Test drive: 2005 Jaguar XJ Vanden Plas - About - News & Issues (blog)
The long wheelbase Vanden Plas version we tested starts at $71,995. It is backed by a comprehensive 4-year/50,000-mile limited warranty. When the first XJ sedan appeared in 1969, Jaguar creator and boss Sir William Lyons advertised it as having "Pace, Space, and Grace. " Those words certainly apply to the 2005 Jaguar XJ Vanden Plas: Sprinting from 0-60 in 6. 3 seconds, reaching a top speed of 121 mph, it has pace. The Vanden Plas combines Jaguar tradition with modern technology in subtle ways: no in-your-face styling like the new Cadillacs, no F1-influenced look of a Mercedes S-Class, no 1938 Auto-Union race car aggressiveness of an Audi A8. Instead it... Yet there is a segment of the luxury car market ñ in many cases chauffeur-driven ñ that demands added back seat space and it was for them that the long-wheelbase XJ was created. The Vanden Plas (named after a Belgian coachbuilder) version offers a further touch of class. In the Driver's Seat (and the back seat, too). But because the Vanden Plas' added wheelbase was intended for back seat comfort, please. Source: cars.about.com
