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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  So far, so good! - 2004 Jaguar X-Type
  By jimmhs73 - June 10 - 4:30 am

  Bought my 1-owner X-Type locally, excellent cond., "Platinum" color, with 116k miles in January after reading all I could on-line & checking with another X-Type owner. Put all new Kumho tires on right away. Ive driven close to 2k miles and absolutely no complaints. Super smooth shifting, quick acceleration, very quiet ride - except for hearing the transmission (apparently common) and a little wind noise at highway speeds if I have the interior shade for sunroof pulled back. Parts are outrageously expensive - found local Carquest can get OEM parts for a lot less. Paid $6k & dealer fee. Everyone amazed-beautiful, well-built car for the money!

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  An Excellent Automobile - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By davidb - June 9 - 8:00 pm

  This automobile is excellent except for three drawbacks: there is minimal space in the back for passengers, gas mileage is very poor, the wheels cannot be easily removed, they stick to the rotors. It would be impossible to remove a wheel in an emergency. Otherwise an excellent car, well built and reliable.

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  Cheap broken plastic bits everywhere - 2000 Jaguar S-Type
  By Aardvark - June 9 - 2:00 am

  Pretty car, atrocious build quality, not so much assembly, but the cheapest garbage plastic everywhere. Inside trim pieces break, but worse, crappy plastic in critical components, including transmission shift gate and window lifts necessitating unreasonably expensive repairs to replace cheap broken parts. Brakes mushy with expensive pads and rotors, front suspension is a disaster. Tie rod ends, hubs, ball joints all made out of crap and need replacement. So if youre lucky, you wont need to do what everybody else has had to: replace the transmission, front end, a/c and heat components, engine coils, window regulators, etc. AND DONT SLAM THE DOORS. Your window regulators will break.

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  2004 vanden pals: phenomenal - 2004 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By cheesehead - June 5 - 2:00 am

  This is my third xj. The 2004 is exquisite in every detail, highly recommend the multi media package. Had a 2003 bmw 745, this car is just as fun to drive but the nav system and controls are very user friendly, unlike the i control in the bmw. they are pricey, but what a great ride!

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  Love the baby Jag - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By Nashman1975 - June 1 - 11:40 pm

  Fantastic car--picked it over the Merc and BMW. Everyone i show loves it. My father now wants to buy one. The interior is fantastic for the price. Few hiccups to date--leaking windshield sprayer, out of alignment on delivery, noisy driveshaft (apparently people have these problems with this car--all were fixed under warranty, driveshaft still slightly noisy during cold.)

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  2005 X-type VDP - 2005 Jaguar X-Type
  By Andy - May 29 - 11:03 am

  Overall I am very pleased with my experience with the car. The styling is exquisite and the interior elegance is above its competitors. The car has plenty of power (3L V6 engine) to make my driving fun and leave a fair amount of cars behind.

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  Best XJ Ever ! - 2006 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By Jag Man - May 28 - 5:06 pm

  The all new XJ with aluminum is without question the best improvement Jaguar ever made to this legendary car. Jaguar stands alone in looks for cars in this price range. This JAG turns heads.

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  2002 XJR after one year - 2002 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By Ailean Mor - May 22 - 2:00 am

  This vehicle has been a great pleasure to own and drive. It combines the desired features of luxury, performance, reliability and safety into a package that does not come without a significant price tag, but is well-positioned when compared to similar vehicles in its class.

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  Disappointed - 2005 Jaguar S-Type
  By slj769 - May 21 - 10:32 am

  I bought this car b/c Ive always wanted an S type...had the pre-purchase inspection, & all they had to say was it would need upper ball joints in the near future. But the price seemed right, so I bought it. A week later, the battery was dead, then every week after, the battery would die, faithfully. Come to find out, it has a parasitic drain that wasnt disclosed to us & I guess this is a huge problem with these cars. My husband traced it out, & its the GECM. Im disappointed that Jaguar produces such beautiful cars with such ridiculous flaws. I love this car, but hate this car. Other than that, its been great, but I wouldnt buy another Jag.

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  vanden plas rah rah - 2005 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By mike g - May 18 - 11:20 am

  The 2005 Vanden Plas XJ8 is the autobahn beater that should be considered by anyone looking to combine luxury with size and power. Jaguars flagship matches up with the S-Class and the 700 Series very well. Less weight (aluminum) equals speed and agility you would not expect from such a large auto. The additional costs for he German cars can only leave you wondering why would you spend more to get less? Compare the three. The car will sell itself. Tally Ho