the Jag was rock solid and stable. It felt perfectly safe and controllable and I felt perfectly secure and in charge
and it felt capable of keeping it up all night long.

I never felt that way in Detroit iron. I've never driven a Corvette (the Jaguar's USA comparison) but I suspect that off the dragstrip,
it is not as stable and safe. Cars should be made to take curves, not just accelerate. That's why I've never owned an American car. The Volkswagens and Japanese sedans
I've driven all my life weren't race cars by any stretch of the imagination, but they handled predictably and safely, even on wet pavement. That is much more important than just going fast.