Hi, our P510e AB order has been moved to MY24 - hopefully delivery during fall 23. The positive is that we'll now get Signature Sound, and Hot stone as well. Not power assisted doors, though. The bad is the lack of HVAC/volume/Terrain resp controls on the MY24, and a price increase of 15% (on an already quite expensive car).
However, now we have the option to get the SV bespoke wood and leather steering wheel, which is described as: "The entire outer rim of the steering wheel is wood veneer matching the beautifully crafted veneers within the interior cabin.". It still says "gloss" in the description, but according to the dealer, the wood will match the Natural black birch veneer (now we get the black birch finishers with inlays as well). The wheel will look similar to this youtube video https://youtu.be/8iOjInwmLo4

The question is: What would you prefer - the new type of wooden steering wheel - or the standard leather? Pros and cons?

Some years ago I tested a L405 with gloss black wooden steering wheel, and that wasn't optimal, I think. But the new matt black birch veneer might be better? Some nautical references to this large L460!

I’ve got the wood wheel in my 23MY SV. It is indeed gloss and not matte (despite the main veneer being matte) - personally I really like it! The matte veneers are quite rough so I can understand why the steering wheels aren’t like that.

Autobiography: does your steering wheel look like the one in the video? That looks to be smoother than the finishers, but still not glossy? Semi-matte, maybe. Not a big deal, though.
The dealer said that drawbacks of the wooden steering wheel are that the wood get hotter than leather in sunny days, and that it needs regular maintenance (varnish ?) to avoid that it cracks. Any thoughts?

I’ll snap a picture for you when next in the car but yes very similar.

I’d say the dealer is talking rubbish about varnish and cracking. Ultimately if it cracked, it’ll be a warranty claim for the first 3 years. I’ve never seen a cracked wooden steering wheel.

Hi @Eirik34

Leather for me .... I decided to delete the steering wheel wood option.
I think the RR is still kind of sporty ... a wooden steering wheel is too much elegance for me.

Just my 2 cents ....

Both are utterly hateful and the sooner some one does an aftermarket alternative the happier I will be.
I want a nice smooth leather, no grove all the way around that leaves discomfort in the heal of my hand or cold shiny alloy/plastic bling neaded. If I want to feel wood in my hand it is not whilst driving. letters not necessarily in the right order

I have wood and I prefer it to the leather

Strange, just had a visit to the JLR dealer at Brighton, and it seems that in the UK you couldn't get the wooden steering wheel with the black birch veneer? In Norway we can configure the MY24 with the black birch veneer finisher and still have wooden steering wheel, where the wood in the steering wheel would "...matching the beautifully crafted veneers within the interior cabin."

I had wood in my XJR and I liked it. But I deleted the wood option in my AB because I chose a contrast wood to my leather and the thought of that on the wheel felt tacky. Further, I very much like the feel of a the leather wheel and the consistency of feel. Wood is harder wearing and has connotations of prestige, yet leather is more tactile and consistent. Annoyingly, no easy answer to this. L405 P400e Autobiography (MY2020)... Silicon Silver / Espresso

Photo attached of the SV linear grey veneer. As you can see it blends well and isn’t high gloss. The regular finish would be too rough on your hands so I think this is wise to be honest.

Click image to enlarge

Thanks Autobiography! Looks really good !

We've finally got an approved prod. date - 15.9.23 - 18 months after we placed the order. And with an >15% price increase compared to the contract. We'll get a MY24 P550e AB SWB, Carpathian and Perlino, black birch finishers (SV bespoke with inlay), hot stone, tow bar, refrigerator, signature sound and clear glass. Have to accept the new design with no physical buttons for the HVAC, TR, volume and EV-button, but - hopefully - with leather and matching wooden steering wheel.

It seems that the configurators from UK and Nordic countries differs in how they accept the different interior colour combinations. In the UK configurator, it's not possible to spec Perlino and black birch finishers with wooden steering wheel. When trying to select the wooden steering wheel in the UK configurator, this message appears: