Alcantara or leather: when each one makes sense

What each one is

Leather is the familiar one: a natural material made of interwoven bundles of collagen fibres, tanned so it doesn’t rot. Every hide is different, and it changes with use. For car interiors it is tanned with the heat and cold of the cabin in mind, as Leather Naturally, the leather industry’s own initiative, explains.

Alcantara is something else. It is the trade name of a material made by Alcantara S.p.A. at Nera Montoro in Umbria which, according to the company, is 68% polyester and 32% polyurethane. It isn’t woven — no warp, no weft, just interlaced synthetic microfibres. It feels like suede, but its maker puts it in a category of its own.

Where each works best

Alcantara goes where a hand or a body needs to grip. Its maker presents it to the car industry for grip, breathability and low weight, and says it is thermoregulating — warm in winter, cool in summer. That is the maker’s claim, not a test, but car makers use it in exactly those places: McLaren trimmed the 675LT’s steering wheel in Alcantara for grip, and Ferrari fits the 812 Competizione with a leather wheel whose grip areas are Alcantara.

Leather goes where there is rubbing and things need wiping. Leather Naturally points to its resistance to tearing, puncturing and abrasion, which is why it rules the seat bolsters you slide over getting in and out. And in many interiors the answer is both: leather bolsters with Alcantara centres, or a leather wheel with Alcantara grips.

What looks like Alcantara and isn’t

Plenty of makers use microfibres of their own with a similar feel, under a different name on the spec sheet. Porsche uses Race-Tex, its own microfibre made partly from recycled polyester — on the 911 GT3’s GT Sport wheel, for instance. Mercedes-AMG uses Dinamica or Microcut, depending on the model. Not being Alcantara makes them neither better nor worse: they are different materials, and when an interior is retrimmed it is worth knowing which one you are ordering so the result matches the original.

Looking after each

Alcantara’s guide asks for regular dusting with a soft brush, a dry cloth or a vacuum. For a deeper clean, a barely damp white cotton cloth, then leave it to dry and brush gently to lift the fibre. It rules out bleach, direct steam, acetone, heat and hard rubbing. For car seats it allows water and mild soap, with no harsh solvents or alcohol-based products.

Leather is looked after differently. Leather UK recommends vacuuming and cleaning with water and a mild soap — not detergent — and avoiding saddle soap and waxes, and warns that dye from jeans commonly transfers to pale leather. Leather Naturally adds that it is best kept from direct sun and heat, which stiffen it.

What to ask before deciding

With these questions the choice stops being a catalogue one:

The use

Daily driver, weekend car or track car? Grip matters more the quicker the car is driven.

The split

What goes in leather and what in Alcantara: wheel, centres, bolsters, headlining?

The exact material

Branded Alcantara or another maker’s microfibre? Does it match the original interior?

The upkeep

Who will brush the Alcantara and clean the leather, and with what?