Are alcantara seats real leather?

[TappaNuKegga]

Perhaps I don't want to know the answer to this - ignorance is bliss.

I recently found out the Alcantara suede in my recently purchased '13 is not actually real leather and is merely a synthetic vinyl-type material. Having said that, I would not trade my black Alcantara seats for any Nappa leather seats if I could for free at a snap of my fingers. Alcantara holds passengers in place better than any other interior material I've encountered, looks much sportier and awesome overall; reminds me of a Lamborghini interior, and feels great.

I've been cleaning and conditioning the leather(non-alcantra sections) with Chemical Guys leather cleaner and condition. This stuff beats the hell out of Lexol btw (remains moisturized for much longer yet is non-greasy, looks great, smells great) but is pricer.

I'm no interior expert but when conditioning the other day I noticed a big difference between the leather on the steering wheels and armrest compared to the leather non-alcantra sections of the seats.

TLDR: Are the bolsters, headrests, and setbacks on Alcantara seats real leather or high-end vinyl? Don't want to be bothering with expensive leather cleaners if it's just vinyl.


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[Pyromatic177]

They use Alcantara because it holds up a lot better than swede does. And yes it is a synthetic blend but not particularly cheap. And they have Alcantara cleaner that you can buy

[mr shickadance]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=what+is+alcantara+material+made+of

[The Fat Kid]

Perhaps I don't want to know the answer to this - ignorance is bliss.

I recently found out the Alcantara suede in my recently purchased '13 is not actually real leather and is merely a synthetic vinyl-type material. Having said that, I would not trade my black Alcantara seats for any Nappa leather seats if I could for free at a snap of my fingers. Alcantara holds passengers in place better than any other interior material I've encountered, looks much sportier and awesome overall; reminds me of a Lamborghini interior, and feels great.

I've been cleaning and conditioning the leather(non-alcantra sections) with Chemical Guys leather cleaner and condition. This stuff beats the hell out of Lexol btw (remains moisturized for much longer yet is non-greasy, looks great, smells great) but is pricer.

I'm no interior expert but when conditioning the other day I noticed a big difference between the leather on the steering wheels and armrest compared to the leather non-alcantra sections of the seats.

TLDR: Are the bolsters, headrests, and setbacks on Alcantara seats real leather or high-end vinyl? Don't want to be bothering with expensive leather cleaners if it's just vinyl.


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They use Alcantara because it holds up a lot better than swede does. And yes it is a synthetic blend but not particularly cheap. And they have Alcantara cleaner that you can buy


http://lmgtfy.com/?q=what+is+alcantara+material+made+of

He seems to be asking about the non-Alcantara portions of the seats...

OP - I assumed they were made of leather.

[mr shickadance]

fair enough, seems i have poor reading comprehension lol.

i would assume but don't know it's leather.

[Dash]

I would trade my leather for Alcantara any day.

[TappaNuKegga]

He seems to be asking about the non-Alcantara portions of the seats...

OP - I assumed they were made of leather.

I assumed they were leather as well, just a different grade of thicker leather than the steering wheel and armrest. Upon closer inspection I can see a white edge around the stitching holes on the sides of the seats which is indicative of vinyl but I'm no expert.

For $50k+ base price I should assume it's all be real leather. Any upholstery guys in here? I might stop by a local shop after work if we can't get a definitive answer.

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[TappaNuKegga]

fair enough, seems i have poor reading comprehension lol.

i would assume but don't know it's leather.
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=reading+comprehension+and+verbal+reasoning+clas ses

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[BoostEasy]

The seats are leather/alcantara, not vinyl/alcantara. It says so on the build page on the Audi website.

edit: At least on the seating surfaces that touch the body. I'm not sure about the rear of the seats that face the rear passengers but it looks to be the same as the rest of the seat. I'd speculate it's leather on the back as well.

