Alcantara or Leather

[~el~jefe~]

I just want the white leather interior. Yum.

 

[Maverick1]

I think leather is much easier to take care of than Alcantara.
If you spill anything on leather you can simply wipe it up, not so with Alcantara.
Plus Alcantara can get all matted down, especially the steering wheel.
Also leather does not absorb odors, not sure about Alcantara.
I'm going full black leather.

 

[digilotus]

The key benefits of alcantara are grip, reduced heat absorption and breathability. This is why alcantara is used in professional race car seats and wheels. Leather is comparatively slippery and can get quite hot when exposed to the sun which is a drawback. But given I'm not professionally racing my Emira, I prefer the smell, feel, texture and look of quality leather, especially in the different colours offered that will brighten up the cabin.

For a daily driver, I would actually prefer a quality fabric to alcantara. Fabric has similar propreties to alcantara, but doesn't have that fluffy rug look that would make me inclined to brush it one way, or that butt cheek outline on the seats, and doesn't go hard and have shiny patches after exposure to dirts and oils. Alcantara's static discharge properties also attract and hold onto dust, especially black coloured alcantara which would drive me crazy on that dashbord strip in my line of sight.

Irrespective of how widely sports car manufacturers are pushing alcantara (or similar clones like racetex), alcantara isn't very expensive or particularly suitable for high wear areas of a daily driver. Its basically the same cost as a quality fabric covering. Personally I would never pay extra for alcantara over leather. It's all profit at the end of the day!

 

[Green]

Interesting video about wear of Alcantara and real cost.

 

[SJR202]

I love alcantara, but am going for ice white leather. Mainly as the show car with all black interior felt very dark and I like light car interiors. If they did a light headlining option then maybe I'd go alcantara with the contrast stitching, but for FE, leather is second choice material, first choice colour...

 

[Leonard]

For people saying Alcantara is difficult to clean I just wiped mine down yesterday with a damp microfiber cloth and it came up like new

 

[jamesbxxx]

I love alcantara, but am going for ice white leather. Mainly as the show car with all black interior felt very dark and I like light car interiors. If they did a light headlining option then maybe I'd go alcantara with the contrast stitching, but for FE, leather is second choice material, first choice colour...

I too am worried about the dark cave effect, but overall I think black will be the preferred choice with contrasting stitching. I don't hear many complaints about exising Evoras being too dark. I bet Ice leather will require equal cleaning attention...

 

[ADC]

I realise that manufacturers have pulled a bit of a fast one with alcantara (in terms of what it is), but I have to admit it is "mission accomplished" in terms of positioning it as a premium option: it is certainly less common than leather (which you can option on nearly any family barge these days), and so feels a bit more special somehow (to me at least). Like wearing fancy-yet-easily-ruined shoes for going out on the town. The suede texture on various surfaces creates more of a "baby supercar" / racecar-lite connection in my mind I suppose.

I also like that feels nice and plush (yes, I've heard the warnings about steering wheels - I am determined to learn the hard way ), and doesn't get hot/cold to the touch... for that, I am prepared to accept that you have to stay on top of keeping it clean. Not having kids rubbing their grime everywhere should help immensely.

I'm not so worried about the whole "ooh, dark scary cave" thing... as a software engineer, I thrive in enclosed dark spaces. The light coming into the cabin seemed ok to me when I sat in it in the dealership, but if turns out to be a bit dark in Real UK Daylight (TM), I may just invest in a black cowl and practice acting really broody and tortured

 

[Tonyshepp]

I love alcantara, but am going for ice white leather. Mainly as the show car with all black interior felt very dark and I like light car interiors. If they did a light headlining option then maybe I'd go alcantara with the contrast stitching, but for FE, leather is second choice material, first choice colour...

I realise that manufacturers have pulled a bit of a fast one with alcantara (in terms of what it is), but I have to admit it is "mission accomplished" in terms of positioning it as a premium option: it is certainly less common than leather (which you can option on nearly any family barge these days), and so feels a bit more special somehow (to me at least). Like wearing fancy-yet-easily-ruined shoes for going out on the town. The suede texture on various surfaces creates more of a "baby supercar" / racecar-lite connection in my mind I suppose.

