I am looking to replace an aging BMW 3 series and test drove the 2018 A-Spec which I'm loving. The wife's not so keen on the red leather seats so we're leaning to the black.

How easy is the Alcantara leather to clean if spilled on?
Also, I see they make seat covers. IF you leave seat covers on the back (since I don't think I'll need them for the front) will the seats fade unevenly?

Thanks.

 

I can not answer your seat question but I am curious why you would switch to the TLX from the 3 series.

 

I'm actually very glad I got the black interior instead of the red (not that I could have gotten a red interior for my San Marino Red A-Spec in the first place). The alcantara really does an excellent job of gripping the driver and passengers and they're very easy to maintain. Just buy a soft-bristled brush, like the kind you'd use to care for a cashmere overcoat and give the alcantara portions of the seat a brush once in a while and you should be good to go.

 

The 335xi is getting a little long in the tooth (8 years old, about 90k miles) and I've been having some maintenance issues. Now that I've gotten the "buy a new beamer" bug out of my system I'm trying to be a little more practical. The A spec is appealling to me since it's 90% as much of a sports car as the beamer for about 10k less fully loaded. Also, my commute involves A LOT of stop and go traffic so it's not like I'm driving on the edge most of the time. Every once in a while I come home late with no traffic and get to open it up. It's bigger which means my school aged kids won't complain about sitting in the back. The android/apple integration is appealing since even on my cars with nav I find myself getting out the phone so I have real time traffic and updated places.

My biggest concern with the Alcantara is stains and spills. We have 2 other cars. One with cloth and one with leather. The cloth interior has taken a beating while the leather cleans up easier.

 

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Holy chit, it's a deltaboxxx sighting!!!!

 

I have Alcantara seat inserts, steering wheel, and shift knob, that came with my CTS-V wagon. Alcantara is pretty easy to keep clean and my seats look almost new after nearly five years with the Beastwagon. I use Sonax Alcantara cleaner on the V, and I also plan to use it on my A-Spec. Works really well!

Link here:

 

A little scotch guard on those seats probably wouldn't hurt!