[sacandagaD]

+1 for Panda Alcantara whatever it's made of![up]

[968Reckless]

Magma for the win!


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[mgaman]

They appear to be wearing like leather on mine, black leather grey alcantara.

[sacandagaD]

Magma for the win!


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I didn't know you could get Magma w/Alcantara, must be rare as hell.

[968Reckless]

I didn't know you could get Magma w/Alcantara, must be rare as hell.

Lol

[sacandagaD]

Lol

But I bet it would look cool in a 57 Chevy kind of way. [drool]

[mmm def]

I have been thinking about this same question recently. The bolsters and side cushions really do seem like vinyl. Not smooth at all just feels like hard plastic.

[mgaman]

My 2003 A4 was leather center but vinyl bolsters, pissed me off when the bolster cracked one winter. I had thought it was leather like the rest.

That's probably the hardest part with Audi. They will call their seat "leather" even if parts of it are not, as long as some of it is. At least BMW calls theirs Sensatech or something, I think Merc has a name for their faux leather too.

[DannyDeez]

I'm pretty sure it's leather. Wouldn't it crack like the vinyl A4 seats instead of wrinkle/crease like it does now?

[BigBluu]

My 2003 A4 was leather center but vinyl bolsters, pissed me off when the bolster cracked one winter. I had thought it was leather like the rest.

That's probably the hardest part with Audi. They will call their seat "leather" even if parts of it are not, as long as some of it is. At least BMW calls theirs Sensatech or something, I think Merc has a name for their faux leather too.

I'm pretty sure it's industry-wide standard that "leather" seats refer to actual seating surfaces only, and that non-seating surfaces (sides/back) are vinyl. Maybe higher end vehicles in the 6 figure range has full leather. You should be able to easily feel the difference between the two. Vinyl tends to "stick" a bit when you run your fingers along it.

[BigBluu]

I didn't know you could get Magma w/Alcantara, must be rare as hell.

I definitely would have gotten Alcantara had it been available in Magma. It's a shame...

[MrFunk]

When I was spec'ing my car I considered the Alcantara seats because I liked the look... when I looked at one on the lot the non Alcantara leather part of the seat didn't look like real leather to me... I asked about it and was told it was not real leather...

[bberg22]

This begs the question in my mind that if they claim it is leather and it is actually vinyl without a different name as BMW and Mercedes have, is it false advertising? I had the thought cross my mind also on my alcantara interior. It feels think and hard compared to leather on say my couch for example.

[mmm def]

This begs the question in my mind that if they claim it is leather and it is actually vinyl without a different name as BMW and Mercedes have, is it false advertising? I had the thought cross my mind also on my alcantara interior. It feels think and hard compared to leather on say my couch for example.

Nope. It doesn't count as part of the seating area

[mgaman]

I'm pretty sure it's leather. Wouldn't it crack like the vinyl A4 seats instead of wrinkle/crease like it does now?

Right? That's part of the hard part, for me at least, in figuring it out. The B6 A4 I had was clearly vinyl, but the B8 S4 side bolsters are wearing just like leather does. I'm really not sure :S

[DannyDeez]

Right? That's part of the hard part, for me at least, in figuring it out. The B6 A4 I had was clearly vinyl, but the B8 S4 side bolsters are wearing just like leather does. I'm really not sure :S

Same here. The stock seats in my B7 A4 started to crack, but my B8 S4 is wearing like leather just like you said.

[Beast]

my a5 with alcantara was def leather

[moose_head]

I sort of get that we're asking about the non-Alcantara parts but:

http://jalopnik.com/what-the-hell-is-alacantara-anyway-1604799947


A common myth about Alcantara is that it's made from the skin of the wild Alcantar — a llama/ostrich hybrid from the borderlands between Peru and Greece whose massive thigh haunches are used to make those huge cones of gyro meat.