I also like that feels nice and plush (yes, I've heard the warnings about steering wheels - I am determined to learn the hard way ), and doesn't get hot/cold to the touch... for that, I am prepared to accept that you have to stay on top of keeping it clean. Not having kids rubbing their grime everywhere should help immensely.

I'm not so worried about the whole "ooh, dark scary cave" thing... as a software engineer, I thrive in enclosed dark spaces. The light coming into the cabin seemed ok to me when I sat in it in the dealership, but if turns out to be a bit dark in Real UK Daylight (TM), I may just invest in a black cowl and practice acting really broody and tortured

My cabin is going to be dark and with the full black pack will feel a bit like a Typhoons cockpit.

 

[Johnson]

I realise that manufacturers have pulled a bit of a fast one with alcantara (in terms of what it is), but I have to admit it is "mission accomplished" in terms of positioning it as a premium option: it is certainly less common than leather (which you can option on nearly any family barge these days), and so feels a bit more special somehow (to me at least). Like wearing fancy-yet-easily-ruined shoes for going out on the town. The suede texture on various surfaces creates more of a "baby supercar" / racecar-lite connection in my mind I suppose.

I also like that feels nice and plush (yes, I've heard the warnings about steering wheels - I am determined to learn the hard way ), and doesn't get hot/cold to the touch... for that, I am prepared to accept that you have to stay on top of keeping it clean. Not having kids rubbing their grime everywhere should help immensely.

I'm not so worried about the whole "ooh, dark scary cave" thing... as a software engineer, I thrive in enclosed dark spaces. The light coming into the cabin seemed ok to me when I sat in it in the dealership, but if turns out to be a bit dark in Real UK Daylight (TM), I may just invest in a black cowl and practice acting really broody and tortured

Hah, I love this @ADC -- nailed it. So much so that I'm now leaning back into the Alcantara camp...

 

[Maverick1]

Just a heads up gor those thinking light leather.....white, tan....blue jeans can stain them.
I like the look of the tan interior.
Not sure if tan seats would look good with the Seneca blue exterior.

 

[Den]

I've always considered Alcantara to be an upgrade when it comes to the way it looks and feels, but it's a personal choice

 

[freefall_junkie]

I'm not so worried about the whole "ooh, dark scary cave" thing... as a software engineer, I thrive in enclosed dark spaces. The light coming into the cabin seemed ok to me when I sat in it in the dealership, but if turns out to be a bit dark in Real UK Daylight (TM), I may just invest in a black cowl and practice acting really broody and tortured

Well, I am a recently ex-software engineer and I like it dark and menacing too. Maybe vampires secretly like writing code My daily BMW F31 has black leather, black headlining, and pimpy tints, so it is properly dark inside. For me tan/ice/cream leather is a bit too Holywood boulevard for sports car. Dark, cocooned and racy is the way to go

 

[Billyidoliser]

Just a heads up gor those thinking light leather.....white, tan....blue jeans can stain them.
I like the look of the tan interior.
Not sure if tan seats would look good with the Seneca blue exterior.

Going for red leather and Seneca blue, with bold colours comes great responsibility! Just can't resist leather....... Still shouts Premium to me.

 

[digilotus]

Going for red leather and Seneca blue, with bold colours comes great responsibility! Just can't resist leather....... Still shouts Premium to me.

I think the red leather will be super sporty! It also matches the grey/white/red digital dash design and start button cover perfectly!

 

[Tonyshepp]

Going for red leather and Seneca blue, with bold colours comes great responsibility! Just can't resist leather....... Still shouts Premium to me.

You Rebel!

 

[ADC]

Going for red leather and Seneca blue, with bold colours comes great responsibility! Just can't resist leather....... Still shouts Premium to me.

That combo sounds super!
:ducks:

 

[TXEMIRA]

I’d love to be able to:

1. At the very least see the stuff.
2. Maybe touch it?
3. Heck. Wouldn’t it be great to sit in it?

Nah. We will have to buy before we try. The heavy burden of FE!

 

[torstin]

I’d love to be able to:

1. At the very least see the stuff.
2. Maybe touch it?
3. Heck. Wouldn’t it be great to sit in it?

Nah. We will have to buy before we try. The heavy burden of FE!

Such outlandishly diva requests

 

[virtualmacho]

Hey, haven't we all gotten used to buying stuff online?