Jaguar XJ Series

No news is good news. From the driver's seat, the stretched XJ feels the same as the regular-sized variant. Same surprising agility through even tight bends, relaxing but controlled ride (though the wheels have grown to 18s and it's a mite jiggy in town) and eager performance. The long XJ gains a little weight over the standard car but doesn't feel like a barge. Which is nice for the times when the owner actually does the driving.

Really, the person who ticked the 'super size me' option on the XJ order form is quite likely to be the one in the back, working during the commute so as to earn the not-inconsiderable cash needed to get the car in the first place. Or indeed being chauffeured home from a night on the booze - better than a minicab that stinks of sick.

A long-wheelbase XJ is further from stem to stern than either the extended versions of the S-Class or 7-Series, and there's serious room to stretch back there. Basic versions come with a bench seat, but most people will go for the one with the twin electrically-adjustable heated rear seats. And, likely as not, the optional folding tables in the seatbacks will be in place, laptop with wireless datacard humming away. Also likely to be specified is the back-seat entertainment system with colour screens on the headrests. Because even the highest flyers need to relax, poor things.

Paul Horrell