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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  Great Car - 2006 Jaguar S-Type
  By bob8800 - August 4 - 4:00 am

  I went from a Lincoln to the Jag and I have been very pleased. Classic appearance, great power and cornering is outstanding. Drivers seat is a bit small for a tall person and five-person capacity is impossible unless they are small people. All in all I am very impressed with a fine automobile.

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  Mixed Emotions - 2003 Jaguar S-Type
  By EarlyGo - July 26 - 10:00 am

  We love the way it looks. Ride is good. Handling/cornering is excellent. Plenty of power. Interior is very nice. Lots of bells and whistles. Integrated phone not present when delivered, installed two months later. Continuous chronic problems with phone/voice activation along with some of the other features of the touch screen. Repeated service has corrected some problems but still intermittent errors occur. Upshifting - 1st to 2nd - faults range from delay in shifting, to stumbles, and clunks. Downshifting 2nd to 1st - stumbles, clunks, and lurches (sometimes feels like being hit from behind). Multiple service - still not corrected.

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  Vanden Plas - 2000 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By hipir - July 12 - 10:00 am

  Very comfortable, quiet car. Not a head turner but if you are beyond that in your life, this could be the car for you

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  Why the Bad Rap? - 2005 Jaguar X-Type
  By Adam - June 23 - 4:06 pm

  I read all the reviews before buying my X-type and I was a little worried as most seemed to give the car a bad rap. After owning it for 8 months I have found only minor things I would change on the car. Most reviews said the car wasnt as sporty as the other small cars in its class. While that may be true not everyone is looking for a sports car. With the 230hp engine the Jag will get you anywhere you need to go plenty fast. If youre looking to blow the doors off other cars go buy a Mustang Cobra for the same price. For the rest of us who are just looking to ride around in style this car is perfect. Drives nice, looks sharp, and I havent had any issues yet.

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  Great Cat - 2004 Jaguar X-Type
  By Frank K - June 17 - 12:53 am

  Great value. I know this is a Ford based car, but the value is great. The ride is firm and yet comfortable. Huge trunk. No issues, recalls and free maintenance!!

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  One of a kind - 2011 Jaguar XJ
  By JOE - June 11 - 1:03 am

  I leased this car because I found that there is not a car on the road like this. Im coming out of a xk. All you see on the road is BMW 7 MB 550 and they really dont stand out, this car is an animal, fast, quiet, handles great. Luxury and state of the art. Simple solution: go see it and drive one

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  I love this car!!! - 2003 Jaguar S-Type
  By jjandaa - June 8 - 1:39 am

  I bought my car in 2005 with 10k miles on it. It is my all the time car and now has 97k miles on it. The only problems I have had is the front driver side barren went out, replaced the brakes twice, and the electronic e-brake went out (which I have not replace). I do not considered these major problems. I love this car and complete recommend it to any one. I do not plan on replacing it anytime soon. I have been through 2 major accidents and have never been hurt. The car still rides smooth and if you look at it you would never know it has been through the accidents.

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  New Jag Seems Great (so far) - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By JJL635 - May 30 - 2:00 am

  I purchased this new baby Jag the end of last month. So far, it seems to be quite satisfing. My only complaint is the sloppy transmission. I had a 1998 Jaguar XJ8 (the big 4-door model), and it had the dame tansmission problem. Overlooking that fact however, the car seems to drive and run beautifully. Last night, however, something rather strange occured. When I got in to the car, I wanted to put up the sunroof, and it was going all haywire...The part of the button to move it back wouldnt work, and the up part was all confused, moving back and fourth...today its working fine. Strange. Overall, though, a great effort from Jag.

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  A great GT - luxury and performance - 2008 Jaguar XK-Series
  By owner1 - May 26 - 9:53 pm

  I have owned 3 porsches and several bmws as well. Had every intention of purchasing m6 until completed test drives. Test drove 911s, m6, and maserati GT in addition to xkr. An absolutely beautiful car inside and out. I thought performed better (felt over engineered) and far better looking vehicle than m6, had much better luxury appointments (like gorgeous suede cabin top interior and superior nav) and much better curb appeal than 911s. While 911s is better handling car, I found the xkr to be quicker. While the maserati gt is an equally if not more elegant car, it didnt come close to xkr on drive performance

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  it needs a little work - 2004 Jaguar X-Type
  By billgerry - May 18 - 12:30 pm

  The X is a truly fabulous car to drive. It handles curves like a champ, and at 120 mph, it still has power to spare. It was annoying to have the transmission replaced at 20k - with 5 others in the shop ahead of mine. Cheap plastic items, like gas cap covers break easily, and a number of electronic problems, like sunroof controls, keep cropping up, requiring the inconvenience of shop visits.