There were some recent dicussions about he new ES350 having less wood trim than the current & that wood trim gives the interior a feel of luxury. I personally like wood trims in a luxury car, but I know some others that do not like wood trims at all.

For those who likes wood trim, I'm interested to know people's views on this. Does more wood trim means more luxury( i.e. the more the better) ? If that's the case, does the Jaguar X-type has the most luxurious interior for an entry level luxury car because it has more wood trim than any other ?

Just base your opinion on the look and feel of the interior & not Jaguar quality & reliability.

 

I love all that wood, its one of the things that really attracted me to the Audi. To me wood is surely a mark of luxury i.e. RR/Bently/high end MBZ / exotic sport coupes Astin Martin etc.

 

Wood trim, though, IMO, should LOOK like wood trim, as it does in the X-Class, ES330, Subaru Legacy / Outback, Cadillac XLR, the new Tahoe, etc.....
Too many vehicles, especially the so-called "sport " ones, use what they CALL wood trim but, like on the Jaguar R-series, Cadillac V-series, etc.... it doesn't, IMO, look like real wood. It tends to look dark, dull, gray, almost black.......certainly not what I would call a woodlike look. Also, in general, matte wood trim looks FAR more like real wood than polished wood. Some patterns, like the orangish " wood" trim in the new Avalon with circular patterns in it, look just awful.

Here, IMO, is some of the finest wood trim available today on a production car....the Infiniti Rosewood used in the M45.
http://www.infiniti.com/content/0,,c...-32005,00.html
http://autos.msn.com/advice/article....tentid=4022964

 

The real natural color of wood is light sandy color though (see inside of log). All colors shades, including the most common medium or slightly dark brownish wood(that you like), or the reddish ,or near black wood etc. that you don't like, are ALL stained to appear that way

 

I think nice wood trim, done tastefully, enhances the feel of luxury. The Jaguar X-Type looks quite nice with that wood.

On the other hand, sticking giant slabs of wood without taste or style (CLS, anyone?) is tacky and ugly. Much rather have it sculpted nicely to fit (SC), even if it is smaller.

 

The people that think more wood= more luxury should then buy a treehouse or log cabin and live in the forest with Robin Hood.

I think some car makers put in MORE WOOD b/c some people do percieve more wood as more luxury.

This is not the truth. In many cases LESS is MORE.

For one, is the damn wood real? If its fake, I don't care what ANYONE says, that is NOT luxurious. FAKE=FAKE. Real=LUXURY. So lets start with REAL wood. If I want fake, I can get fake wood in a Corolla or Kia. Its that simple. I don't want FAKE in my luxury brand.

Second, a car can have tons of wood with terrible fit and finish. The ergonomics could be a disaster. Say the gauges are impossible to read. THe radio buttons are tiny. Luxury is making things EASIER, not harder. So the interior should OVERALL give a feeling of luxury.


For too many years, car makers got away with literally SCREWING IN wood into interiors and calling it luxury.

What about the leather? Is it cheap crap that feels so bad a bum wouldn't use it as a jacket or is it of decent quality?

Oh I am ranting, lets get back to wood.

The fact is, 95% of the people can't even tell the difference between real or fake. I have to correct damn near everyone for saying "woodgrain" to describe my wood, its real, not the fake sticker crap all in your car. Hell, rosewood, birchwood, maples eye, who knows the difference unless they see it?

So these same people think they know what luxury is.

They don't.

Its our responsibility to teach em.

 

And Lexarazzo, I will follow your rules and not go into why the X-type is one of the worst POS entry level cars ever sold to consumers. I won't, b/c
1. You said so
2. There is a possibilty I would have to quit my job as this car is so bad, I could write literally forever.

I DO like the wood in this Jag. It reminds me of the more expensive Jags and it does a very good job of following the family trend. I think Jaguar does some of the BEST jobs when picking wood, they just do leather and wood very, VERY well.

