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2019+ BMW 3 AND 4-SERIES FORUMS (G2x Generation) General G20 Sedan / G22 Coupe / G26 Gran Coupe Discussions G20 Vernasca Leather Quality?

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      02-19-2019, 08:52 AM   #1
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G20 Vernasca Leather Quality?

I have been to the Canadian Autoshow recently and was seeing the new BMW 3 series (330i and M340i).

I noticed that the upholstery that it came with (black with blue stitching) was very vinyl to the feel and thought it was leatherette. When I asked a BMW employee to inquire about weather or not it was in fact leatherette, I was advised that it was Vernasca leather, which is real leather. I was just really turned off by the leather quality.

Is it just me or is the Vernasca leather on the new 3 series significantly lower quality than the other leathers. I have a 2018 530i with Dakota leather (the regular leather), and the leather on the 530i feels very thick and high quality compared to the Vernasca leather.

Any thoughts? Thank you

Last edited by XxLHCxX; 02-19-2019 at 09:12 AM..
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      02-19-2019, 12:03 PM   #2
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Dakota leather does have a synthetic top layer that makes it maintenance free, e.g. leather conditioner does not get absorbed into Dakota.

My Dakota has 55k miles on it now, it looks like new with just 2 to 3 leather cleaning and no leather conditioner. In contrast my old E39 Montana leather required quarterly cleaning and generous conditioning, and still faded at bolster areas.

The new Vernasca leather looks similar to, and a bit softer than, Dakota.
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      02-19-2019, 01:10 PM   #3
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Vernasca and Dakota are the same leather. Vernasca has slightly finer grain which is no better or worse, just preference. Otherwise they have the same thickness, weight per square meter, tensile strength, heat melting point, tear strength, etc.
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      02-19-2019, 04:55 PM   #4
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I think there are differences between even Dakota leather on different cars. Both my F30 and F15 have Dakota leather but the leather in the F15 seems far better. I feel like the 3 series gets cheaper leather even if they are called the same thing. Then again, they do charge $1500+ for the leather option so I'd hope they use the same leather as their nicer cars.
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      02-19-2019, 05:58 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by upsidedownfunnel View Post
I think there are differences between even Dakota leather on different cars. Both my F30 and F15 have Dakota leather but the leather in the F15 seems far better. I feel like the 3 series gets cheaper leather even if they are called the same thing. Then again, they do charge $1500+ for the leather option so I'd hope they use the same leather as their nicer cars.
That's not possible. All Dakota and other leathers come from the same manufacturer made to specifications. Specs state that the hide can vary from 1mm to 1.4mm in thickness. Perhaps your 2 cars happened to get 1 and 1.4mm by sheer luck
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      02-19-2019, 06:01 PM   #6
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I find that Vernasca feels much better than Dakota.
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      02-21-2019, 08:18 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bavarianride View Post
Dakota leather does have a synthetic top layer that makes it maintenance free, e.g. leather conditioner does not get absorbed into Dakota.

My Dakota has 55k miles on it now, it looks like new with just 2 to 3 leather cleaning and no leather conditioner. In contrast my old E39 Montana leather required quarterly cleaning and generous conditioning, and still faded at bolster areas.

The new Vernasca leather looks similar to, and a bit softer than, Dakota.
I have 169,000 miles on my 2011 with Dakota and it still looks like new with very low maintainance on it since purchasing new.
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      02-21-2019, 08:59 PM   #8
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Saw the G20 at the auto show as well - I also asked it if was vynil/leathette. The vernasca has a hard feel and the finer grain makes the texture seem rough to me.

I liked the new interior much better than my F30 otherwise, a big improvement.
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      02-22-2019, 07:16 PM   #9
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Bmw leather is shit except for merino and nappa.
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      02-22-2019, 08:34 PM   #10
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I was at the auto show yesterday and the Vernasca felt very similar to Dakota leather.The grain also looks the same as Dakota leather.I wasn’t very impressed with the seats.They weren’t very comfortable.Isn’t there also another sport seat design available?


The design of the car looks good.
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      02-23-2019, 12:38 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nantucket View Post
I was at the auto show yesterday and the Vernasca felt very similar to Dakota leather.The grain also looks the same as Dakota leather.I wasn’t very impressed with the seats.They weren’t very comfortable.Isn’t there also another sport seat design available?


