Yes, you can still buy a Volkswagen Phaeton

ANYONE looking for a truly exclusive set of wheels is in for some great news this week - the Volkswagen Phaeton still exists!

The largest and most expensive People's Car is a sort of Loch Ness monster of motoring, at least in the UK, because so few of the things are out there. VW might - through its Skoda brand - actually offer you a car called the Yeti, but when it comes to being truly elusive the Phaeton has it licked. I know motoring journos have been asking this since its launch in 2003 but I'll ask it again; who pays £40,000 for a Volkswagen?

I'm not rich enough to really know the answer but VW's decision to revamp its most luxurious motor means all my ramblings last month about how to spend a lottery win are wrong, because paying that much for a VW gives you something BMW, Jaguar, Audi and even Aston Martin can't. Exclusivity.

The problem with prestige motors, even in these recession-ridden times, is that too many of them are just too common. It's been the case for years now that you're more likely to come across a new BMW 3 Series than you are an equivalant Mondeo, and it's easy to explain why. Given the choice, which would you honestly rather have?

Which is exactly why you can no longer go for the Porsche 911, BMW 7 Series or even the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, which all attract more buyers in the UK than the 400 VW is expecting for the Phaeton. So if it's exclusivity you want the forgotten Phaeton is your best bet.

It's not as though it's badly engineered either; the Phaeton had to pass seven unbelievably hard tests surely set by the Simon Cowells of the car industry, including the requirment for the range-topping W12 to be able to maintain a steady interior temperature of 22 degrees while the vehicle is at a constant speed of 186 mph in an ambient temperature of 50 degrees. This despite the car being restricted to 155mph.

I haven't driven the Phaeton so I honestly can't say whether you should buy one over Jaguar's exciting new XJ, but I know already which one's the more exclusive. In the wild, you're far more likely to see a big cat than the Loch Ness monster.