I still remember my first experience with the long anticipated VW luxury car the Phaeton. As the car pulled up I immediately jumped in, out and all around the high line car with a severs case of the ‘wants’- you see at that time I owned a Mercedes S500 and quickly found it’s replacement in the Phaeton. “This car is everything my famed S- Class should have been.”

Now for round two it was time for a review in the 2006 Phaeton V8. I planned a drive through the lower Mojave Desert in south eastern California. This was an easy drive with the beautiful scenery of the multiple desert colors glowing as the sun sets in the distance. As we were cruising it gave us a chance to explore the many amenities the Phaeton has to offer. One will quickly notice the central location the navigation system screen placed at an easy to see and adjust at a short arms length we found this to be a great help as the trip continued. This center screen was the main control for most of the cabin controls. In fact you will fond not only the navigation but additional control fro the impressive stereo system and multiple climate control adjustments for both the front and rear passengers. Each seat had a complete variety of comforting positions with each complimented by both heated and air condition cooled ventilated leather. In fact the rear seats are so spacious it leaves little reason for the long version to become necessary. I do have to mention what consider the neatest feature within the interior as my award goes to the automatic slide covers that are perfectly place over each front placed vent.

The Phaeton is available with either a powerful V8 package or an all so smooth W12 cylinder package. Our test car had more than ample power to spare with the V8 equipment as each tap of the throttle revealed the heart of this true luxury sport sedan. Mated with the ever so efficient six speed tiptronc transmission the heavy weight Phaeton would glide up and over the steepest obstacles it approached. Fuel economy was right in line if not better than the competitions offerings we averaged about 20 MPG along our 500 mile tour and keep in mind this was filled with many areas of both open road and multiple altitude changes.

Our example was feature in the brilliant Silver that made the car appear to the likes of a shimmering diamond in the sunlight. Very aggressive and aerodynamically wrapped headlamp units not only have a great appearance but performance perfectly lighting up the desert for increased safety. The body styling and fit and finish from Volkswagen is impeccable as each gap was small and precise. Worth noting though I do feel the car would advantage from color coded lower panels as the sibling Audi A8 is treated to .No with that said I still think this is one bargain of a package. Once comparing the offering the any other European manufacturer the $68,000 price tag our car displayed was about 15,000 less than the next competitor’s comparable car in line. The Phaeton is the best luxury choice for those seeking a great handling comfortable European sports sedan- none better.