I have been thinking of switching out my steering wheel for the Wood Leather Steering Wheel. I would welcome both the pros and cons of doing so from any owners with the Wood Leather Steering Wheel.

Thank you.....

 

Here's the wood/leather steering wheel in my 2013 XJ:



It came with my car when I bought it CPO.

Pros: It has a nice feel and it adds a touch of style, but tastes vary.
Cons: If your OEM steering wheel is not heated, then the price isn't a deal breaker. But if your car came with a heated steering wheel, you may think twice about adding a heated wood/leather wheel. See: STEERING WHEEL for 2014 Jaguar XJ

 

I purchased my XJL with the wood and leather wheel but would have gladly made the upgrade if it had not already been so equipped; it simply feels better in your hands. You may consider the cost of a retrofit to be a "con" but, if you're driving an XJ you can more than likely absorb that expense without breaking the bank. The elegant style it provides and the feel of that wood are very definitely "pros" in my book!

Dwayne

 

Thank you, I will take all of this under consideration.

 

MHT, while I can't speak about long term of the XJ's steering wheel, I know the steering wheel in my X-Type started to wear out (leather wore away) from where I tend to keep my hand on the steering wheel all the time. In the case of the XJ's steering wheel, the wood is where the X-Type's wear was. So, I am anticipating not having the wear issues like the other steering wheel.

 

I have the wood/leather wheel and am glad I do as I have seen some older XJs (2010 through 2012) and the leather was worn and shiny. The wood has shown no wear and I have over 58k and 2 and 3/4 years of ownership.

 

I have had the wood leather steering wheel in some other cars that I have owned and it has been interesting to see the changes from all wood to wood leather. The Jaguar is the only car that I have seen that has the wood going in the full circumference of the steering wheel.
The wood leather steering wheel that I really liked was on a 2005 Lexus LS430 that I owned. It was a narrow wood strip imbedded into the leather and went the full circumfrence of the steering wheel. This made it much nicer to the touch when the heat from the sun hit the steering wheel.
I too believe the wood leather combination holds up better than the all leather steering wheel. When I purchased my car I saw more of the all leather steering wheels in the cars on the lot but now the dealer is ordering allot of the cars with the wood leather steering wheels.

 

I spoke with parts to get pricing and was informed that even though the wood leather steering wheel was optional for my car that so many revision have been made to the steering wheel that they felt that a switch out may no longer be possible. They ran my vend and with the revision that were made nothing was matching up with my car.
With labor the cost of switching is extremly pricey and where as price is not a factor, I would hate to have my steering wheel removed only to find out the wood leather wheel would not work.
I am thinking that I may trade later on and might as well save these dollars for if I do.

 

The price variance between wheels, depending on color, is amazing.

 

I was quoted $1,145 + $145.00 Labor but like I stated, due to recent revision to the Wood Leather Steering Wheel they do not think it will work in my car. It is almost like saying you had to order the car with that steering wheel in it.
It does not make allot of sense but thats the way it goes. Speaking of pricing, I like how I purchased the front and rear SS illuminated tread plate and trunk plate for quite a bit of money. A few weeks later Jaguar went with Aluminum for almost half the cost of the SS, talking about a real bummer.

 

I have the all-leather steering wheel, but the dealer's loaner has the wooden one. I really dislike the wood. The leather is softer and provides a much more positive grip.

 

you lose on some grip with the wood/leather wheel.

personally I dont like how they did the steering wheel this time where only the outer rim is wood.