Anyone else experiencing this? I only have 1000 miles on it and the drivers seat is already developing a nasty crease on the side. I'm only 180lbs and always sit in the middle of the seat. Crappy quality/poor design?

 

Looks to be design related

 

Fear not!
The Taurus leather in the XE is a good thick leather that IS worth Jaguar’s effort at selecting it. The XF also uses this leather, in a perforated form, so the leather (thankfully) is thick enough to put up with scuffing and even surface cuts, without peeling apart.
However, it IS going to try to crease in the places we sit the most, and I hate that about some of today’s modern leathers. I like that they are thicker than the past versions, but hate that they will roll or form divits (I guess just like real skin does).

There’s already a long list of goops, waxes, sealants, polishes for our fine cars… but I have to add another. Gliptone Leather Cleaner.
Like a lot of good ole’ favorite leather cleaners, Gliptone has been on the market forever (which is good, because it means the cost is super inexpensive for a bottle from Amazon). But it happens to be SUPER on this Taurus leather.
It’s one of the few leather cleaners that TIGHTENS the leather back to its factory texture instead of “softening” and luxuriating the leather. So divits and puckers are gone the next day. It also restores a very low-key “hide” smell to the leather. Out of the bottle it’s a yellow liquid soap. You can lather it on a sponge as much or little as you prefer, and MASSAGE the lather onto your leather, and sop it away later. DON’T RUB OR SCOUR YOUR LEATHER.
Leave it on overnight if you wish, with no side-effects (my passenger’s pen leaked blue ink into my Oyster leather---not even Jaguar’s bottle of leather stain remover could get it off. Gliptone this was the only thing that vanished it completely---just left a dab of it sitting on the stain overnight).

But like I said, the best part is your seats stay tight and thick like they aren’t being used at all. 10 hours a week commuting, no dips or sitting creases, not even in my Driver’s seat, and I’ve been using the Glip for a year now. I have the Oyster seats, so I lightly lather them every Saturday (no kidding, once you leave the subway and sit in your car, after just 4 trips you can see the dirt ****). Love that hint of leather smell it gives any time it’s been sitting in the summer sun and I first open a door.

Can’t promise it will shrink the leather enough back to reverse that crease you’ve already got. But let me know.

Do your steering wheel too, so the leather doesn’t go smooth under the natural oil of your hands.

 

Is that part of the seat even leather? I thought that "leather seating surfaces" meant that pretty much only the middle part of the seat was leather? Is that not true on the XE?

 

The leather is sealed with a coating, so it's virtually vinyl at this point either way.

Very rare to see full grain hides on a car. Not sure if Jaguar offers full grain hides on any model? I believe Range Rover does on some spec models.

Anyone know for sure?

 

Yep, the “leather seating surfaces” does mean SOME portions of the chair itself are not Taurus. But those non-leather areas are the back (hard plastic), the quarter of the seat that’s rubbing against the center console (which make sense, you don’t want your leather constantly scrubbing against the textured plastic on that side), AND I wonder about the portion of your seat that’s hiding an airbag (I’m clueless about how ‘leather’ will break open to release an expanding airbag).

But where your crease is, IS their Taurus leather.
Here’s the Gliptone product. Don’t need to order from Amazon, as I think it is readily available in some auto stores you may have around town.



Moose, you cracked me up with that “it’s virtually vinyl at that point”.
Do you use any particular cleaner on yours?

 

I have some 3M leather cleaner that is pretty potent for the worst stuff, but I start off light with a solution of water & dishwashing soap on hand towel and see that goes first. I wipe down the leather and most interior with a well rung damp towel after I wash the car. The interior never gets that bad. I use Pledge on the wood or piano trim. The XE is the first car I am not applying Lexol or the like. Since it is leased, I won't bemoan the results if they are not as expected. Jaguar says nothing is needed to treat the leather I am going with their word this time. The leather on my Aston is a different story. I apply Lexol on that one, but a similar treatment to clean as previously mentioned...

 

Had mine 3 weeks, iI weight less than you at 155 lbs and I noticed the exact same thing. It seems to go away. Time will tell.