Narrowing it down

My 2005 Jaguar XJ 3-litre petrol is wonderfully quiet, smooth and comfortable on long journeys, especially for my wife, who has a bad back. It has also been totally reliable and is reasonably economical (on the French Autoroute at a steady 80mph I get 31mpg on Shell V-Power). However, it's a very tight fit in our new garage and I am thinking of changing it for something smaller. Reliability, long-distance comfort and a quiet cabin are the main criteria. It has to be automatic and I have a slight preference for petrol over diesel since I only do about 8,000 miles a year. I shall be buying new. The new XJ is too big and the XF is only marginally narrower than my current XJ. I've considered a Lexus IS250 but would be grateful for your advice.

Asked on 9 October 2011 by PW, via email

Answered by Honest John
An IS250 automatic is very smooth, quiet and exceptionally reliable so would be quite a good choice. But make sure you get one on 16" or 17" wheels because the ride quality deteriorates on 18" wheels.
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