Premier Interior

Both the BMW X1 and Mercedes GLK come standard with synthetic seats and they start at a price a bit more, granted both those vehicles come with AND standard

The plus side to this is you don't have to worry as much about the material deteriorating as quickly as say real leather does, same goes for maintenance

Faux leather is becoming the norm on most entry level luxury cars. Even BMW and Mercedes do it in the 5 series and E class!

Yes, I think it is becoming relatively rare to find lower tier luxury vehicles with leather standard. In this segment most vehicles will not have leather standard. The Lexus NX has NuLuxe, the Porsche Macan uses Alcantara, and Sensatec is standard for the X3. I think the Q5 still has standard leather.

I think everyone figured out they can bring down the base price and charge more to people who want leather, so for the auto maker it's a win-win.

It's still a step up from the standard cloth interiors of most non-luxury vehicles.