A little bit of research proves that this isn't true, since not only is the animal fictitious, but Peru and Greece don't seem to share a border. And science doesn't yet actually know where gyro meat comes from. The actual truth is far more shocking: Alcantara is basically Ultrasuede.

[Bruno_s4]

I've been lucky enough to have Alcantara on my B5 S4, B7 S4 Avant and B8 S4.
And none of them were bought new and ordered that way myself.
Luck of the Irish. And I'm not Irish!

To answer the OP question, yes the rest is leather and needs to be cleaned and conditioned.

[Triska]

I prefer leather. It's cooler (temperature), breathes better, and easier to clean. However, the alcantara in these cars does pop.

[TappaNuKegga]

Thanks for all of the input guys. I'm new to Audi but well versed in VWs and unfortunately the Vortex. Been reading Audizine for a few weeks now, I am very impressed and happy to be part of this forum and Audi enthusiast culture.

I'm going to save time and thread space by not quoting 5 people but it seems we are still split on leather vs. vinyl. Seems the like the responses are either "of course is leather, man" or "I thought it was leather too until I asked"

Can anyone confirm the material type? I'm going to try to stop by an auto upholstery shop after work to get an unbiased opinion.

Here's hoping it's real leather...

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[Dr GP]

I have no ax to grind either for or against Alcantera. Its certainly an upgrade over the "leatherette or MB Tex" as standard in many in the BMWs and MBs . But I personally like the Nappa leather and have the Magma in my current S4. I often have 2 Springer Spaniels in my car,. I always cover my seats with towels when they are in my car. But even so, the seats sometimes do get some dirt on them. Easy to clean. And if they get scuffed, a little shoe polish will restore them to like new condition. Different stroke for different folks! Magma Alcantera centers with black leather sides would look incredible.

[Vanimal]

I remember I BADLY wanted the alcantara seats not long ago for my B5 S4. Mine came with the light dove leather seats in respectable condition.

I found a mint pair for sale with door panels for $600, jumped on them. They were the Black leather, with light colored alcantara. They looked sweet! But I ended up hating them so to speak lol.

Reason was, I hated the feeling of "sticking" to the seat. It made getting in & out of the car annoying. You could always just sorta slide in with the all leather. With the alcantara you had to like shimmy in so your pants wouldn't get all caught up. Minor grip but it annoyed me. Not to mention worrying about spilling stuff on them if they are light colored. I'm in the gym 5 days a week so I put a towel down on my seat on the way home. So the leather upkeep for me is easier.

They looked sweet but in my case alcantara was a tad annoying. I have the all black nappa or Milano whatever it is on my 2010 S5. Makes getting in the car easy because of the coupe slope & leather is holding up REALLY well 75k on the seats.

I've been looking to maybe pickup a B8 S4 soon, and a lot of them have the alcantara inserts. I kinda dig the black/black at least to keep the dirt down and hidden. I can see baseball dirt covering the alcantara when I take my kid to baseball lol.

This all starts & ends with minor OCD lol ;)


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[richib86]

audi ONLY uses leather here in the US. Alcantara is a synthetic material. the steering wheel and shifter/boot use nappa leather while the door inserts, arm rest and the remainder of the seats that are not alcantara are all "standard" leather

[bberg22]

Reason was, I hated the feeling of "sticking" to the seat. It made getting in & out of the car annoying. You could always just sorta slide in with the all leather. With the alcantara you had to like shimmy in so your pants wouldn't get all caught up. Minor grip but it annoyed me. Not to mention worrying about spilling stuff on them if they are light colored. I'm in the gym 5 days a week so I put a towel down on my seat on the way home. So the leather upkeep for me is easier.

They looked sweet but in my case alcantara was a tad annoying.

I agree but I am willing to put up with it for the looks. Its worse in gym shorts, pants are a bit more manageable IMHO.

