Caring
For The Interior Of Your
Jaguar XJR
The
Jaguar XJR has a unique
interior over some other
luxury imports, especially
German competition,
in that the interiors
have a rather ‘warm’
quality to them that
can barely be described
let alone quantified.
The preservation of
these interiors should
be of foremost concern
to any proud Jaguar
XJR owner.
The interior of the
Jaguar XJR is wrapped
in Connelly leather
hides, well respected
as the highest quality
leather money can buy.
Most of the interior
is hand stitched and
the wood veneers are
top notch. The combination
of these fine woods
and leathers and how
to care for them is
arguable, but here is
one authors experience
and advice.
The leather in a Jaguar
XJR is unique to most
leather interiors in
grade, quantity and
quality and therefore
justifies special attention.
Having tested dozens
of products for leather
treatment here are my
findings. Products that
contain lanolin and
UV protection don’t
seem to work as well
as would be expected
in comparison to others.
Products like Connolly
Hide Care (formally
Hide Food until the
FTC got upset), Wolfgang’s
and CPR leather care
do offer great protection
and conditioning, but
come up short in the
long run.
The interior of a Jaguar
XJR is fitting of the
best care money can
buy and as such I expect
the leather to feel
supple, soft, inviting
and warm. All the leather
conditioners I’ve used
and tested except one
didn’t seem to provide
this satisfaction. Connolly,
Wolfgang’s, Mother’s
and CPR probably offer
a lot of things good
for the leather, but
I think the lanolin
actually left the seats
feeling somehow stiff
and, if you used too
much product, there
would be a film left
behind.
So who tested the highest
when it comes to the
leather care? Hands
down the clear choice
above all is Lexol conditioner.
Lexol has been around
for years and I’ve tried
dozens of products hoping
to find something better,
not because Lexol doesn’t
work, but because I’m
always on the look out
for the ‘next greatest
thing’. Well, Lexol
is as good as it gets.
It forgives the over
zealous like no other
product and regardless
of the other products
claiming bees wax, lanolin,
mink oil, ear wax, you
name it, darned if Lexol
just gets the job done.
Nothing even comes close
to making the leather
feel as soft and supple
as (well, you know the
saying). The Jaguar
XJR is a special car,
deserving of special
care and for the money,
nothing will take of
your leather better
than Lexol.
The next thing is the
care of the veneer.
Yes, that is real wood
you’re touching and
it’s one of the reasons
that the Jaguar XJR
is so special because
there are about 4-5
different wood veneers
your car may have. The
darker ones like the
Grey Maple and Birds
Eye Maple are sometimes
tough to see the grain.
These tones were only
produced in the XJR
and I even had a re-known
Jaguar shop tell me
the XJR wood was bad
in my car because it
was so dark (Yes, they
only did it that dark
for one year, but you’d
think he’d know that).
Anyway, taking care
of these veneers is
important in that as
with all things on the
Jaguar XJR, nothing
is cheap and prevention
is cheaper than repair.
I have found that a
good acrylic based polish
works best, my favorite
is Klasse, a German
product that can be
purchased mostly through
specialty car shops
who carry the best of
the best. Klasse is
amazing on the outside
of your car, but on
the wood it does something
I never would have expected,
it actually brings out
the grain patterns better
than anything I’ve tested.
Give Klasse and Lexol
access to your Jaguar
XJR today.
