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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  Excellent Car - 2005 Jaguar S-Type
  By Steven Mc Cowan - September 9 - 5:53 pm

  This is an excellent car. Well fitted panels and a beautiful interior. The car has surprising power and for a large car is fun to drive. This is a very competent road and luxury car. The seat placement memory is a feature that we particularly enjoy as well. Sales and service follow up have been excellent.

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  Just perfect - 2008 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By mike - September 9 - 5:46 pm

  The car is beautiful, comfortable, reliable, fast, sporty and classy. The gas mileage is probably the best in this luxury segment.

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  Great Car To Drive - 2004 Jaguar X-Type
  By Fizzle - September 6 - 8:40 pm

  Bought this from dealer as a demo with only 1600 miles. Car handles great and has never needed any major repairs. I am upgrading to the new XJ as a result of my wonderful experience with this model. X-type is an entry level Jag but if you want a car different from every other model on the road this is it.

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  Sure-footed in bad weather - 2004 Jaguar X-Type
  By Kellylvms - September 5 - 10:00 am

  This car performs incredibly well on snowy and icy roads. Thats not to say that anyone should purposefully be taking risks in bad weather, but this car has proved itself. We live on a hill with a winding lane. One day last winter I started down the lane and realized I had forgotten something. I put the car in reverse, and while on ice and snow, the car went backward without hesitation up a hill and around curves. I was amazed! Most cars cant get up my lane in winter going forward! I can only hope that the repair record for this car is excellent because I plan to keep it for a long, long time.

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  Real Estate Machine - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By David J. - September 3 - 5:06 pm

  I bought an 02 X-Type. I had upgraded from a 97 Cad STS. What a different car. I feel the Jag is more refined while remaining sporty. The all wheel drive is a must for the Colorado winters. In fact the X-Type is so good in the snow that I feel no need to purchase a SUV. The car has a few quirks like the turn signals wont turn off unless you make a full turn. I also wish the car had more driver leg room since I am 62". Overall though I have to say that when I went to the dealer I was going to buy a BMW or Audi. I had such a bad attitude about the old Jags and their lack of reliability I didnt even want to test drive it. Once I drove it I immediately bought it and will drive nothing else.

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  No regrets - 2004 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By Paul - August 30 - 6:10 pm

  I bought my 2004 Jaguar XJ8 in May, 2008. It had 35,000 miles on it and, yet, it has taken me an additional 50,000 trouble-free, breathtakingly quick miles. The car is a beauty, British racing green with sand interior. The normally aspirated engine responds well and the ZF transmission translates that power to the road immediately. The XJ handles like a much smaller car, dancing over the road rather than crushing it as its German stablemates tend to do. This is the best, most responsive car Ive ever owned. A true joy to behold and to drive.

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  ABSOLUTELY "THE BOSS" - 2005 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By WARREN STEINMAN - August 25 - 7:16 pm

  I just purchased the almost Identical (2004 XJ8) car for my fiance. Market is still soft so I stole it for $2,900. It runs and looks as good as my first one. (Hers is white.) Purchased 6 months ago with 160k now has 190k. It is smooth, comfortable, quick, agile, frugal (avg hwy 27mpg @75mph). I dropped in a new radio head unit with backup camera, nav, sirius, bluetooth etc. Now it has all the bells and whistles you can get from a newer version. Car looks like new, runs like new and the best part, including the new head unit, - $3950 on the used market. It is by far the best car I have ever owned. My Cadillac SLS was a not so close 2nd. (previous cars - 3 Mercedes, 3 Caddys , Chrysler 300, Prius + many many more.) right now it is an excellent buyers market for one of the truly superb vehicles you could own and enjoy.

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  Quite worth a test drive !!!!!!!! ;) - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By RJD - August 17 - 10:00 am

  My 2002 X-type is off white/creme. People comment on it every time I drive it. It is the 2.5 with a 5 speed. Only option was the indash cd player. I purchased the car for under $29k. Im not into gadgets. I wanted a drivers car. This car is most certainly in the top for handling/mileage/aesthetics. Nothing else looks like it on the road but other jags. Interior is quite nice. I added a full wood trim kit, which really improved the feel inside. Beautiful. AWD in my state is essential. The engine is designed to run at high RPMS. It is quite enjoyable to rev this car to 6000k RPM.very cool.

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  I highly recommend this car - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By Scott Simpson - August 8 - 2:00 am

  I am for a car shopping for a month now. I considered MB C240, Audi A4 3.0, BMW 325i, Lexus ES 300, and Jaguar X-type 2.5. And the winner was Jaguar. Excellent interior quality and design, awesome handling, acceleration, low noise and precise road stability. Audi was underpowered and noisy. MB had so cheap interior so I even refused test drive. BMW lacked in interior design. And Lexus was too small, underpowered and colored in as a parrot.

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  Still a performer - 2006 Jaguar S-Type
  By michael - August 4 - 11:23 am

  Ive now owned this car for several years and its my third Jag. This car is simply the best Ive owned. The looks are still good and save for the easily scraped wheels, it still looks new. The reliability has always been a concern but its never broken down and never not started. The only trips to the shop have been for maintenance and to replace a NAV component (warranty). The brakes are expensive so watch out for that! ($1000.00 for the back)