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ActiveX vs Leather

41K views 52 replies 24 participants last post by  RandyMache 
#1 ·
I am an avid proponent of leather interiors. Mach-E's lack of leather option bothers me. I have one reserved but wish Ford would add leather as an interior option, thoughts.
 
#2 ·
there are a few lucky souls in this forum that have had the opportunity to actually sit in a MMe.
For those that have, please comment if the seats give the ‘look and feel’ of learher as touted.
Thanks!
 
#3 ·
Of course, we have to be careful about the look and feel question as most folk's experience may not be with the final seats. The fabric and seat design probably changed between the hand-built prototypes seen through February and the pre-production, assembly line prototypes from the Cuautitlan plant. How much they've changed is uncertain.
 
#13 ·
They advertise it as vegan. So I think its partially marketing. I've talked to people that would refuse to buy the C-Max because it had leather which was against their values.
The vegan part is all marketing hype. I’m sure it’s strictly a money-saving move. It would be really tough to convince me faux leather has the look, feel and smell of leather. I’ve read numerous posts from tesla owners complaining about their “vegan” leather seats not holding up. And I’ve called tesla about this, and they said they are not covered for wear and tear. What does that tell you? LeTher is a natural product. Cows swear by it. And cows don’t lie.
 
#6 ·
Just my $.02:

For the past 20 years all my cars have been leather: MDX, Audi, BMW, Porsche and presently my Ford Edge Sport:

I am now on my second E Class Mercedes: both have MB Tex: at first I was aghast: a $70,000 car without leather:

I asked my wife what she thought of the seats without telling her that they were not leather: she felt there were fine, same as our BMW, Audi and other cars.

Now 5 years later I am totally, 100% satisfied with MB Tex: It is neither hot in the summer nor cold in the winter and is wearing better than leather and far easier to clean. I actually prefer it to leather.

Bottom line: Synthetic material has come a long way: let's hope the Mach E faux leather is like the MB Tex: it it is, I think everyone will be satisfied.
 
#19 ·
I used to be a huge fan of leather seats as well. But after a while I got tired to peeling myself out of my seat as soon as it got hot outside. This "Sensico" fake leather Ford is using seems to be the real deal.

The materials are good, too. Unlike its two-door sibling, which suffers from the implementation of some plasticy materials, there's nothing in the Mach-E’s cabin within reach that feels cheap. Again, Ford compares the interior of the Mach-E to the Jaguar I-Pace, and that's definitely not a stretch. The Mach-E feels like a premium vehicle, even without real leather. The faux stuff, dubbed "Sensico," is soft and high-quality, a noticeable step up from other fake leathers currently available. And it’s not faux because the bean-counters wanted to save money; many EV buyers appreciate a cruelty-free interior.

From Motor1
 
#10 ·
With build quality a question; whether cars will be sold at MSRP or lower, without any history of what the car will be worth in a few years - with continued innovation, EV's could rapidly depreciate in value, I too will be leasing:

All of the above, plus others, are the reason I have been leasing since the mid 80's: I have no intention of owning outright the Mach E: if the Mach E proves to be a winner, at the end of the lease I can always buy it.
 
#24 ·
The seats feel exactly like leather and are very comfortable. The only difference is the feel, they feel softer than leather however, the actual look is nearly identical. I am curious as to whether they will last as long as properly cared for leather. However, if you are concerned over the look and feel, I will say that they meet the same expectations as most would have for leather.
 
#26 ·
I felt the same way. But a lot of cars are moving away from leather. Tesla doesn’t offer it on the model 3. I think it’s even optional with Mercedes. I wanted an electric car. I told myself if I hated the vinyl I’d spring for after-market leather. So far ira not a problem.
 
#28 ·
Aloha all,

One of the things that I like about this forum is that members can express their opinions without being attacked, well for the most part. Well I hope that I feel the same after this post.

IMHO (I had to ask my 38 year old daughter what that means) leather is leather and ActiveX is something different.

I have had leather seats in the majority of the cars that I have owned. For the vehicles that I have owned, the leather seats held up to everything that my kids threw at them; some leather seats were better than others, but all heldup. Lucky for me, I don't have any kids at home anymore. If I did, I would be a bit concerned that the ActiveX would not hold up. That is my opinion on durability. For looks and feel, the ActiveX, in my opinion, is different than leather. Please note that I didn't say better or worse. The feel is not the feel of leather, but it's not a bad feel. To the eye, it also looks different from leather, but again it's not bad; just different.

The bottom line is that ActiveX is different than leather. I remain optimistic that the material will hold up over many years of use without showing any excessive ware. The true test will be delivered by those families that have young children as their official ActiveX testers!
 
#29 ·
Aloha all,

One of the things that I like about this forum is that members can express their opinions without being attacked, well for the most part. Well I hope that I feel the same after this post.

