Cleaning is important and the dirt and abrade the leather. I use to be Hide Food and Lexol crazy, but question whether I was just spinning my wheels for nothing. I am not putting anything on the XE's leather (leased, so won't shed a tear if I was wrong). Just keep the leather clean... The heat could still have a shrinking effect (in terms of the dash).

The test I read to determine whether conditioners work on leather is to drop water on the leather and see if just sits there or goes into the leather; you'll have your answer right there...

 

The Lexol Conditioner has done me well.

As for my personal Jaguar XKR Portfolio Edition, my car has the Luxury Package which was a $12,000 option. I sincerely believe the leather seats, dash, door panels, are "not" a coated leather with a plastic material/coating over the leather underneath. They appear to be uncoated. It is very noticeable on the dash, and the door panels as well as the seats that there is no coating.
I understand the leather is a soft grain Italian leather from Italy.

I get no streaking whatsoever with the Lexol. It goes on smooth, and clearly can be seen soaking into the leather of the dash, door panels, and seating.

I am not sure what type of leather is used in the XK or the XKR's without a "luxury package" but would assume the luxury package provides an upgraded leather vs a standard leather.

Perhaps another XKR with a "luxury package" can chime in here on the leather they have.

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Im with you on this. There are multiple threads all over the internet on this subject coated vs uncoated but no one ever seems to agree. I will stick with the Lexol 2 step solution and take my chances.

 

If your leather was not coated, you could lightly scrape your fingernail across any surface and see an obvious mark. It would also soak up any and all liquid, be it coffee, tea, whiskey, wine, milk spit and pee. That would NOT be good for an interior.
The folks at Autoblog made a statement about the XJ...

"The Jaguar XJ ($71,650) may be equipped with the Luxury Package ($4000), consisting of 20-way power front seats with massage, ventilated rear seats, four-zone climate control, electric rear window shade, suede cloth headliner and piped floor mats and leather upholstery. The long-wheelbase XJL ($78,650) includes the Luxury Package and offers rear seat business trays on the front seatbacks, six leather shades with up to three contrast-stitch and piping colors. "

I SERIOUSLY doubt that ANY company would have an option for different leather grades, especially since Jaguars use Premium Leather to begin.

I have absolutely no doubt that Lexol works fine as a cleaner/conditioner, but no more-so than any other semi-viscous cleaner or conditioner. It's all a matter of preference. A rag (or sponge, or cloth, or mitt) globbed with any type of moisture will definitely clean (to a varying degree), and I'm sure Lexol does it quite well. I'm also sure that it does nothing to the leather underneath the sealer-stain-paint or whatever is applied.

If you have an alcantara headliner, smear some used engine oil on it. If it wipes off, then it is sealed (don't really do this to alcantara, just making a point). If not, then no. Smear that same used engine oil on a sealed seat and see if it wipes off..... I'll bet that it does.
Raw and unsealed leather is not very available in any fashion. Upholstery, jackets, belts, even most saddles and even holsters are stained and sealed on at least one side. The wear side.

 

I own a base model 2015 Corvette Stingray 1LT.

In the upper-level 3LT Corvette Stingray the leather seating is upgraded to a "Nappa" leather. While my Corvette is only a $64,000 auto, the 3LT steps up in price to about $75,000 to $80,000.

Even GM offers an upgrade to the leather interior on a Corvette.

I am just not sure what is coated or polished or not. It would be great to be educated on the leather in our Jaguars if there might be an interior specialist of some kind on this forum. I am always willing to learn.

All I know, my leather seats in my Jaguar XKR PE are very soft, pliable,and extremely slick to any clothing I wear. They are extremely comfortable and so much more so than my Corvette or Porsche leather seating.

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Here it is, pigmented leather is used, with a polymer surface coating:

Leathers are made from the skins of many animals but mainly cattle, goat, sheep and pigskins. Although there is a great variety of leather types, a leather can usually be put into one of three categories :-

• Aniline
• Semi-aniline
• Pigmented (protected)

The type you choose depends on the appearance you want, the product and the usage which the product receives :-
Aniline leather is the most natural looking, with natural surface visible, but is less resistant to soiling
Semi-aniline leather is somewhere in-between on both counts, having a light surface coating
Pigmented (protected) leather is the most durable but is less natural in appearance, having a polymer coating
...so if you're buying a leather suite and you've got a young family, an aniline suite probably isn't for you! If you look closely at the tag label on the leather item you're looking at, it should say what type of leather it is - otherwise ask the salesperson!

So now you know a bit about the three types of leather, but to find out what makes a leather aniline or pigmented and why some are longer-lasting than others, visit more to it than you thought.
More than meets the eye...

Here you should be able to find out the more technical aspects of the main types of leather...you can even go to our how to tell section, where you are shown how to identify different leathers...
Aniline leather is the most natural looking leather with the unique surface characteristics of the hide remaining visible. Aniline leather is coloured only with dye and not with a surface coating of polymer and pigment . A light surface coating may be applied to enhance its appearance and offer slight protection against spillages and soiling.
Semi-aniline leather is more durable than aniline whilst still retaining a natural appearance. The increased durability is provided by the application of a light surface coating which contains a small amount of pigment. This ensures consistent colour and imparts some stain resistance.
Pigmented Leather is the most durable and is used in the majority of furniture upholstery and almost all car upholstery. The durability is provided by a polymer surface coating which contains pigments.
The surface coating allows the manufacturer more control over the properties of the leather, e.g. resistance to scuffing or fading.

 

You weren't kidding. I did the Jag last week. Used Meguiar's gold car wash as a lube. Took 10 minutes (it was clay'd in Sep. so not much contaminants to be removed). Next day I did my Yukon where the exterior has been ignored for about 5 years). Used Dawn as a lube. Took about 20 minutes. WAY easier and faster than clay. Followed up with a full DA polish and a wax. Then, we did my son's Hyundai Sonata Limited which had a recent wax but never been clay'd. Huge difference. I used the mitt for all surfaces instead of the sponge for the small areas. Worked fine. I may buy another mitt so I can use both hands next time

 

It's all coated... You can tell by dropping a little water onto the leather and see if gets absorbed or just sits on the surface as a droplet. If it sits on the surface, it is coated (hence not being absorbed).

 

Yes, all automotive leather is coated to retain color consistency and wear durability, a practice that has been done for years. If you've ever seen a worn bolster, what you see in the cracks and wear is the raw leather underneath the worn coating. In the 80's Jaguar and others used a lacquer based coating, which is why many original seat covers have cracked over time. But not all automotive grades/hides are of the same quality, many domestic and Asian imports use very basic and thin hides and also not uncommon for them to only use leather on the seat inserts, with the seat side panels & backs, dash, door panels etc in leather look vinyl. I have had several Infinitis over the years, including one now, and that is exactly how it is made. Even the top of the range Jeep Cherokee Overland Summit I had a few years ago was a saddle "leather match" interior with only the perforated seat inserts in real leather and not nearly the quality of the Range Rover that proceeded it.

Both of my XK150s came with the luxury leather package, which featured a softer grain and perforated seat inserts. I believe there were only 2 other options, Ambla vinyl made in the UK for the base models and standard leather for the sport seats.

I must add that since the 21st Century, Jaguar & Land Rover have used some fairly impressive hides. The 2005 SuperV8 had nearly 100K miles on it when I sold it and the seating surfaces still looked showroom new. The Range Rover full size supercharged also held up very well. The XKR is now 7 years old and still looks nearly pristine.