[mavz]

I have no ax to grind either for or against Alcantera. Its certainly an upgrade over the "leatherette or MB Tex" as standard in many in the BMWs and MBs . But I personally like the Nappa leather and have the Magma in my current S4. I often have 2 Springer Spaniels in my car,. I always cover my seats with towels when they are in my car. But even so, the seats sometimes do get some dirt on them. Easy to clean. And if they get scuffed, a little shoe polish will restore them to like new condition. Different stroke for different folks! Magma Alcantera centers with black leather sides would look incredible.

totally agree.. the leatherette in my X3 is terrible imo... the only good thing is that it probably won't wrinkle/crease with time

[TappaNuKegga]

Confirmed by 2 techs at a local high-end automotive upholstery shop that has been in business for over 30 years: all non-alcantara portions(including seatbacks) of my 2013 S4's Alcantara seats are in fact real leather.

They also commented how Audi interiors tend to hold up compared to BMW and especially compared to Merc. Audi equivalent alcantara is $105 a foot at this upholstery shop which is one of their most expensive materials. Pumped the techs for 20 minutes on information about how to best take care of alcantara or leather seats in general in order for them to be in the best condition possible in 5 or even 10 years down the road. I am now a leather expert.

To the guys arguing alcantara being too grippy on clothing, isn't the primary object of any sports car's seats to securely hold you in place?

[Jroyalty7]

Confirmed by 2 techs at a local high-end automotive upholstery shop that has been in business for over 30 years: all non-alcantara portions(including seatbacks) of my 2013 S4's Alcantara seats are in fact real leather.

They also commented how Audi interiors tend to hold up compared to BMW and especially compared to Merc. Audi equivalent alcantara is $105 a foot at this upholstery shop which is one of their most expensive materials. Pumped the techs for 20 minutes on information about how to best take care of alcantara or leather seats in general in order for them to be in the best condition possible in 5 or even 10 years down the road. I am now a leather expert.

To the guys arguing alcantara being too grippy on clothing, isn't the primary object of any sports car's seats to securely hold you in place?
Any tips to share? ;)

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[Vanimal]

Confirmed by 2 techs at a local high-end automotive upholstery shop that has been in business for over 30 years: all non-alcantara portions(including seatbacks) of my 2013 S4's Alcantara seats are in fact real leather.

They also commented how Audi interiors tend to hold up compared to BMW and especially compared to Merc. Audi equivalent alcantara is $105 a foot at this upholstery shop which is one of their most expensive materials. Pumped the techs for 20 minutes on information about how to best take care of alcantara or leather seats in general in order for them to be in the best condition possible in 5 or even 10 years down the road. I am now a leather expert.

To the guys arguing alcantara being too grippy on clothing, isn't the primary object of any sports car's seats to securely hold you in place?

That's good news, I do like the alcantara look, but the sticking only bothered me because I was used to all leather. With that said, seats in sports cars like S4/S5 M3,M4/C63 also have well bolstered seats to securely hold you in place. Do M3's or the M4 even come with alcantara? Not sure if I have ever even seen them in the C63's.

The seats in the S4/S5 even all leather hold me pretty in place when cornering hard with the bolstering. I just like the little more ease getting in and out of the car is what I was referring too. I think the alcantara looks cool & premium IMO.
I always thought Alcantara was Audi's style over everyone else out there. They've been doing it since the B5 S4 in 2000.



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[TappaNuKegga]

Any tips to share? ;)

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I originally worded my questions somewhere to the tune of "What habits can I get into to make sure these seats look better than any other 2013 car’s seats 100k miles from now?"

