2 |
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Ivory Merino Leather would be my choice. I don't think the extended leather price is warranted to be honest. The standard Merino will give you that upgraded feel without being too expensive. Now if it was an M3 or lets say a 5 series than yeah maybe I would go the full extended leather. Personally that's just how I look at it, you might feel differently tho.
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06-22-2019, 10:56 PM | #3 |
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I'd probably just go with the mocha interior. Maybe I'd choose the merino leather, but not extended. I like the idea of having a light interior like ivory or oyster too. I don't like black interior very much. It's just sort of boring to me.
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06-22-2019, 11:03 PM | #4 |
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I say either do Vernasca or go full Merino. IMO, it's more about the appearance than it is about the seating surface. The dashboard looks beautiful wrapped in Merino or Nappa leather. Yes it is slightly nicer to sit on Merino over Vernasca/Dakota, and slightly more breathable, but otherwise it's not that big of a deal. No point in paying for nicer seats when the dashboard is still going to look like cheap embossed plastic.
Black is boring, but there's a reason it's the standard interior color. It's by far the most practical, will never show dirt, never look offensive, never go out of style, and easy to hide imperfections on. I wouldn't mind a saddle brown interior myself, but I wouldn't think twice about getting black if it meant getting the nicer interior. I'm sure Ivory looks great at first, but I know I'd get sick of it. Both maintaining it and looking at it. |
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06-23-2019, 03:22 AM | #5 |
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Same kind of question here about my M340i G21
I went to the BMW Brand Experience Center close to Zürich in Switerzerland last weekend and I saw in real life the Merino leather as well the Vernasca. Vernaska looks good and it's an improvement compared to the Dakota. But once you seat in a car equiped with Merino seats, difficult to choose something in my opinion ! The feeling is very different as the quality of the leather is much more better. Maybe more fragile and it has to be proven The differences between the extended and the full interior are indeed the dashboard and the upper parts of the doors. I think it's worth to take the full Merino. The only thing that annoys me is that you can't chose full merino plus sunshields (very practical for my daughter in the back!) Alternative option is to choose extended Merino and to select leather dashboard. But you lose the leather on the upper parts of the doors. I am going to check if I can purchase a BMW sunshield that will fit to the G21 and then, problem fixed. |
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06-23-2019, 05:09 AM | #6 |
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Is that even an option for US cars?
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06-23-2019, 09:45 AM | #7 |
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While vernasca is an improvement on Dakota, it is still in the Dakota family and a world of difference from Nappa or Merino. You are using the upholstery every time you use the car so you want something that will be nice for you.
My vote is Merino...either form. |
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06-23-2019, 04:05 PM | #8 |
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Merino is always the best choice. Because everything is real leather. With Vernasca leather most parts are not real leather. With merino everything is real leather. And always go for full extended merino if you chose merino. Like someone said: either you go Vernasca or you go all the way including the doors.
My car was ordered back in february where this option was not available. I thus have Vernasca leather with full nappa leather dash (upper and lower part). The upper door parts are also in leather but aftermarket. Pretty happy ! |
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06-23-2019, 04:40 PM | #9 | |
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06-23-2019, 09:19 PM | #10 | |
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06-23-2019, 09:35 PM | #11 |
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06-23-2019, 11:05 PM | #12 |
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06-23-2019, 11:12 PM | #13 |
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06-24-2019, 03:52 AM | #14 |
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06-24-2019, 08:32 AM | #15 |
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I wish we had that option
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06-24-2019, 09:48 AM | #16 |
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Anything more on Individual merino leathers becoming available?
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06-24-2019, 10:11 AM | #17 |
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06-24-2019, 01:18 PM | #18 |
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Atleast 2 years ? what lol , I disagree . It'll be outdated next year when G80 comes out. Same goes for the M4 I believe not sure tho, forgot if the M3/M4 release at the same time. But tech wise if you have a fairly recent M car , what is it equipped with ID6 and Apple Carplay right. That should be pretty good for a few more years I would say. My 2016 M4 with ID5 and no apple carplay felt ancient to me, compared to what's available now. But the drive is what really matters with an M , so it didn't really bother me as much.
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06-24-2019, 01:31 PM | #19 | |
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06-24-2019, 03:10 PM | #20 |
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Thanks for the replies.
I've taken the advice and decided to go for the Black Full 'Merino' option. Even though it wasn't my preferred colour, it is one I can easily live with, it will feel nice, will hardly need any maintenance, and the leather on the dashboard and doors will lift the interior quality significantly. Ivory is tempting but I know I will be paranoid trying to make sure it stays clean. The M3 is not even sold anymore in the UK new, and even then the base model with no options is around 5K more expensive. Already stretching my budget as my initial idea was to get a 330i. Test drove it and found it underwhelming in terms of power. The M340i seems to hit the right spot. |
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06-25-2019, 04:15 AM | #22 | |
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