Alcantara vs ventilated seat in GTS..
 

Hi all, I'm considering the purchase of a CPO GTS. One of those being considered has alcantara seat inserts while the other has ventilated leather. The car with alcantara is considerably less expensive as it has approximately 10,000 more miles than the car with ventilated seats. Otherwise the spec of the two cars is nearly identical.

So the question to The forum is ....what are the pros and cons of alcantara?? I am a big fan of the ventilated seats and feel that in a car like the Macan they are an absolute must, however I don't know that I can rationalize such a steep price increase (~9k). Any and all feedback is more than welcome!!

Worth noting both cars have under 30k miles. The Alcantara car is a 2017, the ventilated seat car is a 2018.

Thanks!

I have the ventilated seats in my 911 GTS and also in my Macan S. I would absolutely spec them in any future purchase as well so in my view they are mandatory. No knock on the alcantara but you really don't need it in an SUV.

In terms of your situation there is much more than just the seat difference between those two models, most notably model year and mileage. Either keep looking or convince yourself to spend the extra on the 2018... my 2 cents.

Ventilated. All. Day. Long.

Yet another vote for the ventilated seats. When the weather warms up, you'll thank us.

Absolutely LOVE the ventilated seats. I use them in all weather, not just warm. I can run them with the seat heaters too and it feels really soothing. I have Alcantara in my Subaru STi. It's worn very well after 85K miles and don't make me sweaty like plain leather seats and grip me well but that's another animal where weight and hold me in seats matter. On the Macan, getting ventilated seats in Texas was one of the several reasons I built to spec. Now will you really need ventilated seats in Marin, CA at the expense of $9K more? Probably not. If there are no other factors between the two, I'd probably choose to save the $9K.

One thing I wish was different about optioning ventilated seats is that it requires you to take at least partial leather seats which in turn deletes the GTS interior package so you lose the red or silver tach face and I didn't want to option back in red gauges to get the tach back in red because that option makes the speedo red too which looks unbalanced to me since the right TFT gauge has an unchangeable black background. I wish I could have optioned just the tach in red like I could with the chrono clock.

Ventilated all day every day. The only place I want alcantara in my car is on the headliner that never gets touched. I'm not sure how or why it got so popular, since it's just synthetic suede. Leather is a much higher quality material from a feel and comfort perspective. Alcantara constantly bunches up your pants or shorts doens't let you wiggle in the seat to make a small pressure point adjustment, is not easy to clean, takes a lot of cae, etc. I won't even look at a car that has alcantara seats. I was lucky when finding my Cayenne Turbo S as many had alcantara but the one I bought, not only had leather, but the soft ruffled leather, so the seats are even more luxurious than with the regular leather.

I have alcantara in my GT3 I think the only advantage of is that it cleans so easy... oh, maybe it does look "sporty" but I can't see it while I'm actually using the car. I have ventilated in my Macan and much prefer it for comfort - which I can feel while using the car.

That all said. Within reason, I would not let seat upholstery be an "influencer" in car choice. Price and condition are my priorities, what are yours?

I just figured out both cars lack roof rails and trailer hitch. Ugh! Why own an SUV?? Condition on both cars is exceptional fwiw and both have CPO. Thanks to all who responded. Confirmed my beliefs!!

My Macan doesn't have roof rails or trailer hitch and that is my preference... not everyone uses it the same way, my is for a daily driver/winter beater in the city with no intentions to haul/trailer anything.

Really the vast majority of SUVs these days are used as tall cars and not trucks meant for any serious hauling...

I also have neither. I would never use them. Macan is more of a lifted hatchback that I use as a daily commuter than a SUV and I like the cleaner look without them. I keep my cars for 6+ years so I spec to my preference, not for the next buyer. Also, there are much nicer looking aftermarket hidden hitches and temporary cross bars that can go on the roof if something ever changed.

My first experience with those was on a 2006 Lexus GS300. Again on an 09 ML63. Hands down - ventilated! My wife calls those seats by another name as in pu**y coolers. In the hot summer, keeps your back and ass from sweating. In the winter, it warms your lower back and butt. Get the heated steering wheel as well.

We have the ventilated seats on our Macan GTS. Love 'em.

Another vote for the ventilated seats, they work far better than the seats in my F150.