2005 Jaguar XJ8 Vanden Plas

2005 Jaguar XJ8 Vanden Plas (photo: John Cooke - www.straight-six.com)

Similar to the smaller S-Type 4.2 I drove last year, the ZF six-speed transmission is a key ingredient as to why this car gets up and goes so smoothly. Using the latest version of Jaguar's J Gate selector, upshifts are almost seamless, although downshifts require a good shove with your right foot.

Because the stretched cars hold on to the same 54/46-front/rear-weight distribution as the regular wheelbase XJs, handling is similar. Having said that, even with traction control with dynamic stability control on, without the added weight of rear passengers, I found this cat's tail could twitch a little easier than the shorter wheelbase car's. And that smooth ride means there's a lot of body roll in tight corners.

Once you've given up flogging the XJ8 Vanden Plas as a sports sedan, you certainly will appreciate the generous level of standard equipment. All XJ8 Vanden Plas' come with the same standard equipment as the regular XJ8s, which includes power-adjustable foot pedals, a power moon roof, twin-stitched leather seats and dash, dual-zone climate control, full-length side curtain airbags and front side airbags, and a 140-watt, eight-speaker audio system with a single in-dash CD player.

The $8,500 premium for the Vanden Plas model not only gets you the added length, but also adds chrome mirror caps and tail lamp bezels, power-folding exterior mirrors, electric rear sunshade, 16-way power front seats, lamb's wool floor mats, walnut burl veneers with hand-inlaid Peruvian boxwood--(phew!)--three-stage heated front and rear seats with a heated steering wheel, DVD based navigation system, 320-watt Alpine sound system with six-disc changer, and the signature rear fold-down picnic trays. My car also had the Warm Climate Package ($2,000) with 4-zone automatic climate control system with rear controls, power-adjustable rear-window sunblind and manually adjustable rear side-window sun blinds.

If your priority is keeping the folks riding in back happy, then the XJ8 Vanden Plas is your friend. With more leg room and class-leading rear headroom, you also get longer doors for a more dignified entry and exit. There's even a button that the right-rear passenger can use to move the front passenger's seat forward for you to really give your legs a stretch. Optionally, the rear seats can be power adjusted to recline ($2,800). The noted picnic trays fold down from the back of the front seats for either laptop computers, magazine reading, or if you're the British Exchequer, signing off on the latest budget papers as you're being whisked from 10 Downing Street to Heathrow.

2005 Jaguar XJ8 Vanden Plas (photo: John Cooke - www.straight-six.com)

The only missing opulence my 12-year daughter noticed was the optional multimedia setup ($4,100) that has 165 millimetre screens in the back of each front headrest so you can watch a movie, play a video game or do both at the same time using both screens independently. Her loss, not mine.

As the driver's choice, the BMW 750Li is still number one in this class. And comparably equipped, the Bimmer will cost you close to $30k more. However, with so much standard equipment, the price difference Jaguar is asking for beyond the regular XJ8 makes the Vanden Plas a real value. And with such backseat amenities, as a seven-eighths substitute for a Maybach 57 ($385,000) or a Rolls Royce Phantom ($474,000), at one quarter the price, the argument could be made for the XJ8 Vanden Plas as the chauffeur's choice.

Which leaves me to surmise that if the racy Ms. Summersby had similar chauffeuring duties today, especially which the extra room in the back, she could do no better than the 2005 Jaguar XJ8 Vanden Plas.