Leather/Alcantara vs Nappa Leather
 

Anyone have experience with the Leather/Alcantara vs the Nappa Leather seats. The car I just purchased has the Leather/Alcantara wanted to here any thoughts on this or any experience with these seats vs Nappa.

Thanks

I went with Alcantara mostly as a remedy to summer heat as I did not want to give up the massage feature to get ventilated seats. I've only had my car for 6 months and have not experienced lots of hot days (until today which hit 104) but so far I like them a lot.

There's a decent thread here: https://www.audiworld.com/forums/aud...nappa-2922519/

I bought an SQ5 Premium last month with the leather/alcantaraseat and like them a lot. They do stay much cooler than leather here in the Central Florida heat.

Thanks for the link. Much appreciated.

I've had Alcantara in several different Audis and definitely prefer it to the Nappa Leather, but it's a personal preference and you probably won't find it on many cars in the US. I find the Alcantara cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter and in my experience, it also wears incredibly well. On my last RS5 the Alcantara looked pretty much like new after 6 years of daily use.

Did you do anything for upkeep? I remember the B5 S4's tended to get ratty with the alcantara pilling.

I had the Alcantara in my S5 and it was nice that it never got hot or cold and it holds you in place better than just leather. I now have the nappa in my SQ5 (I wanted red interior this time) and it's obviously easier to clean, otherwise, I'm indifferent to it. All of my glass is tinted, so it doesn't get hot,

I have Alcantara now, had Nappa in my previous Audi's going back at least 15 years.

Nappa is bulletproof and looks great. Easy to clean, easy to maintain, still looks good after 5 years and 100k miles of seat time. But in the summer it soaks up heat traps in perspiration. In the winter it's as cold as a block of ice. The Alcantara looks ok - many people think it's just cloth - it's not terribly hard to clean but takes more finesse than the leather. Can't judge how it hold up to years of wear since I'm only on 2 years with them tight now, but so far no signs of age. Where Alcantara really shines is it's ability to not heat up in the summer of freeze in the winter, and the way it breathes. No more sweaty shirt backs after a long drive on a hot and humid day.

One additional point that many people fail to mention - and it's a pro and con for each depending on the situation. Nappa is slippery, Alcantara is not. That slipperiness makes getting in and out easier and also makes it easier to shift your weight around in the seat without your pants bunching up. But the Alcantara does a much better job of keeping you firmly planted in the seat during high g corners, one of the reasons you see it in performance cars.

Absolutely nothing, apart from occasional vacuuming...

I did nothing special to it on my B5 S4. Alcantara still looked new fifteen years later. I’m sold on it for the same reasons other posters here have noted. I specified it on my S5 order.