Thoughts on Lincoln's soft touch seating?

AshleyDrew

I'm thinking about buying a Corsair, probably the Standard trim, which comes with Lincoln's soft touch seating surface.

For those of you who have the soft touch seating in your vehicle, any thoughts? How does it compare to leather?

Thanks.

kyfdx

"Soft Touch"? Is it vinyl/pleather?

AshleyDrew

Yes -- some sort of fake leather.

kyfdx

AshleyDrew said:

Yes -- some sort of fake leather.

I don't have any experience with Lincoln.

Mercedes calls their vinyl MB-Tex
BMW calls it SensaTec.

They are all fine. And, your friend might not notice. But, you might. It just depends on what's important to you. Maybe, since they've named it Soft Touch, it might be nicer? Most of my experience is with German makes, and the leather and vinyl are pretty stiff, either way. I don't think I've been in a Lincoln, since I had to take my mom's car away in 2007.

Sorry, I don't have any more info.

AshleyDrew

Thanks!

horsepower4

Car manufacturers are getting stingier and stingier with standard leather seating, even in what we would normally consider higher dollar brands. They put various catchy labels on their non-leather seating, but bottom line, it is some form of vinyl. Personally I don't want to pay $53,000+ for a car and get vinyl seats. As a retired leather/vinyl repair technician for over 20 years, I can tell you the vinyl will not hold up as well as leather. Eventually it will lose its plasticity (as all vinyl does over time), and unlike leather, you cannot condition it back in. Conditioner feeds leather and will soften it and help keep it from getting brittle and splitting. Conditioner does nothing for vinyl. So, using vinyl, regardless of whatever creative name they tack onto it, is one way auto manufacturers have cheapened their vehicles and cut cost. Unless you pay extra or buy their premium trim level, chances are you will not get leather seating. They are hoping the creative label, i.e. Soft Touch seating on a $53,000 Lincoln, will sound nice enough to distract you from the fact it is nothing more than vinyl and will fall short of the longer-term durability of leather. Personally, I will not buy a vehicle with vinyl seating.

RedHoncho

The "soft touch seating" in Lincoln is the ActiveX(R) seating on Ford vehicles. My 2019 Escape SEL has the ActiveX seating. It is soft and easy to clean but I have concerns about the durability. The seams on the driver's seat at the outer edges of the bolster started tearing loose after about 1.5 years. Ford required the dealer to attempt to repair it. The repair looked horrible. They ended up replacing the seat. So far, the new seat is holding up.

RG_Floridaheat2025

I have leased two Lincoln MKC's with soft touch "leather" I used both of them for my business here in the FL heat. I never had a problem with the seat condition in six years I had both cars. While at home I kept them in the garage at the office both were out in the heat. The MKC is on the same platform as the escape but much more comfortable. I didn't get the higher trim level but the seats seamed very durable and supple. The product may exceed leather depending on the grade used. Leather is a very wide variety of quality, and requires more care. Synthetic doesn't mean poor quality.