When does $194,000 (AU) seem like an automotive bargain? When it is the MSRP for the fuel frugal, lightweight, Jaguar XJ8L that is significantly less money than its luxury sedan competition while treating your to great fuel mileage and an interior with few equals.

Mom’s view: There is something about asking your lady friends if they would like to take a ride in your Jaguar that speaks of good taste and a nice wine cellar. It has elegancy both inside and out. What is even better is that we got over 23 mpg in this Anglo-liner even though I frequently had my derriere pushed tight against the double stitched leather covered seats when all 294 horsepower tugged at their collars.

Although not a cheetah out of the starting gate, the long legged Jaguar comes into its own at speed where the silky smooth 4.2-liter DOHC 32-valve V-8 gives you 303 pound-feet of torque that make short work of those pesky palisades. In other words, I liked the Jaguar for it looks and deeds. Sounds like a perfect mate to me. Besides, it is easy to park and everyone looks at you. Could this be love?

Dad’s view: The suspension, independent forged aluminum double-wishbone with anti-roll bar and self-leveling air springs in front and independent aluminum double-wishbone with self-leveling air springs and stabilizer bar in back make this car fairly capable of carving corners or making avoidance maneuvers with some degree of dignity. However, its main job is a quiet ride and it does this with aplomb. You can get shorter sedan models and even a supercharged version of the XJR sedan, but we like this model best. If you are going to buy an expensive sedan you should be able to have a backseat that can accommodate three full sized adults. And, by the way, this is one car that can easily accommodate a NBA sized driver, too. Lot’s of room.

Also available are adaptive cruise control, four-zone automatic climate control, heated front and rear seats, and a navigation system. We found the GPS not as refined as we would like and crashed it twice. This was an early model so we expect that it is going to be cured, but we did like the size of the touch screen and the ease of which most stereo and climate changes could be made.

I liked driving the Jaguar and found it a devoted servant for the most part. I would have liked the steering to be more responsive and I don’t think I shall ever appreciate the shift lever and gates. Overall, a nice combination of old world charm and cowboy hustle, this Jaguar is certainly one of the best ever produced for the gentry.