Some vehicles come with Alcantara (or Suede) wrapped steering wheels and/or seats. 2 questions:
1.) For a daily driver and overtime, how well do these materials hold up compared to leather?
2.) How do you maintain Alcantara/Suede in order to make them last longer?
Thank you.
Also adding @Mod_Man to the discussion
Always happy to help you my friend! 🙂
100%, without a doubt, choose leather. It is naturally antimicrobial/antifungal. Animal hide naturally tolerates oils, salt and dead skin from hands.
Alcantara is far, far inferior and starts to look gross very quickly.
I think that they are put in is because they hold sweat better. If you are sweating for whatever reason, the alcantara will absorb sweat better than leather because it won't make it slippery if it's on the steering wheel. As far as cleaning goes- you take just clean water on a cloth and wipe it down. You could use a clean brush as well if there is some dust.
Alcantara is commonly used along the middle of the seats in high end cars. My 2003 - 2004 Cobras have Alcantara mid sections with leather surrounds.
The purpose is twofold: comfort and sweat absorption. Alcantara is a very nice feel to the skin, no arguing that. That's why Ford introduced an Alcantara steering wheel on the GT350's. When it comes to seats, it does perform better in hot climates than leather, like here in Houston. The idea is to eliminate having a sweaty back after riding in a hot car. It is a more breathable material than leather. It also doesn't crack or require the amount of upkeep leather does.
You can't (you shouldn't at least) use leather cleaner on it. The best method to clean is simply warm water on a soft cloth. Obviously, stains are a pain to deal with and can take considerable time to get out without damaging the fabric.
As far as durability, you wouldn't think so I know but I've seen Cobra seats/SVT Lightning F150 seats with 150k miles on them where the leather is shot but the Alcantara is still good. When it gets really worn, you'll start to notice it kinda folds up...looks like lint for lack of a better description. That's when you know it's starting to really age. But as long as you don't pierce it with anything, it can last a surprisingly long time.
Some people like it, some don't and that's just preference. But IMO I think it is a very good material for accenting a seat. Obviously, because it is more breathable, it is thinner than leather. So you wouldn't want to utilize it on a section of the seat where you have a ton of daily wear, like the side bolsters. But for center seat accents it is nice and I personally like it.
That explains it very well. I was always curious. Thank you - now I know.
You're very welcome! Glad I could help.