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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  Worth the extra HP - 2003 Jaguar X-Type
  By Neil McFarlane - April 27 - 9:43 pm

  Tried the 2.5L SE and was surprised at the lack of pull, lots of gutsy noise but no real grunt. Then tried the 3.0L, the difference is remarkable as soon as you turn the key. Much gruntier sound, loads more wellie and some effective top end traction. Fuel consumption isnt that much more, but early days yet. If youre still deciding, go for the 3L, you wont regret it.

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  Interior pieces not up to par - 2005 Jaguar X-Type
  By KKear - April 5 - 6:33 pm

  Have the car just over a year. The sales experience was great but the servicing of the car is a problem. Every 5000 miles it goes in for oil change and a a list of interior problems that take 2 days to fix. The defroster vents, J gate shifter, seat belt height adjuster, floor mats, outside temp guage and bulbs burning out all are problem areas. Good thing the car is a great driver, has stunning looks and has a long warantee. Fuel mileage is 22.2 MPG over 16000 miles, about right for AWD and high compression, high horse engine.

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  Aging Badly - 2000 Jaguar S-Type
  By David - March 21 - 5:00 am

  We have absolutely loved this car, and up until now, marveled at how much Fords ownership had improved the reliability of the marque (vis a vis Jaguars reputation in the 1980s). At five years of age, window channels and other relatively minor things broke that would never have failed in some other automobiles. Most recently, with less than 40,000 miles on the odometer, we got to pay $2,400+ for a transmission rebuild. It was explained that there is a "braking mechanism" in the transmission that helped slow the car when the foot was lifted aff of the accelerator. Ford has improved Jaguars reputation from their former deplorable reputation up to Fords mediocre at best reliability.

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  Jaguar s-type R - 2005 Jaguar S-Type
  By Sphinx121187 - March 16 - 10:00 am

  The Jaguar S-Type R is a very interesting car. Its dynamics and its engineering are very fun and solid. It is an extremely stable and fast car. The exterior styling keeps in line with a fast sleek interesting cat. It is the epitimy of high performance luxury European cars.

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  Bargain Luxury? - 2006 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By socalh2oskier - March 2 - 5:00 pm

  One of the quietest, smoothest rides you can find. And, if you do your research, you can find genuine bargains. I paid $33k for a 2006 with 18k miles, with an 84 month/75k mile warranty. Seats are comfortable - this is one of the best cars you could ever have for a long trip. Stereo is fantastic, nav is easy to operate, and bluetooth syncs easily with most phones. Surprisingly, gas mileage is very good. I average 18-20 in the city, and 27-29 on the highway. Handling, although far from sports-car like, is quite good. Overall, this is a fine car, much better than other cars in the same price range.

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  My Jag - 2000 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By LLH - February 24 - 10:00 am

  Overall I love my Jag. You can not beat the look and style. Performance is great. I am big on squeaks and raddles: (check these things out before you buy - Paying $70K for a car should mean perfection) The dash trim did raddle at first - foam fixed. The trim going up along the front windows is not well mounted and raddles (looks easy to fix). At a low speed I hear a very faint high pitch squeal from somewhere in the dash that comes and goes. I have no idea what this is but it can be annoying. Drive very slow (5mph) for .5 to 1 mile to make sure you do not have the same issue.

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  A Love and Hate Relationship - 2002 Jaguar S-Type
  By Imuniq - February 12 - 2:00 am

  I like this car because its very stylish, but its not very practical for daily use. The trunk is too small to be useful, and the gas tank is too small, especially for the hungry V8 engine (I have to fill up almost every 3 days!). It has been very reliable except the VERY fragile and low foglight lenses have been breaking every 6 months.

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  Nice VDP - 2005 Jaguar X-Type
  By Todd - February 10 - 4:53 pm

  Purchased an elite VDP 3.0 with decked out rims, etc. Happy with car overall. Hit deer going 40 mph and car held up to impact surprisingly well - only cosmetic damage. Very sturdy car (had Volvo previously) - feel safe. Some transmission issues already. Fails to up/downshift causing annoying jerking to ride. Trans seems to slip. Premium stereo could be better. Would like more interior space - need to adjust seats for different size guests depending where they sit. Larger sun visors would be nice. Dont like the center armrest much.

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  Keeps on "Truckin" - 2005 Jaguar X-Type
  By pandahenry - February 2 - 7:24 am

  This is the Wifes "Dog and plant hauler" It is just a bit past 77k mi. and still works fine., in fact on the highway, the fuel economy is an amazing 27-28 mpg! The ride has deteriorated" in part to recent tire purchase ( TOO high performance) In the 9 years we have owned= only 4 problems.. #1.a brake boost seal (replaced under warranty.) #2. expensive performance components like the Special F Brake discs. #3 Passenger seat-seat belt buckle malfunction..= new and VERY expensive female seat belt clasp #4 the led light that allows view of temperature numbers is out and cannot be repaired easily I see many of these vehicles still on the road here in Coastal Southern California I know that this car is fast "like a Jaguar".....it is fun to drive "like a Jaguar" it has unique style and grace,"like a Jaguar We are glad that Jaguar has re-introduced the SportBrake " (as they call it in England) We wanted to order a new Sportbrake, however,we are looking at the F-pace because this Sportbrake-Wagon rides low to the ground and a few inches of taller ride would help us navigate the gauntlet of distracted drivers in Coastal Socal We might be selling soon

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  Beautiful, But I cant Trust Her - 2001 Jaguar S-Type
  By Anthony Gucciardo - January 27 - 10:00 am

  I have a 2004 E Class and Bought Used S- Type because I always wanted one! They look better then any other car on the road including Mercedes, Audi, Lexus, etc. The first week I had it didnt start cause the car thought it was being stolen. The next week the battery died, and other times there is a clicking noise that cant seem to be corrected. I love this Car, and get excited when I drive it, but its not dependable. The car will not shift out of park when parked on an incline and the engine pings even though I use Octane 93 Fuel. If you get an S-Type get a 03 or Newer!