The design of the car looks good.
Does that m340i have the m performance front lip and side skirts on it. Hard to tell the pics are a little blurry?
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      02-23-2019, 12:56 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dutt1113 View Post
Does that m340i have the m performance front lip and side skirts on it. Hard to tell the pics are a little blurry?
Sorry,when i resized the pictures they came out looking crappy.Yes it does have the front lip,side skirts and diffuser on the lower part of the rear bumper.
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      02-23-2019, 01:06 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nantucket View Post
Sorry,when i resized the pictures they came out looking crappy.Yes it does have the front lip,side skirts and diffuser on the lower part of the rear bumper.
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      02-23-2019, 03:05 PM   #14
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I had a loaner the other day a new X3 with Vernasca leather and compared to Dakota I thought the quality had gone up (and not before time but still not good enough) Dakota is truly dreadful stuff and has no place in a BMW, in fact I still marvel at their chutzpah for putting it in so many cars AND getting away with it.
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      02-23-2019, 06:22 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wills2 View Post
I had a loaner the other day a new X3 with Vernasca leather and compared to Dakota I thought the quality had gone up (and not before time but still not good enough) Dakota is truly dreadful stuff and has no place in a BMW, in fact I still marvel at their chutzpah for putting it in so many cars AND getting away with it.
I think you guys are being too harsh. It's designed to look and perform like New for many years. Especially with the driver's seat and its bolsters. I've had all kinds of leathers including Lexus aniline leather and while it looked and felt fantastic like an expensive Italian leather jacket it wore terribly and looked like crap in 3-4 years
Germans are all about practicality
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      02-24-2019, 03:40 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MT4life View Post
I think you guys are being too harsh. It's designed to look and perform like New for many years. Especially with the driver's seat and its bolsters. I've had all kinds of leathers including Lexus aniline leather and while it looked and felt fantastic like an expensive Italian leather jacket it wore terribly and looked like crap in 3-4 years
Germans are all about practicality
I can't agree, no one is taking about aniline leather that's generally a bad idea in cars the nappa leather in my M3s was a perfect compromise and was hard wearing whilst also being nice to sit on and easy on the eye and is a sealed leather.

Datoka looks feels and looks cheap (because it is) from the first day you pick the car up to the last day, plenty of leathers that are practical but don't look like a dogs dinner.
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      02-24-2019, 07:19 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wills2 View Post
I can't agree, no one is taking about aniline leather that's generally a bad idea in cars the nappa leather in my M3s was a perfect compromise and was hard wearing whilst also being nice to sit on and easy on the eye and is a sealed leather.

Datoka looks feels and looks cheap (because it is) from the first day you pick the car up to the last day, plenty of leathers that are practical but don't look like a dogs dinner.
Nappa is the only full grain so yes it's nicer for sure. You might also prefer smooth leather over grained. I prefer grained since it wears better.

None of BMW leathers are much more expensive than the others per square meter bought form the supplier. Hence I would not pay any more for going from Dakota to whatever unless it's 200-300$ upgrade
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      02-24-2019, 08:07 AM   #18
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Hey, what color is that M340?
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      02-24-2019, 08:14 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DocB View Post
Hey, what color is that M340?
C3Z Tanzanite Blue II metallic

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      02-24-2019, 01:59 PM   #20
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While I agree that Merino leather is definitely nicer in the showroom, I've seen demo cars and loaner cars with less than 5K miles and the leather looks like its years old. On the other hand, the oyster SensaTec in my X1 is pretty similar in look and feel to the Cognac Dakota in my 430, so I don't really see the justification in the 1450 for the Dakota unless its for color purpose, like the cognac option. In my opinion, Vernasca is a nice middle ground between the wearability of Dakota and the feel of Merino.
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      02-25-2019, 08:19 AM   #21
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I had Dakota on my previous 3 series and I have Nappa now on my 5 series. It is a matter of taste but I really didn't like the Dakota. I prefer a smaller car and would consider a M340i for my next car (or its equivalent) but not if I couldn't get upgraded leather. Let me order it with individual merino leather and I could be very tempted.

Unfortunately, most auto makers think that size and quality go together. In my mind, they are actually in inverse quality to each other.

Give me an M240i with the options I desire and I would be even happier. And, yes, I understand that there is a cost associated with it. I would be willing to pay that cost.
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      02-25-2019, 11:49 AM   #22
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I hate that soft leather that doesn't age well. Nappa especially. Nappa is only good on steering wheel, not on seats. Dakota is perfectly fine, even the latest leatherette is quite good.

Mercedes Artico leatherette and suede works well too.
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