Many here seem to be closing in on E/C interiors- imcarnuts, jasonrhcastle, ronl to name only a few. Perhaps it is because of the stunning shots w00t has provided or the dealer shot that is now my avatar compliments of gammaman.

Other forums have kind of, sort of, addressed differences in natuaral, special, full, and standard- yet seemingly not that well.

Can we hear from some regarding things such as what portions of the cabin are covered in full vs standard? Does anything additional get added in the natural leather pacs? Is special leather just standard with a different color?

Is there really a meaningful difference in how the natural leather smells and feels? I have always been a fan of smooth leather but sense this is reserved for special placement as in extended grab handles if so ordered, or is this type of leather found throughout the cabin?

 

I wanted to get a look at espresso/cognac in person after reading about it here and finally found one I was able to sit in at the largest dealer in the area. What I found was I liked the cognac (I knew I would because I had been in a new Panamera with cognac at another dealership's showroom once before and loved it), but I did not like the espresso. What did not help was that the entire cargo area was carpeted in espresso. If natural leather in all cognac were available, I would get it, but for some reason Porsche has decided to not offer natural leather without the interior being mostly or all espresso.

 

Yes for the first question. Porsche reserves the name "Natural leather" exclusively for it's top 10 % of the hide and are full aniline dyed in a vat process with no color coating added to the surface. Full aniline dyed leathers are prized for their soft, natural feel. They are the one of the most expensive leathers to produce because of the difficulty in finding the superior quality of hides required to produce the full aniline leather. Full aniline dyed leathers may also be more susceptible to absorbing liquids because of the natural porosity of the hide. But because they don't have a top coat, the leather breathes more easily and is cooler to sit on. Hope this helps. Yes it is w00t and u got it right this time.

 

Thanks for the info, w00t. I must say it's almost worth it for the smell alone! What are you using for cleaner/conditioner?

 

Dunno... I sat in an espresso full natural leather and then the black - ironically found the black richer looking. In Canada its a $2000.00 option and frankly I just couldn't say its "2 grand nicer"... maybe over time it smells and wears better but my Targa still smells great after 5 months and my wife will be happy she got full leather interior on the incoming Cayenne. Just my 2 cents on it.

Unrelated - I also think Porsche needs to take a lesson out of the BMW interiors and give you the option to have contrasting boot areas so you can get a light colour up top but have black in the boot section - would be so much better in our nasty seasons.

 

In the pics I have seen the black seems to have a lighter contrast stitching but I could not see this in the all espreso leather. Or are there no differences?

 

The "problem" is that not only do I love to keep my things clean, detailing cars is my hobby. So this is my routine:

1. Leatherique Pristine Clean and Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil as a preventative maintenance (remember even new cars' leather needs this) twice a year. I like to hand massage the product and work it into all those grooves/stitching. I do this on a nice hot day where the pores of the leather really open up to absorb the product.

2. My regular leather cleaner is the SONAX Leather Foam. I use it once a month with great results. What I like about this product is the fact that it is a foam based formula which is perfect for perforated seats. I let the foaming sits on the surface and then you can actually watch it being absorbed more in areas of high contact. I then concentrate more on those areas with a repeat spray. It also keeps the original Porsche leather smell intact. Some of the leather cleaners out there in the market mask that Porsche leather smell so you have to be careful.

I understand that many may go for the natural leather due to the choice of color combo in the case of the cayenne but the real premium price is for the quality of leather and the patina of age that will show off after several years of use. Sadly most of the time the car would have changed hands by then and the thrid or fourth owner benefits from it the most. I have natural leather on my C4S too and here are some shots of how a natural grey leather looks. Frankly all that Porsche crest is overkill if you ask me but the car was not a custom order and had every performance option I wanted.

 

nice stitch

 

Thanks, w00t. How did I guess you'd have the answer

 

........ Gamma, so do I get some rep points Enjoy your beauty Gamma. We the early adopters are a solid group here and hopefully our Cayennes don't disappoint us forever.

 

Wow.. great info.

 

I use the learherique pristine weekly, BUT I have cream!!!! It's necessary with jeans!!! But wouldn't change a thing. Looks brand new. Use Townsend sometimes and sonax

 

The Leatherique arrived yesterday, thanks w00t, it's great stuff! My cognac was already looking dirty on the driver's seat, looks brand new again. I forgot to order the Sonax, w00t, do you use it more often than the Leatherique?

 

Gamma, rejuvenator oil is not a true oil but a protein based collagen emulsion which should be applied generously to the leather every 6 months. I pick a nice hot day and let the car sit out for a couple of hours before treatment as warmth let's the pores open up making penetration of the product easier. You should then apply 4 ounce of product to each seat using a foam brush (u can never apply too much as only what absorbs absorbs, the rest stays on the surface and can be wiped of) and let it sit for a couple of hours. Then prestine cleaner is used for the final wipe down and cleaning. Contrary to popular belief:
1. Even new car's leather needs to be conditioned (remember the hide sitting in the factory may still be old and devoid of the moisturization and rich blood circulation that used to be there when the cow was alive) and 2. with leatherique it is conditioning first then cleaning. So rejuvenator oil first then followed by the prestine clean. Gamma, the Sonax or Prestine cleaner can be used everyday or every week for routine cleaning. So if you like Prestine, just stick with it. I love to try out different products and detailing is my hobby. Hence the excuse to load up my garage cabinet with more than one product for a particular task Glad that I could help out my friend. Hopefully other find this useful too.

 

w00t, any houses for sale in your neighborhood. I always wanted a neighbor that had car detailing as their hobby!