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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  2005 Jag S type Racing - 2005 Jaguar S-Type
  By kevin pantera - February 14 - 11:40 pm

  clean lines with guts under the hood. moves right along with a little road noise.

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  Overall Great Car - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By Brad - February 12 - 7:20 am

  I bought my X-Type used a little over two years ago. I have loved every minute of it. I have not had any reliability issues with the car at all. I have only had it in to the dealer for routine service. Also, the 2.5L V6 has more than enough power for daily driving. Before I bought the car, I had read several reviews stating that the car was underpowered. Unless youre buying this car to do drag racing, this is not the case. I find it has as much, or even more power than my last car - a Infiniti I35 with a 3.5L V6. The X-Types AWD system also has a leg up on the BMW 325xi. This is a great car for the price!

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  Awesome XK replacement - 2007 Jaguar XK-Series
  By CJ - February 7 - 1:13 am

  Replaced 98 XK8 with this vehicle. Objectively considered several other vehicles, but after hitting other marques and testing-driving, ultimately decided to give the 07 XK a try when all things considered for me (styling, performance, features). I marked Reliability as "10" cause (knock on burled walnut), no problems yet, but just had it a couple days.

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  X Type Sucks - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By Keith/Jag - February 5 - 2:00 am

  Although I like the cars handeling and looks,,,, I have had a lot of problems from day 1 of my purchase. At the 50,000 mile make a leak in the drive train sent oil everyware under the car and on to the exast system. The repair was $1000 and the cost of the rental car $250.00. Jag corperate said "tough break" "Deal with it" Needless to say... I am NOT very happy

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  Fast and Luxurious - 2004 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By Richie D. - February 5 - 2:00 am

  At first I wasnt sure I liked the taller and wider exterior styling but now am getting used to it. Not as sleek as my 99 XJR but a whole lot better car. Ride is noticably better and handling much more precise. Faster too and is much quieter, both inside and from outside. Easier to wash and wax with fewer sharp corners and edges. Shifts too quickly from 1st to 2nd gear but is better in sport mode. The seats are now very comfortable and deep enough to support thighs properly. The wide tires take a set when cold and bump until warmed up.

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  Awesome car...Awesome looks - 2004 Jaguar X-Type
  By pimpedoutsaab - February 5 - 2:00 am

  We just got a Jaguar 3.0 Sport. The car is awesome! The way it preforms is just as good as my sisters BMW 325ci, if not better. I really think that AWD was a great feature, very helpful in bad weather. The car is gorgeous on the inside. I disagree about it not being welcoming, in fact its very welcoming, and just all around a wonderful interior design. All of the features are well thought out, and plenty easy to use. I would recomend this car to anyone that wants a smaller can thats fun to drive and that gets lots of stares when driving down the road.

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  A zippy Jaguar at last!!! - 2006 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By Barbara - February 1 - 10:56 pm

  This is our 3rd Jag, and this one is definitely the best, in performance and style.The all aluminum frame, the radar feature, and the double windscreen blades are a big improvement.

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  Great car -still going strong - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By yklktk - January 28 - 3:30 pm

  Wonderfully smooth on the highway, with paw like handling on country roads. The manual shift 2.5 gives back performance lost in the automatics I tested - the car will really move with revs kept above 2500.

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  Great Car for the price - 2004 Jaguar X-Type
  By Mike Erickson - January 24 - 10:00 am

  Great Car for the price

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  Elegance+Performance=Jag 2001 S - 2001 Jaguar S-Type
  By H.S. - January 22 - 2:00 am

  This car is by far the best car I had (and had them all!). Extreme elegance with supreme performance makes it stand far a part with other similar sedans, foreign and domestic.