Durability of Alcantara Seats

[PDXFlyGuy]

I’m looking to upgrade my B8.5 S5 coupe to a pre-owned B9 Sportback. Some of the ones I’ve seen have the alcantara seats. It looks great but having never owned a car with that type of seat I’m curious well they hold up over time and what the maintenance is to keep them looking nice. Can someone who’s had a car with those seats for a few years weigh in and ease my concerns?

[2by2handsofblue]

How much is a pre owned b9 seats?

we are the borg! resistance is futile.

[A6sport]

I’m looking to upgrade my B8.5 S5 coupe to a pre-owned B9 Sportback. Some of the ones I’ve seen have the alcantara seats. It looks great but having never owned a car with that type of seat I’m curious well they hold up over time and what the maintenance is to keep them looking nice. Can someone who’s had a car with those seats for a few years weigh in and ease my concerns?

In my opinion, they don't wear as well as leather. As they age, they sag and look worn in a way you can't bring them back to life like leather. I do think the perforated Alcantara seems to hold up better, this is purely anecdotal...

[2by2handsofblue]

Alcantara was made for race cars right? Cause they dont slip around etc.
From what I read, etc, they dont last as long as leather.
Alcantara became popular because of youtubers talking about it like it's the next greatest product in the world.
In reality it's a synthetic material that's suppose to mimic leather suede. And it's cheap.
So it's not a luxury item. But people think it is and therefore more car manufacturers are using it. It saves them money by not doing less leather.

we are the borg! resistance is futile.

[markffrj]

My 2014 A5 have Alocantara seats, so far they look as new, my concern is that i use to go out of yhe gym all sweat, and as fabric, probably Lacantara will accumulate sweat. A friend of mine installed an alcantara finish in the steering wheel of his Porsche Cayman, i8n less than 2 years uit´s all wear out..

[2by2handsofblue]

My 2014 A5 have Alocantara seats, so far they look as new, my concern is that i use to go out of yhe gym all sweat, and as fabric, probably Lacantara will accumulate sweat. A friend of mine installed an alcantara finish in the steering wheel of his Porsche Cayman, i8n less than 2 years uit´s all wear out..

After gym workout. Definitely bring some towels to cover the seat.
The stank that it will accumulate

we are the borg! resistance is futile.

[markffrj]

How i wrote badly in my cellphone, ouch!

[PDXFlyGuy]

Thanks guys. As nice as they look and feel I think I will avoid cars that have these seats. Don’t want to deal with the wear and tear.

[red4life5]

The wear of alcantara in the B7s was a real thing. I’ve seen Audi leather wear a lot worse in the newer cars than the alcantara. The alcantara in my B8 A4 has 130K miles on it and it’s great. I am also hard on my cars. I’d pick the red leather on a B9 because of the look but if it’s not your look the suede is where you should be


2010 A4 S-Line Prestige

[PDXFlyGuy]

The wear of alcantara in the B7s was a real thing. I’ve seen Audi leather wear a lot worse in the newer cars than the alcantara. The alcantara in my B8 A4 has 130K miles on it and it’s great. I am also hard on my cars. I’d pick the red leather on a B9 because of the look but if it’s not your look the suede is where you should be


2010 A4 S-Line Prestige

Thanks Red. I think the red looks amazing but I’m afraid I’d get tired of it after awhile. I’m also concerned with it showing marks from black belts and blue jeans after time. I love the look of the alcantara but was concerned if it was something I should avoid due to maintenance andlong term wear. I’m about to sell my B8.5 S5 and make the jump to a preowned B9 S5 Sportback. I think what it’s going to come down to is mileage and options but will definitely go for the alcantara if I can find one. Thanks again for the help.

[auditink]

This was a big concern of mine as well when purchasing the S5 with alcantara seats, because I have seen many steering wheels look like old beat up washrags after a couple of years, so I did not want that in the seats, but to my surprise after owning the car for 5 years and almost 100k daily driven miles the alcantara still looks like new. They are still very soft and not matted down at all. I think the maintenance on them have been very easy to care for. When I wash the car I vacuum the seats down and that’s it. Every once in awhile after vacuuming I’ll take a damp cloth to wipe them down but that’s really it. This experience for me has totally changed my mind on Alcantara seats for future purchases, and I’ll 100% get them again.

[PDXFlyGuy]

This was a big concern of mine as well when purchasing the S5 with alcantara seats, because I have seen many steering wheels look like old beat up washrags after a couple of years, so I did not want that in the seats, but to my surprise after owning the car for 5 years and almost 100k daily driven miles the alcantara still looks like new. They are still very soft and not matted down at all. I think the maintenance on them have been very easy to care for. When I wash the car I vacuum the seats down and that’s it. Every once in awhile after vacuuming I’ll take a damp cloth to wipe them down but that’s really it. This experience for me has totally changed my mind on Alcantara seats for future purchases, and I’ll 100% get them again.

Thanks for the info! I’m sold!