I don't know exactly what the side carpeting on my car is made of, but the mat I got was a pretty good match both in texture and color. When I had my 240 D, I purchased a dash "shell" which recovered the entire dash and ac vents. It looked better than my original dash, and was made of a flexible thin plastic material. The car was a Florida car, and the dash took a beating from the intense heat. Good luck with whatever you decide...