Overview

Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by diesel engines and utilizing the 4-door sedan body style within the same 'Executive car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (4 x 4 for the Volkswagen and rear in the case of the Jaguar). The first one has a Volkswagen-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 10-cylinder, 20-valves 313hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 204hp engine designed by Ford.

Safety

Unfortunatelly, neither of the two vehicles was submitted to the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) testing. This makes it virtually impossible for me to pick one over the other and I'm generally against buying such cars as the safety should really always come first. Moving further on, let's take a closer look at some additional safety-related facts. Both vehicles belong to the executive car segment, which is generally a fortune safety-wise, but that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. Furthermore, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, the German car offers a potentially life-saving difference of 49% more metal.

Reliability

Manufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears that Volkswagen does have a slight advantage, at least on all of the models level. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of Volkswagen, as well as Jaguar, with the same average rating of 4.2 out of 5. Some independent research have also placed Phaeton 50% below average, and XJ is more or less at the same level.That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as the German car rank it on average as 4.7, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.0 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Volkswagen is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 1.3 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 250 kilometers per hour, 25km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy an obvious choice would be the British car, averaging around 8.1 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (35 mpg), in combined cycle. That's 41% difference compared to the German car!

Verdict

Volkswagen appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, the German car offers much better overall protection, which launches it ahead of the other contender. It all continues in the same direction, with Volkswagen outracing its opponent in any situation possible, making it better choice for boy racers. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... It's really tough to make a final decision here, but if I'd need to, I'd say Volkswagen. Anyway, that's the most objective conclusion I could've came up with and it's based solely on the information found on this website. Aspects such as design, practicality, brand value and driving experience are there for you to measure them out. I suggest you spend two more minutes in order to find out which car, based on your needs and budget, would be picked by the virtual adviser™, among thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.