Fake leather is standard? 
i get what you're saying jaeger, but the premium brands really need to wake up and start supplying an alternative to animal skins in their products. beyond the question of animal skin's performance as a material for seating (i.e. t's too hot in the summer and needs heating in the winter) the leather industry itself has quite a dodgy track record. (i personally saw tanneries in india that were dumping toxic chemicals into the ganges) it just feels like leather is a throwback to the past when materials weren't as advanced as now.
I've had leather in my last 6 cars - can't say I have found it to be a seasonal problem ever. As for the environmental debate, I'll leave that to those interested in engaging on that point. Everything is bad for the environment. Everything causes cancer. I get it. Just not that interested in the debate.
As for "throwback" part of the hallmark of luxury is tradition. Wood and leather are part of that tradition. Try to convince a woman shopping for a premium sweater that some techy synthetic is "better" than cashmere and prepare to be laughed at.
And as for an alternative to leather, it already exists. It's called cloth - and there's nothing wrong with it. If I were buying a GTI I would get the cloth because that plaid is way cool. But FAKE leather has no place in a LUXURY sedan because those two terms can't comfortably co-exist. It's the reason Rolex doesn't offer FAKE gold on their watches. You get stainless steel or you get an actual precious metal - not some pretense of the real thing.
If Hyundai offered a base version of the Genesis with vinyl seats they'd get roasted for how they just don't understand luxury - and rightly so. Why do the Germans get a pass?