So IMO, that is a very luxurious interior.

Now, is it more luxurious than the new ES 350, which has less wood than the model it replaces?

I don't think so. I think they both are luxurious in their own way. The Lexus has less wood but the dash and doors are sculpted, I mean someone actually put some thought into it. The gauges are beautiful. Everything fits to perfection and feels expensive.

So they are equal, IMO.

 

I'm not feeling the interior of the Jag - not because of the wood but the other materials. Somehow it looks like a 1980's design.

RE: wood - you can definitely tell the difference between real and fake wood. I realize it's all stained a certain color, however using mmarshall the rosewood in the M is some of the nicest I've ever seen.

 

agreed sick, i dont think that x type interior looks good - not because of the wood, but because of the rest of the cabin which is full of very cheap, 90's style Ford plastics. And hence x sold like crap.

i dont like wood in general, and i have to see wood that i really liked in the car...

 

I like jags because they stick to a certain formula. They are not perfect and may not be the best quality vehicles out there. But a Jag has that thing that says, "I'm driving a Jag." Even the entry level Jag carries some props. You guys are taking this way too seriously.

 

First, Mike.......never mind Robin Hood. Give me the wood and I'll take Maid Marian.

Second, No arguments from me about real wood being real luxury. I basically agree, although there are some vehicles like the Subaru Legacy and Outback that use SUPERB fake stuff...or like in the L.L. Bean versions where both the real AND fake stuff is used side-by-side and its's hard to tell them apart. And real wood, IMO, should not be polished to the point where it is as shiny as the top of Kojak's head.

Third, rant on if you want. sometimes CAR CHAT is also CAR RANT.

Fourth, as far as the 95% not telling the real from the fake stuff, most of the time, except for a few cars that really do a superb job of it, I can usually tell the live from the Memorex if it is not highly polished. If it IS polished, it is much harder.

 

It looks like cheap plastic to me

 

It ever occur to you, you take things too seriously?

As for the Jag interior, it is very nice, I said that. As for the car, its a Ford Modeo with AWD. IN Europe they sell FWD X-types. Its last in pretty much every reliablity category and every single comparison. Its not even compared to the IS/3/G35 etc anymore in comparisions.

Jag should have went up, not down, as they pretty much almost destroyed the brand chasing sales (they TOLD us they wanted to sell 200,000 cars, they didn't come close).

In summary, I think the X-type interior is fabulous and still on par with the new ES. I wouldn't begin to consider owning an X-type though.

Sorry but driving an X-type does not say I am driving a Jag More than most cars, it says "i don't have a clue".

 

[QUOTE=1SICKLEX]It ever occur to you, you take things too seriously?


Yes, it does occur to me....that's why I say what I think then let it go. I don't rant and rave and pretend I have all the answers and make everyone think I'm coming to get them. I play around on this thing but I do have a life. Your reply means you're the one taking things too seriously. I'm laughing at this moment, nothing serious to me. Bottom line, I respect peoples opinions. I listen and accept that people think differently. I say my side and take value in those differences....unlike others. There are lots of times I disagree with you but sometimes I agree. Nothing wrong with that. But sometimes you sound like only your opinion matters. Again, I laugh because it's unbelievable gall to be that way. But that's you and you have the right to be any way you want. Lighten up.

 

A lot of times fake wood is better than real wood, as long as its nicely dont (not acura's or infiniti's crap). Fake wood is a lot more durable compared to the real thing, and as long as its properly formed, finished and aapplied, I have no problem with it.

In fact, it is sometimes hard to tell the difference between real wood and fake wood, for instance in my old GS300 the wood trim was cracked all over, and even looking on the back side I couldnt tell for sure whether it was real of fake because real formica and plastic formica are so similar in looks. I guess the only reason to believe it was real is because it actually cracked, plastic is a lot more durable. In my new GS430, I can't tell for the life of me if the wood is real, in fact I think it is fake at least on the center console, it looks too good to be real.