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No, exact opposite

 

Alcantara is a synthetic man made suede. By comparison to suede, it's much more durable, stain resistant, and fire resistant along with having a non-slip feel -- obviously a nice fabric for motor-sports.

To answer your question, no it doesn't last like leather does, but as you can see that's not why people choose it.

 

Any advantage to the steering wheel being made of it? Is it just grippy feel?

 

the grippy feel is a big advantage over leather... some racers/track day people will buy alcantera gloves to grip the leather wheel in their car better...

what should you take away from this? for a street car where you're not going to be "that guy" who wears race gloves on the street, an alcantera wheel is a really nice thing to have.

 

had a Volvo 850R with Alcantera std; started to "frey" after about 5yrs

 

I read that it doesn't fade too!-)

 

on my 'cheap' evo the alcantara stood up very well to wear and tear. I personally love the look.

 

Alcantara can wear nicely if cared for properly. I've seen cars with as low as 45k miles look like crap, then again some as high as 72 that look immaculate. It all depends how you care for your interior...