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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  Beyond my Expectations! - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By idriveajag - February 21 - 10:00 am

  I have now owned this car for 3 weeks. I was apprehensive while awaiting delivery. All I can say is that I love it more every day. It has awesome power and handling. Mine was not cheap as it is the Sport with many options, but I feel that for the money it is the classiest car on the road. BMW and Benz make great cars too, but there are way too many of them on the road. Elegance and distinction were always the hallmark of Jaguar and the tradition continues with the X-type.

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  Great car for the $. - 2004 Jaguar S-Type
  By ranger7 - February 18 - 10:00 am

  So far there has been no problems. Acceleration is outstanding and the handling excellent. The DVD nav system is one of the best in any car. It is not as responsive to the road as a M BMW or an AMG Mercedes, however, its ride is not harsh. On long trips (over 4 hours) its a pleasure, no sore back when arriving at your destination. I was considering the new M5 when it come out and the AMG E55, however, with options, the price is about 20k more than the Jag with slight improvement in performance.

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  POWER SURGE - 2004 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By Robert Cass - February 18 - 10:00 am

  Explosive acceleration caught me by surprise; I had traded in a 1998 S420 Mercedes and therefor was not used to the Jaguar 390 horsepower quickness. The ride on the low profile 19 inch tires is firm and smooth. Im especially fond of the internal DVD Navigation system which covers all the USA and Canada. The Cruise Control allows you to select a "following" spacing behind any vehicle in front and if you have selected a higher speed than the vehicle in front, it will slow your speed to maintain the spacing you have selected.

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  Cats R us - 2004 Jaguar S-Type
  By Paul d Bowell - February 17 - 2:00 am

  Contrary to a number of professional reviews,I do not find my s-type noisy at high speed and in Europe we drive considerably faster than the USA.The new 4.2 V8 works like a dream and the handling is superb.My only critisism is that there could have been a little more room in the back.

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  Gorgeous Car - 2001 Jaguar XK-Series
  By cjaubert - February 16 - 10:00 am

  Wonderful looks, great ride, very plush. Only complaint is lack of real comfort. Bottom line: I love this car.

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  Jaguar Sports Car - 2003 Jaguar S-Type
  By Jaguar S-Type R - February 14 - 1:20 am

  Most exciting car, I ever owned was a Jag XKE 1962. Except it was a pain to keep running. This is quite a car and I have owned BMW 2002, 735i and 740i. Wife doesnt even realize when I go around curves fast lol.

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  Love Hurts - 2000 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By galewood478 - February 13 - 3:00 pm

  I absolutely loved this car, was such a classic. However, I had to get rid of it after 2 transmission failures. It kept cracking drums within the transmission. There has yet to be a car designed that captured the stunning class and sophistication displayed by this Jag. Loved it, and as hard as it was to let her go, it proved impractical to keep fixing it over and over. Ford built it, so that should say something.

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  Ultimate Luxury - 2005 Jaguar XK-Series
  By bill quirk - February 11 - 10:00 am

  This car is the ultimate luxury vehicle. The styling remains up-to-date even after several years on the market. People continuously expess their approval. The car is a comfortable road car with great performance. The miles just seem to melt away. As an added bonus, the boot will hold two sets of golf clubs.

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  Thats My Jag - 2005 Jaguar X-Type
  By Marc - February 10 - 11:36 pm

  Great in snow and rain...fun to drive, great pickup. Very reliable.

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  Vanden plas - 2002 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By pookie - February 7 - 7:56 pm

  Overall quite pleased with vehicle.