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Originally Posted by 850tgul
Nice video, thanks for sharing.
Having owned cars with Alcantara going all the way back to my 1995 Volvo 850 T-5R, the hysteria over Alcantara’s poor durability always makes me laugh. In my experience, it is all about preventative maintenance and never letting it get too far gone. I try to clean my Alcantara touch points (steering wheel, gear knob, seats, etc.) monthly but even a bi-monthly cleaning will keep the material looking brand new forever, basically.
I have used, and liked, Sonax’s cleaner. My current go to is Dr. Beasley’s Cleaner followed by their protectant. I feel their cleaner works just as well as Sonax and their protectant keeps the material feeling factory fresh longer in between cleanings.
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I'm one of the rare guys who hates Alcantara. I've had a half Alcantara half leather steering wheel for the life of my car and never once had to clean or do anything with the leather portions of the wheel and it looks brand new, however, the Alcantara has to be cleaned at least every 6 months or so. It looks good when it's clean but only lasts a month and then it looks like garbage, especially bad next to the clean black leather. I've used Alcantara cleaning products with great results but a few areas have worn out and become "pilly" like an old sweater.
I also despise it as an end user because of the premium cost for it. It is super cheap to produce but is marketed as such a fantastic product that started in high end cars we think we're getting some kind of exclusive luxury product when we're really getting an ultra cheap, high maintenance alternative to suede. To me it's as much of a scam as forged carbon fiber. It all looks and feels fantastic but certainly shouldn't be in the premium product category. Just my opinion.
Sorry to jack the thread, Im just tired of being treated like an idiot by the marketing scams in the auto industry.