By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
I have wondered about that. All the MLs I have sat in have the MB Tex. Looks and feels nice enough. So you say it wears better than leather? Leather is a $1700 option. I had custom fitted Sheep skins in one PU with leather and really liked it in both hot and cold weather. Might do that if I settle on the ML350 Bluetec.
With many vehicles they package leather with more adjustable and better bolstered seats. The seats in my wife's Taurus company car are not comfortable at all. But I've been in a Taurus with leather and the seats are far more comfortable and adjustable.
Personally, I like a quality leather, feels nice (hot seat issues are rare here), ad a greater chance of heated seats.
I use mine every morning now that summers gone:( In the summer I use the cool function, but it's just ventilation and not nearly as effective as using the bum warmers.
Though if your sweaty, you can definitely feel cool air on your back side. Feels good for a bit then after 10 minutes or so you don't really notice it.
I saw a 70s diesel where the seat covers were *mint* but the foam padding underneath had rotted.
So the seat covers outlasted...the seats!
You can often find junkyard MB with un-torn Tex. It could be the most ideal seating material - surprised others haven't followed suit. However, some of the other "leatherette" out there is probably as good.
To bring it back on a domestic theme, I have seen base model Caddy lease specials that lack sunroof. If they also lack heated seats, no sale from me.
fin - I don't think Caddy is worrying about you. Would you really even consider one?
A must for a sore back;) I know that's an area some of the Asian brands skimp on. My dad's 09 Accord Ex-L has heated seats, but the passenger seat only heats the seat bottom, not the back or lumbar area. My mom wasn't to pleased when she found out the hard way with a warm butt, but cool back. She still complains and gives my dad crap about how he bought a car that didn't provide her with a proper heated seat;)
CTS - getting kind of old and have never liked the tweener size. XTS - I actually kind of like the look, but a little big for me, and probably drives kind of numb. The CUV/SUVs - not my cup of tea.
That and in the case of the ATS the lease deal comes with the 2.5 4 cyl. It's getting less than ideal reviews for the Malibu, no way would that work for me in a car with sporting intentions and supposedly the "standard of the world" LOL.
But yeah, spec'd right, I could see myself in an ATS if I liked how it drove.
If the ATS is 9/10ths the car at 6/10ths the price, I'd look. If it is 9/10ths the car at 9/10ths the price, it is tougher.
If you did decide to go "American", you'll have to check out the new Escapes. People are complaining that the lowest setting is too hot.
pzam, "2013 Ford Escape" #463, 4 Dec 2012 5:19 pm
Auto hot and auto lowering would be cool, err warm;) Anyway, yeah, mine has two seatings for heat and cool and both are fully functional on both front seats.
My '00 VW Jetta TDI had a dial with like 6 heat settings and was the only car I've had heated seats w/o leather. Though with a diesel, the heated seats were the only source of heat for the first several miles. Just letting it idle would rarely warm it up enough to get heat.
Fin, I'd be shocked if you MB didn't have a fully heated passenger seat.
Gotta have both, though. This is something Subaru gets right, the All Weather Package is worth every penny. Even on the cheapest models it heats bottom and back. The wiper de-icers work well enough that you won't have to scrape that area, and the heated mirrors not only melt the ice off quickly, they even evaporate any rain immediately, so driving in mist you still have totally clear mirrors.
That's why they have 1,400% more market share in Vermont than they do in Florida.
We need a Santa emotorcon with a hat and scarf!
This kind of thing should be expected in higher equipped mainstream cars by now.
If I had known we were going to keep the van forever, I would have put a kit in there years ago. Didn't really need them for the Boise decade though.
I have two vehicles with sunroof that have never been opened when I am in the vehicle. I consider them a total waste of money and a source for leaks. If they opened enough to stand up and shoot jack rabbits running across the desert they would have some use. Otherwise no value to me.
Now, back on topic, kick the Camry production out of SIA and let's see them use that assembly line for the Forester and Impreza!
Sales were up 60% last month and they cannot meet demand. Subaru could easily use up that capacity now and import fewer cars. Heck they could export cars made at SIA.
The #1 market for the Forester is the US now, so start building them here!
Outback, Legacy, and Tribeca are made at SIA in Indiana.
Originally they wanted the Tribeca to take up the entire 2nd line, which was WAY too ambitious.
Forester and Impreza sales combined could easily keep that assembly line busy full time.
Toyota could shift production elsewhere. Camry is seemingly made in 23 different places, so I'm sure they could adjust.
Making them in Japan is not sustainable. Look at the exchange rates, they can't be making money.
When I see a sunroof, I think extra hot heat, extra hassles and problems down the road (leaks, another thing to break; less reliable), no headroom, or at least a takeaway of interior spaciousness and headroom (and I'm 6'3" tall), and a waste of $$$$ big bucks.
That being said, it is hard to find a car without a sunroof in San Diego. I won't pay for it though. I managed to find an A3 without it, saved me about $1,200 when you include taxes.
Seems like about 1" of extra headroom too.
And that's even before the fire starts. :P
I've never had a sunroof leak or break, and I drive German cars that can be even more complex than yours :shades: ...I am only 6'1", but my cars are generally bigger than an A3.
I also don't buy new, so they cost me nothing really.
I also don't buy new, so they cost me nothing really.
That's pretty much been my experience. I think my wife and I have had 6 or 7 vehicles with power sun/moon roofs and have never had a problem with any of them, domestic, asian or german.
Most were bought used, so like you said, little extra cost to me. As far as head room, I'm also 6'1" and I've never have had an issue even with small cars, though loss of head room can be an issue. Its certainly not an issue with the Expedition, I probably could wear a top hat;)
If I decide to buy a pickup, I really won't care if it has one or not.
My only sunroof problem on about 5 cars with them was an Audi with a cracked (plastic!) track. The car was only a couple years old - luckily still under warranty, or I'm sure I would have had to bend over to get it fixed.
I sat in a new Accord with a sunroof and my head was touching the headliner. I am just 6 foot. Never an issue in a PU or SUV. Probably why I hate sedans.
When I spent a lot of time in Kona I rented a convertible. I rented one in Florida and spent most of the time with the top up for the rain. Give me a light colored vehicle with Climate Controlled interior.
It seems like some car models do a better job of minimizing headroom loss than others, though.
Fintail has no sunroof, I could wear a fedora in that thing and have no problems. The optional and rare sunroof on those is a simple manual sliding thing that doesn't take up much room - not that it matters, as there is plenty to waste.
Yes, it was the only domestic at the time available with a sunroof. It was a folding cloth top. The handle said "Golde", which was a German company I believe. VW's and M-B's of the era could also be had with the Golde tops. Since Studebaker was the American distributor for M-B in the '60's, that's where I'm sure Stude got the tops, and a Stude-MB dealer friend of mine suggested the same some time back.
I sold the car a year ago to a guy in Australia. Matter of fact, all three of my Studebakers went to Australia in the past eighteen months...two to the same guy. I still want another but with a kid at Miami U. in OH may have to wait.
link title
Saw the new CEO on TV last night, when questioned about this, saying that there are lacking "skill sets" or something similar preventing such work from coming to the first world - no mention of labor costs nor any details about those skills. It's almost like "Deceptive" and "Executive" are the same thing.
If these companies demand these specific skill sets, let them provide the training instead of making excuses.