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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  Perfection. - 2003 Jaguar XK-Series
  By Dubii - April 30 - 2:00 am

  I would spend my last $85k on this car and have no regrets. In fact, I think I did. Simply the most incredible car I have ever seen, driven, or owned. Makes my previous S55 Benz look like a Yugo. Never has there been a more beautiful shaping of sheet metal in the history of the automobile, add to that the technology and performance and quality and you have a perfect 10.

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  The Jaguar Has Arrived! - 2007 Jaguar XK-Series
  By radical - April 29 - 3:16 pm

  Jaguar has done it! The attention to detail is amazing; even the turn signal sounds like a grandfather clock ticking. I have never enjoyed driving a vehicle as much as this one.

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  What a Lemon! - 2003 Jaguar S-Type
  By paul - April 27 - 2:33 pm

  We purchased used in 06.3 1000 miles. Fair price.Cool looking car. My wife thought it was the 2nd coming,I couldnt get her out of it. Thought this was a good investment for years to come. Thought it would be reliable, considering it was a jag.The first 2 years were ok-the tranny and oil pans were leaking, minor really. We had them repaired.The last 1 1/2 years have been difficult to say the least. The car has had its instrument cluster put into a fridge, dash lights have done off/on while driving at night, cd player problems, heating controller malfunctions,exhaust issues, other elect issues, and most recently the lower control arm needs to be rpl-it leaks($1100.00) Show me the money-looks great!

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  Need re-engineering - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By Cliff - April 27 - 1:10 am

  What a disappointment this car is. A lot of cheesy engineering. Transmission died at 45000 miles, cost $7200. Need new brake job at 42000 miles, cost $1,200. Can only be done by Jag or you can expect to hear brake noise, even with genuine pads and rotors.The vent cover pops up all the time near the windshield and makes noise, the driver seat moves forward 1/4" - 1/2" went stopping, the middle console rocks side-to-side like its going to come apart.

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  Fun to drive, expect build problems - 2003 Jaguar X-Type
  By Geoff Miller - April 24 - 10:00 am

  I own a manual 2.5 w/Sport package and Xenon lights. Have ~2500 miles on it in first 6 weeks of driving. A fun car to drive with great handling, but it has several small gremlins in build quality: mine have been loose seat, intermittent fuel gauge, and a whistling sunroof. More frustrating, the dealer hasnt returned my voicemail requesting service in 3 weeks now. Fun car, but expect to have it serviced under warranty. The OEM ContiTour tires are cheap and noisy. I replaced mine w/Eagle F1 GS- D3ès and road noise went down significantly.

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  A victim of misjudging - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By Curtis K - April 18 - 8:13 am

  My X-Type has treated me very well; power and handling are always there when I need it. On the road, Im confidant of the ability to pass someone even if they try to accelerate to close the gap. Sitting in this car, you really feel at one with the machine as the seat wraps around your body reassuringly, connecting you with the road as the roar of the engine actually sounds like the primal growl of a wild, angry jaguar. The steering wheel allows you to feel your way without becoming disconnected from the road as you do with many luxury cars. We have to remember, to judge this car in the same class as other high-end cars would be unfair. This is an entry level car delivering above par results.

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  Not sure yet - 2003 Jaguar X-Type
  By Chris Parrilli - April 18 - 1:46 am

  I have had the car for two weeks and already put in &1,860.00. The dealer did a lousy job preping the car. I do love the look of the car I hope this is just a series of problems now solved. We will see

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  Great Car for the Money - 2003 Jaguar X-Type
  By jagmeister1 - April 10 - 3:59 am

  I bought my 2.5L automatic in June of 2010. When I first got the car there were some "gremlins" especially electrical that came and gone. In September the battery went. I was able to put a charge to it and when and got a OEM battery. Wow all the gremlins were gone. When I bought it it had 23046 miles and now June 2011 I turned 26000 miles. Except for the electrical gremlins I have no problems with the car until about a month ago. I have the optional HID self leveling headlights, no washers on the lights. The interior mechanism broke in both headlights, and they could no longer be adjusted. One pointed to space the other to the ground. Jaguar does not make replacement parts for these lights,.

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  My favorite car EVER!!! - 2005 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By Daniel Chao - April 8 - 2:44 am

  I have the black on black xj8 L. I got some sexy 20 inch rims for it. Smoke the windows. My car is super sick. Everywhere I go everyone looks. I bought this car because of the price and what you get for it. People think you have to be a baller to drive this car. I did buy my car used with 80000 miles on it. But the conditions were immaculate. I am having some minor issues with the air suspension and I know the shocks on this car are very expensive. But I rather drive a Jaguar with this type of attitude than anything on the street for this year 2005. I have the nicest car on the block. I wish I could post a picture so you guys can see but unfortunately I cant. I highly recommend people who want this car to buy it in black or in white. Any other color will make the car look like any other car. Has to be black an exceptional white. I promise you that if you buy this car in black and smoke the windows you will be feeling like the boss of the road

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  The jaguar for me - 2004 Jaguar XK-Series
  By Alexander Whatley - April 6 - 2:00 am

  This car is fantastic the engine knows no boundries it is stylish and the best of all british.