I think that the JCW has been on the road enough now to ask this question:

How is the wear factor on the bolster ridge on these interiors with the rough alcantara fabric holding up? My question is on the two versions for the JCW, as well as the leather Punch seats as on the ridge there is about a 1" sewn in area that to me, seems would be a bear to keep looking nice. On the show JCW's they all had the red alcantara there, and on the standard JCW seats, it was grey, same for the leather punch seats. I, also wish that the red on the JCW seats were a more vibrant, or closer to either, the Glowing Red, or the Chili Red, rather than a faded out version of red.

I just think that after a couple of months, this area of the seat, especially the drivers seat, after getting in and out of the car would show wear, or at the most, get very dirty, quickly. Any thoughts?

 

I have the Recaro seats on my 2014 JCW Coupe and they have Alcantara seating surfaces and smooth black leather bolsters on the sides. After 1.5 years I see no wear on the outside bolster that I slide over getting in. I did however see wear there on my 2007 MCS with Tuscan Beige leather seats.

 

The area that I'm talking about is the rough area on the bolsters. I can't understand why MINI in the going with thei fabric didn't make this area smooth. I know that it would keep one from sliding while aggressively driving in auto rose or in a tight curve, but what about wearability?

 

My car is 5 months old with the carbon black punch leather. The suede trim on the seats has held up quite well. No wear that I have noticed.