Techs' answers, 1 being most important tip:

ALCANTARA:
Alcantara's only weakness is abrasion. 5+ years down the alcantara will begin to show wear by having some of it's 'furriness' pressed smooth. It will not crack like leather and will not tear like conventional cloth seats unless you really abuse it. Some of the flattened nap can be restored using a suede brush and some other techniques but wear is still permanent.
You can minimize or avoid this wear by:
1. Install seat covers so you don't actually wear the seats. If you understandably don't want to install the equivalent of an italian family's plastic furniture covers over an interior you enjoy so much, put down a towel or some microfibers before a long roadtrip.
2. Not driving your Audi naked, they specifically advised against skin-to-alcantara contact as causing a lot of friction and wearing smooth.
3. Put a large microfiber down or some other towel that will lock into position with the alcantara surface and won't slide around before a long roadtrip or commute. Allowing you to move freely and do your commute/roadtrip repositioning/stretches guilt free.
4. Do not use greasy leather products on alcantara or any products except alcantara cleaner. A quick wipe down with a damn cloth works well too.
5. Don't spill shit on your seats or let kids near them.

LEATHER:
Leather’s weakness is cracking. It will not tear, scuff, or rip unless something sharp gets to it. Due to it’s stiffness leather also transfers a lot of weight of the passenger to the threads holding the panels together and therefore their main point of failure is seams coming undone. Repairing a seam is much cheaper than replacing a worn out panel, but a worn panel is less catastrophic than an open seam. Leather does stretch overtime when warm and properly moisturized either by conditioners or by perspiration from a passengers. Stretching is an advantage as its better than tearing, but stretching can also lead to saggy panels.
You can minimize or avoid this wear by:
1. KEEP YOUR LEATHER MOISTURIZED. Once it’s dry it is more likely to crease. Once it’s creased in a spot, it's creased for good and it is much more likely to crack. Once it’s cracked, it’s cracked for good and will split much more easily. Leather is more durable of a material and wears in longer stages but damage done is still irreversible. You can greatly help avoid cracking by keeping your leather in stage 1 of wear(mild creasing only) if you just keep the leather moisturized. Conditioning also helps leather retain it’s elasticity to fight sagging.
2. Avoid extended periods of use without letting the leather rest. News to me, but you should avoid wearing leather shoes all day for 3 consecutive days for the same reason. If you let your shoes/leather rest and return to it's natural shape after stretching/use you will greatly improve it's life. Shoe trees do wonder too apparently but I do not believe Audi offers those for our cars.
3. Clean leather regularly to remove contaminants. Like any skin, leather absorbs substances/sweat/etc.
4. Try to protect them from the sun if possible. UV and heat dries leather out faster. Again, condition your seats.
5. Don't spill shit on your seats or let kids near them.

SEATS IN GENERAL:
DO NOT SIT ON THE BOLSTER AS YOU ARE GETTING INTO YOUR CAR. Regardless of surface material, automotive seats all consist foam sections covered in leather/cloth/alcantara, supported by a metal frame. The foam panels/bolsters have channels cut into them to affix them to the metal frame. Sitting on bolsters overtime will cause the frame to ‘cut’ the channel deeper and deeper through the foam until the metal cuts completely through the foam exposing the metal frame to the driver’s cheek only separated by seat cover. Not comfortable.

INTERIORS IN GENERAL:
Do not use Armor-All or any other petroleum based interior products on petroleum based plastic/rubber interior parts. Sure they look great for a few days but they react with each other and lead to premature fading/greying.

In their experience both alcantara seats and good leather seats can last upwards of 5 years with minimal signs of wear if you look after them. Condition your leather. Alcantara might indeed be near maintenance-free but you still have leather portions to worry about conditioning. Hope this was helpful.

[Jroyalty7]

Thank you for the thorough and detailed response!! Very helpful! [up]

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[sacandagaD]

My Panda doesn't have any of these issues, it looks great, it feels great, it is great. [drool]

[TappaNuKegga]

My Panda doesn't have any of these issues, it looks great, it feels great, it is great. [drool]
I'm a huge fan of my Panda skin. Extinction isn't supposed to feel this good.

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[sacandagaD]

I'm a huge fan of my Panda skin. Extinction isn't supposed to feel this good.

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Another satisfied member of the Panda Fan club, [up]