Overview & Reviews

Jaguar cars have a long history of elegant styling and sporting performance. The brand was born in the United Kingdom, and for years its vehicles were synonymous with the old-world luxury of the British upper classes. More recently, Jaguar has been under the ownership of other automakers, but Jaguar cars will always bear the unmistakable gleam of traditional English refinement.

The company traces its roots to the Swallow Sidecar Company, founded in 1922 by Bill Lyons and William Walmsley. Based in Blackpool, England, the company produced a popular line of aluminum motorcycle sidecars. Swallow eventually switched its focus to automobile production, changing its name to SS Cars Ltd. in 1933. The first vehicle to carry the Jaguar name was the SS Jaguar 100, released in 1935.

After World War II, SS Cars switched its moniker to Jaguar so as not to be associated with the Nazi paramilitary organization that bore the same initials. Its first postwar offering was 1948's Mark V. The luxury sedan was joined that year by the XK 120, a sports car that was the fastest production automobile of its day — its name indicating its top speed. The XK 120 proved quite popular, and helped Jaguar establish a strong presence in the sports car market.

By the 1950s, Jaguar had begun exporting luxury vehicles to the United States. Created just for the American market, the Mark VII Saloon was introduced in 1951 and was a hit with stateside motorists. In 1956, the car took the prize at the Monte Carlo Rally. Later in the decade, Jaguar added the Mark VIII and Mark IX to its lineup. Meanwhile, the XK became the XK 140 as performance increased. Then came the XK 150 which was obviously even faster, though not quite as curvaceously alluring as the 120/140 models.

The 1960s saw the launch of one of Jaguar's most well-known models. The E-Type (or XK-E as it was known in the U.S.) debuted for 1961. The new sports car, available as either a coupe or convertible, provided performance and refinement wrapped up in an undeniably sexy package. The success of groups like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and icons like Twiggy the fashion model made British culture a hot commodity during the '60s — a fact that likely had positive implications for Jaguar's popularity in the U.S.

A decade later, Jaguar introduced the XJ6C and XJ12C coupes to join the sedans. At one point, the XJ12 was the fastest production sedan of its day. By the mid-'70s the lovely E-Type was replaced by the relatively bland XJ-S. The 1980s saw Jaguar continuing to raise the bar in performance with the launch of the XJ-S HE and a true world supercar, the XJ220.
By this time, however, Jaguar's cars had also built up a reputation for questionable reliability, electrical problems being the chief source of owners' angst. Increased competition from German automakers and adverse exchange rates didn't help matters either. Without much capital to work with to improve matters, the company decided to pursue a partnership with another company. This decision ultimately led to a full buyout of Jaguar by Ford in 1990.

Ford's influence (and financial support) was evident with the 1997 launch of Jaguar's XK8 and supercharged XKR sports cars. Powering both was Jaguar's new AJ-V8, a compact yet powerful engine that was also used in certain Land Rover vehicles. A few years later, Jaguar made an effort to broaden its product line with the introduction of a lower-priced, entry-luxury compact sedan known as the X-Type. Unfortunately, this model sold poorly, as its modest European Ford sedan underpinnings proved to be a liability. Around this time, Jaguar's old-school traditional styling grew stale as competitors moved into the new millennium with cutting-edge, modern designs inside and out.

Sales plummeted, and Jaguar's financial problems caused further headaches for parent company Ford, which was also experiencing financial turmoil. Ford cut its losses and sold Jaguar (and fellow British premium brand Land Rover) to Indian manufacturer Tata in 2008. Though reliability still remains a concern, new models like the XF and redesigned icons XK and XJ seem to indicate a bright Jaguar future, as they feature modern designs sprinkled with a fair share of classic Britannic charm.

User Reviews:

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  incredible power, handling, styling and sounds - 2014 Jaguar F-Type
  By hgoldstein - April 29 - 9:38 am

  Best sports car Ive driven. Tested 911S, Maserati, BMW and nothing is as much fun or excitement. Best looking, freshest and most exhilarating.

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  WORST vehicle for QUALITY. - 2000 Jaguar S-Type
  By Sam - April 29 - 5:43 am

  Expensive repair required every 90 days. Every thing is repaired from trans/engine to things you can not expect. It is always a surprise. But best part is you will replace lot of window regulators. Recommend to STOP using window.

