The Nine Things That Affect Your Car's Resale Value
Some drivers obsess on it from the day they drive their new car off the lot--and some don't give it... Read More
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“I like this car,” pronounced my six-year-old daughter. “It goes softly.” Indeed.
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The XJ8 also possesses the uniquely Jaguar ability to attract women like raccoons to a campground dumpster. Driving the Vanden Plas attracted smiles, waves and comments from women like we haven’t seen since, well, the XK8 convertible. They lust for the car. If Jaguar could just find a way to bottle the pheromones its cars apparently exude, Ford’s financial troubles would be permanently solved. Schoolgirls stopped to declare, “Your car is very pretty.” Amazing.
Maybe it is the car’s feminine, curving lines. Maybe it is the implication of wealth. There’s a psych major’s thesis in there somewhere.
Blissful cruising
The Vanden Plas differs from the run-of-the-mill XJ8 in that it is five inches longer (202.7 inches vs. 197.8 inches) on a five-inch longer wheelbase (117.9 inches vs. 113.0 inches). It also features Autolux leather seats, front and rear seat heaters, and a booming 320-watt Alpine CD stereo system.
We confess a personal bias to taut, lithe sports cars and sedans, categories that exclude the XJ8. Nevertheless, after a blissful cruise through the Virginia piedmont to historic Charlottesville, we came to appreciate the car’s ability to cruise effortlessly. Jaguar has built a compliant suspension that produces a silky ride without a mandatory Dramamine prescription.
