M5 interior disappointment

[MarcF10]

Hello y'all.
Wanted to share my frustration for a long time. Guess now I can
I love my M5 - but the interior is ridiculously simple.
The merino black leather seats are sturdy and tear resistant but they look awful without even a contrasting stiching.
I really do not understand. They built a very good car with quality components. How could they miss the interior design. You can find stiched and patterned leather in Huyndais. You can find nice ergonomic designs on KIAs. You can get big touch screens on literally every car today.
But not on our M5s. OK i do understand they were designed back in the day. Almost 10 years ago. I get that.
The thing is the car looks cheap and basic. The next generation the F90 has improved everything inside the car - everything the F10 was missing - however the F90 is much worse in appearance and I find it angular and overbearing.
I have identified the weak spots of my M5 interior. Tried to upgrade as much as I could. Added NBT EVO6, upgraded speakers + amp, ambient lights, some carbon trimming. I cannot find solutions for my black merino seats. The upholstery business is so expensive. Ridiculous prices in the area of £6-£8k for a complete revamp. Not worth it, after all the expense..
I wouldn't change the M5 for a newer generation F90. I simply do not like it. And the price difference is ridiculous for a literally identical car (yes i know they have xdrive and different gearbox, but really - who cares?).
It is just disappointing to consider how mismatched is the raw power of the biturbo V8 vs the unassuming interior and overall bling of the car.
That's it folks. I said my piece. Thanks for your attention.

[m5bbq]

I have silverstone merino interior. I think it looks great. I have Ferrari F12 as well and you can't park that leather in the sun because it'll shrink. It does look great. I personally prefer my M5 leather over that of F12. As for the car interior looking like arabian nightclub, that seems to be the popular theme these days. It'll fade. I bet no-frill e60 m5 interior will age better than that of f90.

Why not contrast stitching? Because if your leather needs a re-dye, it's done. I just ordered 992 Turbo S a month ago. I ordered it specifically without deviated stitching. If you got black leather, it's not a big deal but if you got anything other than black, and plan on keeping it for more than a few years, solid color is the way to go!

As for the stock seats looking like race-bucket seat, I agree they look better when you sell the car but I don't see them when I'm driving. I find it pointless. Besides I got the American fat butt, so those bolsters get really annoying after a couple hours!

[KurtsM5]

I love my Sakhir orange and black Merino leather. What sucks is the melting door handles.

[fstm5]

Just curious, what type of ambient lighting did you do ?

[santamonica00]

Originally Posted by KurtsM5

I love my Sakhir orange and black Merino leather. What sucks is the melting door handles.

Yes, this. My black door pulls have so many nicks in them from just grabbing them on warm days. Looks ratty and I've only got 60k miles on my '16. Need to have it replaced. Leather on driver side center console has also worn away. Unlike anything on my other cars (RR & Audi) and this one cost more. Lol

[vafan13]

*shrugs* I like the interior, at least with the full leather. For some reason having the leather dash makes it seem twice as nice. With the seats I think that's a matter of taste. I'm not sure I'd want the seats to be stitched or patterned.

The one thing I really don't like about the interior is the particular way they did the lighting/graphics for the HVAC. It looks old. Like 90s/early 2K old. I think it's a combination of the particular shade of orange and the blockiness. My wife initially pointed it out and now I can't unsee it.

[MarcF10]

Originally Posted by fstm5

Just curious, what type of ambient lighting did you do ?

I believe it was a cheap kit from Ali Express they sold and installed for the price of gold. It looks OK. Oh they had to code it in to work with the headunit

[fstm5]

Originally Posted by MarcF10

I believe it was a cheap kit from Ali Express they sold and installed for the price of gold. It looks OK. Oh they had to code it in to work with the headunit

How much did it cost you and do you have any pictures?

[M5Rick]

Trouble with visible stitching is it can get discolored and could be a problem when putting leather preserver oil on.

[MarcF10]

Originally Posted by fstm5

How much did it cost you and do you have any pictures?

Hi there, this is a video of my car the day of the installation. The cost was approximately £600.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/Cdfzvnp..._web_copy_link

[MarcF10]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

Trouble with visible stitching is it can get discolored and could be a problem when putting leather preserver oil on.

How often do you have to oil your leather seats? I never do.

Aesthetics are really important to me, the F10 generation was seriously lacking in my opinion.

How difficult is it to adding the M badge on the black leather? See the E30 photo. Simple but so awesome. Yet we get a plain black hive on our F10's...

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by MarcF10

How often do you have to oil your leather seats? I never do.

Aesthetics are really important to me, the F10 generation was seriously lacking in my opinion.

How difficult is it to adding the M badge on the black leather? See the E30 photo. Simple but so awesome. Yet we get a plain black hive on our F10's...

I use Leatherique once every summer on the seat facings and bolsters letting the heat of the sun make the preserver work then wiping off.
I've put a seat cover over just the drivers seat now when if I'm in dirty clothes using my M as a van sometimes haha folding the back seats down and loading up after putting the protective cover on of course.