IMHO (I had to ask my 38 year old daughter what that means) leather is leather and ActiveX is something different.

I have had leather seats in the majority of the cars that I have owned. For the vehicles that I have owned, the leather seats held up to everything that my kids threw at them; some leather seats were better than others, but all heldup. Lucky for me, I don't have any kids at home anymore. If I did, I would be a bit concerned that the ActiveX would not hold up. That is my opinion on durability. For looks and feel, the ActiveX, in my opinion, is different than leather. Please note that I didn't say better or worse. The feel is not the feel of leather, but it's not a bad feel. To the eye, it also looks different from leather, but again it's not bad; just different.

The bottom line is that ActiveX is different than leather. I remain optimistic that the material will hold up over many years of use without showing any excessive ware. The true test will be delivered by those families that have young children as their official ActiveX testers!
I didn't realize activeX was what it was called until I saw this thread. It seems to have a lot of similarities of leathers in some of my cars over the years. One thing it doesn't do, is form creases on the bolsters like leather traditional does from getting in and out of the car. It seems sturdy enough. It seems to breathe perhaps just a little better than leather. But I will admit I like that fact that a cow didn't get slaughtered to make my interior. ;)
 
#32 ·
This morning I am headed back to the dealer to cancel the two leases we agreed to due to of Ford's
"ActiveX" seat covering. The salesman withheld that information from us despite our several comments
about our preferences for leather seating. He never corrected our presumption and we only learned of
this anomaly by researching the Window Stickers online. The windows were tinted too deeply to be
able to view the Window Stickers at the dealership, and we never suspected that these two cars had
anything other than leather seating, as they appeared. They both looked like leather. However, the ActiveX
is a man made synthetic material that does not "breathe." It is a modern day Vinyl. My wife and I are both
dissatisfied with this newly discovered revelation and we hope that we will not have too much trouble
extricating ourselves from the two leases. We consider this issue to be misrepresentation and close to
fraud because it was not brought to our attention in the show room by the salesman despite our alluding
to it several times.
 
#33 · (Edited)
This morning I am headed back to the dealer to cancel the two leases we agreed to due to of Ford's
"ActiveX" seat covering. The salesman withheld that information from us despite our several comments
about our preferences for leather seating. He never corrected our presumption and we only learned of
this anomaly by researching the Window Stickers online. The windows were tinted too deeply to be
able to view the Window Stickers at the dealership, and we never suspected that these two cars had
anything other than leather seating, as they appeared. They both looked like leather. However, the ActiveX
is a man made synthetic material that does not "breathe." It is a modern day Vinyl. My wife and I are both
dissatisfied with this newly discovered revelation and we hope that we will not have too much trouble
extricating ourselves from the two leases. We consider this issue to be misrepresentation and close to
fraud because it was not brought to our attention in the show room by the salesman despite our alluding
to it several times.
please stop with the drama. Even the most rudimentary search would reveal the interior to be synthetic material NOT leather. All of the last dozen or so cars I've had have had leather. You alluded to it being leather and because the salesman didnt' say (he may not have even known) that it's not leather. If it was this important you should've outright asked or GASP done a little research. This is the 21st century, people are supposed to be informed consumers, this constant "victim of fraud" nonsense is wearing. https://www.ford.com/support/how-tos/more-vehicle-topics/seats-and-seatbelts/what-is-activex/

I suspect you won't have any trouble getting out of your lease, dealers are more than happy to turn around and sell a cancelled unit to one of the multitudes waiting for one and with a markup.
 
#37 ·
20k miles so far, long road trips, hours sitting in NYC traffic…not once were the ActiveX seats an issue.

This synthetic is not our grandfather’s vinyl. I’ve been more than impressed with the ActiveX material’s performance.

And its not too hot in the sun. I wish I could say the same for the center arm-rest.
 
#38 ·
After seeing the newer post I read up a bit and it's been in use now for ten or more years. Pretty much universally everyone's pleased with it and state it holds up much better than leather. I've had no issues/complaints with mine in fifteen months.
 
#49 ·
but the thing about most leather in cars now, the base is leather but then it's usually lacquered to whatever color is desired, ie I'm not aware of any leather in newer cars that is naturally tanned and unpainted. So it's not exactly like leather was in cars 75 years ago.
 
#50 · (Edited)
It's all about that luxurious feel, right? While the Mach-E might not have leather as an option, you might want to explore the world of vegetable-tanned leather.I came across this cool blog post at https://vonbaer.cоm/blogs/blog/what-is-vegetable-tanned-leather-how-is-it-made that delves into vegetable-tanned leather, how it's made, and why it's an excellent alternative. It's a bit different from traditional leather but can offer a unique and eco-friendly experience. So, even if Ford doesn't add leather as an option, you can still enjoy a premium feel with vegetable-tanned leather.
 
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