I am building a Boxster GTS and am concerned with the alcantara in a convertible and how it would wear....has anyone had any experience here? I have always enjoyed the ventilated seats in my convertibles as well and am worried I would miss that option. I love the looks and feel of the alcantara and consider it one of the nicer features of the GTS.

 

I'm also curious in general about this. How is the wear on the steering wheel compared to leather. Most people have a tendency to hold the wheel at the same spots all the time. Will there be visible wear compared to leather, which holds up pretty well.

 

I have used an alcantara wheel. Not in a Porsche but in Lancia Intergrale evo2. They suck every bit of grease out your hands and last no time looks wise, but still feel nice to the hand. If you wore gloves that would keep it clean for longer. It's sweat and grease that ruin them...

 

I can only imagine how that looks on surfaces that your body touches. The amount of oil from your fingers would make it disgusting in no time. Just look at how filthy a steering wheel gets.

 

I have seen a year old Alcantara wheel on a 911 and it looked absolutely awful. If you get one, plan to use gloves...forever.

 

Makes me think if I ever got a 991 GTS I'd have to check off the leather steering wheel option. That's too bad because I think the leather wheel on the 991 is too soft and scratches easily.

 

For short term ownership or non-daily driver I think it will be fine...from my previous experience

 

While it's very attractive, it's a PITA to keep clean. Very few cleaning agents work well with it. Surfaces that come into contact with oils get ratty and even a top notch cleaning regimen will have a hard time restoring them. If you go that route, consider the steering wheel a wear item if you'll keep the car a long time.

 

I had Alcantara seats in my Cayenne GTS, they looked fantastic and felt great only for a few months, I cant imagine how this synthetic material (aka fabric) will hold up on a steering wheel. Leather is the way to go IMO.

 

My steering wheel is alcantara and it looks brand new. I can imagine if you over grip, have dirty hands or are generally rough it will not wear as well as leather but it works for me. I also assume if it wears out prematurely it will be covered under warranty.

 

I have had Alcantara on my prior Porsche and was very mindful and careful to take care of it and keep it clean. It's unavoidable to have the wear, leather will definitely wear better and last longer. Do not assume wear to be a warranty issue.. Warranties cover defective workmanship, not wear and tear.

 

I don't like it at all. I have seen it on cars about a year old and it looks dirty and worn. Hate to say it, but it looks like something you would buy at Walmart. When I ordered my 2012 GTS, I specified full leather interior to avoid the alcantara. It has a nice feel to it, but that's about all I can say about it.

 

I would be OK with it on seating surfaces for a car that isn't a DD, but not on hand contact surfaces like the steering wheel and shift ****. It will get matted and ugly looking quickly in those locations with the oils from your hands.

My wife's Z4 had alcantara seat centers and they were fine for the life of the car (admittedly, it had only about 15k miles on it when we got rid of it).

My parents have an '09 Cayenne GTS with nearly 40k miles on it. The seats are showing some wear, but aren't bad. They also aren't quite as fanatical about care of it as I would be.

 

Yeah I imagine for most who uses theirs as a DD, it's unlikely anyone is always going to have clean hands. And even if so, the natural oils in your hands will end up on there if you drive the often.. it isn't an issue of over gripping it is just reality. Not a big deal with leather as it wipes off easily. I'm sure you can clean Alcantara and it will probably be ok for moderate use...

But you would be kidding yourself if you think Porsche would consider any wearing that occurs covered under warranty any more than they would carpet or leather damage.

 

You may be right but I have seen where BMW has covered premature wear on bolsters. I actually would be fine with the wear as long as it is easy to replace.