Besides the piping, what distinguishes the leather of the VDP from the leather in the regular XJs? (Is the regular XJ leather crap?)

 

I am not sure there is a difference. Anybody got a Jaguar brochure for the X35 model handy ?
My leather is nice, anyway, and its called 'Ivory' for the colour.

 

I've owned both a standard 04 XJ and a 06 Super V8. Except for the piping and the ruching, the leather seems to me to be of equal quality. I do believe there is more distributed around the interior on the Super V8 than the std XJ. At any rate, it seems to me to be about equal (and very nice indeed) in both cars. The Portfolio does have a better quality of leather as I recall. No proof for any of the above. Just my humble observations.

 

Is there a real reason to get the VDP over the XJ8-L? Some XJ8-Ls seem to be almost as well equipped as VDP models, and with black leather, you can't see the special piping anyway.

 

The only difference I see is the way the leather is applied to the seats. On my 05 L the surface of the seats is smooth. From a little research it looks like the seats on the VDP cars have the leather on the center sections between the bolsters pleated in a way, kind of crinkled.. for lack of a better word..

See -->

VDP:


Standard:

 

In the old days....maybe mid-90s and back....there was a pretty pronounced difference between standard issue and VDP trim. Among other things the leather was indeed obviously higher grade. Nowadays, though, even the standard cars seem so nice (IMHO) that many people probably think as you do.

I dunno. I think most anyone would like to the upper grade trim but, personally, it's not enough for me to pass up a standard car if the the right one came along.

DD

 

The launch press pack said:

The opulence of the XJ Super V8 is characterised by elements of the Classic interior with exclusive touches of added luxury, including plush, soft-grain ruched leather seats and trim.

The soft-grain leather was an option on the SE/Sovereign as well at launch and became standard on them in either 05 or 06.

The 2004 US brochures says:

VANDEN PLAS FEATURES
Leatherette fascia top and contrasting seat piping
Power-folding exterior mirrors
18-inch Dynamic alloy wheels
16-way electrically adjustable front seats with memory
320-watt Alpine® Premium Sound System with 6-disc CD autochanger
Unique trim with hand-inlaid boxwood veneers and lambswool rugs
Bright grid grille insert and mirror caps
Premium soft grain leather
Multimedia switch pad located in rear console armrest
DVD-based navigation system with touch-screen control
High Intensity Discharge (HID) headlamps with dynamic headlamp leveling

 

Hm..... that is interesting.

I guess one thing I must have is a 4 zone climate control, and I don't believe that is available on the XJ8-L--only the VDP. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong!

 

In the UK 4 zone was an option on all but the base 3L model at launch, even the Super V8. In around 2005 it became standard on all long wheel base models.

The US appears to have had it as an option at launch as part of the 'warm climate pack'

 

Does the warm climate pack have a separate air conditioning system in the back? (Separate evaporator, etc.?)

 

Yup, that is what the 4 zone system is.

The warm climate pack also appears to have included manual rear side sunblinds.

 

Hey do you, or anyone you know, have interest in a 2006 Super V8 Portfolio? I'm trying to give it away at $40000 and it's in showroom condition. KBB prices it at over $60,000 for what that's worth ;-) It has 39000 miles and it's in perfect shape. Black Cherry. Just detailed. Let me know. Thanks.

 

I would concur that in prior generations (back to the series 3) that the interior of the VDP was indeed "decked out" moreso than base XJ's. I had a 1990 XJ40 that looked quite bland compared to a Vanden Plas of that era. My 1995 VDP, IMHO, had the most beautiful interior of any car I've ever owned. The lambswool mats, the polished wood trays. Truly gorgeous.

The one thing I can say from ownership experience is that the standard leather, for whatever the reason may be, seems to withstand the test of time better than that of the more expensive hides. Perhaps it is due to poor maintenance by previous owners, etc.

On the newer model cars the VDP interiors are indeed gorgeous but my car is nearing its 7th birthday, 87k on the clock and my Aunt opened the door on the car this weekend for the first time and assumed the car was near new.

How cool would it be to re-introduce the VDP Majestic and modernize it? Talk about a beauty of a car

 

The 4 zone climate is not an option on the diesel version whether SWB or LWB.It was going to cost me around GB£3000 to get the extra parts needed for the system to be made up for mine including specially made pipework as the diesel having a different layout than petrol variants and all other items needed to enable it to work

 

Oh yes I can see that now. The 2005 and 2006 brochures show it as being an option because they have lumped Sport Premium, TDVi and 3.5V8 together but there is a foot note for the 4 zone saying not available on TDVi.

It also isn't available on cars with Aluminium interior finish.