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  Happy Mothers Day - 2007 Jaguar XK-Series
  By shermfa - April 29 - 5:16 am

  My husband took me to trade in my 96 Mustang GT convertible.The XK is truly an amazing piece of machinery in comparison...so quiet--even with the top down compared to the old car (she purrs not growls), and she wants to run fast. The feature that limits acceleration may be something folks really do want to use, you can be doing 70 and feel like its a Sunday drive at 40; top storage takes up some trunk space, though, so order Fresh Direct if its an option. The backseat is small, though bigger than the Mustang. The screen is almost unreadable in bright sun, but the cellphone docking features are amazing. HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to me!! Its that much fun!

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  Stay away! - 2007 Jaguar X-Type
  By BlueMountain - April 28 - 8:10 am

  At 87K miles most would expect all parts of the powertrain to be intact but not with the X type. The dealership tells me I need a transmission, axle, transfer case along with water pump. I just fixed the wiper motor and the engine is pinging. I thought I just got the trouble car but I learned the transmission went out on 2 other owners I talked to in the Jaguar waiting room. No wonder they offer only a 50K mile warranty for such an expensive car. The one thing that hurts so much is the value drops like gravity. I owe 20K on this car and it looks nice and all but is only worth 11K according to KBB. Consider yourself warned. Stay away from this car.

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  2002 Jaguar X Type Sport - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By Miked37945 - April 27 - 10:00 am

  Jaguar, or Ford, whichever one suits or thrills you, produced a winner! Its true that the X Type is not a BMW but, if you need to compare it to a BMW then just go buy one. The car has its minor comparative faults but its biggest fault is a driver who has nothing to do but compare it to something else. The interior is not "Spartan," it is very conservatively sleek and pleasing. The rear seat room is a bit cramped but this is not a family vehicle or a taxi. The X Type holds the road well and is great in curves. The bottom line is that it is nice. Test drive it and if "you" like it, ignore those who dont.

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  What a car. - 2004 Jaguar X-Type
  By Robert Ives - April 27 - 10:00 am

  Ive been a proud owner of an X-Type for two years now and can honestly say that I am now a Jaguar owner for life. The level of service, the quality of manufacture, and the styling is unsurpassed. I have driven under every possible condition, to inlude city driving in Hawaii and 140 mph on the Autobahn in Germany. Jaguar has excelled in the design of this car. I am proud to own one.

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  No other premium offers this much for $ - 2003 Jaguar X-Type
  By Xenon - April 21 - 6:03 pm

  Ive considered a Saab 9-3 and an Audi A4 when deciding. Theyre both great cars, but the Jaguar X-Type offered more options, more character, more driving enjoyment, more emotional involvement than any other at the price. Every trip in this car is a special occasion. Reliability and quality has been far above my expectations so far.

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  Youre going to want one - 2008 Jaguar XK-Series
  By DeanR - April 17 - 9:46 pm

  This car is incredible. It is hands down, the sexiest, best driving, daily-driving automobile made, and it is a reasonable value. I also own a SL500, and aside from the hardtop convertible, not one item holds up to the Jag. Dont be fooled by the car magazine comparisons and ratings. While the Jag holds up pretty well anyway, the tests put too much emphasis on empirical performance, and ignore what most people really care about in a car, which are good looks, and how you feel driving it. The Jag has sufficient performance, a solid, rich feel, a growl when it needs one, and is downright beautiful. You cannot walk away from this car without looking back for a double take.

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  Lemon - 2004 Jaguar S-Type
  By Brad - April 15 - 6:46 pm

  This car is the worst luxury car that I have ever had. It has been in repair 8 times in two years. four for transmission problems and four for electronic/computer issues. Air conditioner continues to go on the blink as well as the entire dashboard. The only thing good is the car has a big engine and handles well.

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  XKR2001 - 2001 Jaguar XK-Series
  By nbryden - April 15 - 10:00 am

  I have experienced zero problems with this car - it is well constructed and has a high quality feel to all parts. It has exceptional power and handles corners as if it were on rails. All instruments are easily viewed and the driver and passenger compartments are comfortable though not spacious - there is adequate headroom. I miss certain features that were included in the XJS, particularly the automatic side mirror tilt when reversing - the reverse sensors compensate but not completely. There are numerous blind spots when reversing. "Back seat" is almost useless except for bags, jackets and obviously insurance rates. Overall, this is the best performing and constructed car I have owned