This was supposed to be beige leather on the Executive when ordered but a "factory conflict" dictated that leather was standard only in black. After two decades of cars with black interiors I wanted beige and went for the available Alcantara/ leather option meaning that the entire leather content is the narrow strip joining the top faces of the seats to the side panels. I have prior knowledge of Alcantara but never had the opportunity to test it long term but as this is a company car went ahead with my preference to not spend my life in an environment more suited to and undertakers hearse.

 

My job is not the cleanest and brings me into contact with oil and dirt from cars. Just brushing against them with clothes or sitting down in the wrong place transfers filth that builds up and in this case the beige had turned black on the outer bolsters. One quick clean and it looks and feels like new but probably a job best done in the summer as today has been spent sitting on towels with the seat heaters on.

 

Alcantara is a great option and far more comfortable than the leather option. I wish I was brave enough to have combined it with the weird Jungle Green exterior that I think would have worked rather well but went for the equally odd Cappuccino Beige to be safe. The light colour interior makes the car appear far larger inside.

This was the only alternative at the time to black leather on my SEL, but despite wife liking it, I chickened out. Thought it was too light and worried about muddy paws from the dog on the more cream than beige alcantara.

 

I was also put off by the lower half more cream than beige plastic dash. They should have made it all black as the Skoda cream hard plastic does look cheap/naff.

 

The seats in the SEL are a very plain and dull design too, even worse with the 50/50 alcantara. Some more imaginative stitching would help a lot.

 

So went safe black leather, but a tad regretful.

 

I also think the carpets are pretty cheap and nasty, not plush enough and the Skoda mats are not up to much either, far too small.

 

 

Skoda had/have some really **** colour options. Solid black, metallic black and the weird brown black metallic that looks black unless in direct sunlight. That horrible metallic blue that looks awful until that one time in a thousand the sunlight catches it just right for a fraction of a second and two whites that look the same outside of a showroom or under close inspection.

 

The carpets are crap. I only realised that now when I checked following your post. They are made of the same material as the over-mats and mine wore through at about 40k, no car I have ever had failed so soon. What I had not realised was that the area of actual main carpet on the footwell to the right of the throttle pedal has worn through completely. I don't have a club foot, wear size 18 shoes or have ever sensed any friction but having just looked can see a slight wear mark on my right shoe sole. Given testing, if this was a high wear area a low friction pad or repositioning of the pedal is preferable to one that looks heavily worn at 50k.

 

I love my Superb but despite it being the best car I have ever had it is also the worst in many respects. I have had up to 74mpg on a run and saved the cost of several skips taking rubbish to the tip but have also had problems with road/tyre noise, poor DAB radio performance lately, sticking clutch pedal, clutch judder, poor sat nav functionality, spurious overheat warnings, premature front suspension wear and very poor air conditioning  with only 9 degree C outlet temperature in hot weather, bright door trims fouling and poor heated rear window and door mirror performance.

 

Anyway, Skoda shortcomings aside the Alcantara trim is brilliant beyond measure. If my oil stained clothes are not an issue doggy paws will not be either.