Ask Parksplug: What is Mercedes-Benz’s “MB Tex” Upholstery Material Made Of?

We received the following email from Parksplug reader Louie L. Penrucker:

Dear Parksplug, I just bought my wife a Mercedes CLA 250 and the seats are covered in something called MB Tex. Is that leather or what? Dog hair sticks to it. Thanks a lot.

Hey Louie, don’t blame us for your hairy upholstery. That’s why we have pet turtles. They don’t shed, but one of the little bastards did eat the choke knob off our weed whacker last week.

Parksplug photographer Puffy Whitcomb snapped this photo of a pissed-off Gardyloo just before being trampled by the animal

Most Mercedes-Benz models come standard with MB Tex rather than leather. Many people incorrectly believe it’s a synthetic vinyl-like material, but in reality, MB Tex comes from the skin of an animal called a Gardyloo (photo).

Mercedes raises its own Gardyloos on a ranch just outside the scenic village of Urinflasche ob Eck in southnortheastern Germany.

While MB Tex wears well, is inexpensive and looks like leather, the downside is it smells like a Gardyloo. And dog hair sticks to it.