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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  Drives Nicely, but a piece of junk!! - 2004 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By fenn - June 21 - 10:43 am

  The XJR drives nicely and is very quick. However, it is a poorly built hunk of junk. My car spends almost as much time at the dealership as it does in my garage. The quality is very poor, and it is unreliable.

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  Run far from this car - dont do it - 2000 Jaguar S-Type
  By nkarr - May 23 - 3:43 pm

  Worst purchase of my life. 55k when purchased and 6 months later I have less than 60k and have had the car in the shop more than 5 times. Replaced evaporator, condenser, 2 coils with the need to still replace the others. Both back windows quit working. One of them falls down. Idles rough probably because of the coils. Trans doesnt shift correctly. Interior compartment door latch broke. Entire dash taken out to repair freon leak. Total cost has been over 2k in repairs without fixing some of the outstanding problems. Every time I see a car like this I say "but isnt it pretty". In other words if you want a car that looks great but runs like crap then buy this car. If you value your money dont.

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  Hope you like to visit the service dept - 2004 Jaguar XK-Series
  By JG - May 17 - 10:00 am

  Looks great, drives great and is worth the $80,000.00 However, myself and everyone else that has ever owned this car has had nothing but problems with it. Problems that are too numerous to list. Usually every 3,000 miles when it is brought in for service, there is a list of 8-10 things wrong with the car. Convertible top is great but to put the cover on it for a finished look is a real pain and comes off when driving.

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  Not worth the money - 2004 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By DTS - April 14 - 9:20 am

  This particular XJ8 is the XJR version, so performance is amazing and fun. However, the interior is dismal. The buttons fall off the airvents, the driver-seat is worse than a wooden bench, and the ignition is placed in a way that we tend to accidentally brush the key with our knee and shut the car off. Trunk space is small for a model like this. Headroom is minimal. Backseat is cramped for a car this size. I am not impressed.

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  Timing Chain Blown - 2000 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By Lost - February 13 - 7:50 am

  Timing chain gone at 105,000 miles. Cost to replace engine quoted at $25,000. New car instead.

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  A Beautiful Piece of Crudd... - 2000 Jaguar S-Type
  By Doug - November 27 - 2:40 pm

  I purchased this 2000 S type 3.0 several years ago with less than 40K miles on it. Its an absolutely beautiful car and I still get compliments from strangers. IF they only knew what sort of NIGHTMARE this car is mechanically. From cheap front headlights, to constant leaks, continued engine trouble, poor brakes and constant repair bills. Im looking to dump this car as soon as it makes sense monetarily. DO NOT buy a 2000 Jag S Type from any dealer. At first, youll love you car ... but eventually youll regret the day you drove it off the lot.

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  Service Nightmare - 2011 Jaguar XJ
  By Dissapointed - July 8 - 10:00 am

  Ive had my XJL SC 16 weeks. 2 weeks after taking delivery, it was in the shop to have multiple rattles and pops repaired. 3 weeks later, I got it back, free of pops and rattles. Yesterday, I got in the car and the audio system was only putting out sound on the passenger side. Hoped it was a fluke, but no, same problem this AM. And these arent the only issues- Edmunds only gives me so much space I cannot deny that this car is compelling to drive. On the days that everything works, it is a true pleasure. The build quality and reliability are abysmal though.

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  Very Poor resale value - 2001 Jaguar XK-Series
  By loud - June 27 - 2:00 am

  Very Poor resale value, Im getting very little for a trade in value. Seems like you can $10k off the price of a new one. That type of discount on new ones is killing the value of mine.

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  SKIP this Model! - 2003 Jaguar X-Type
  By sammyg - June 14 - 8:33 pm

  This is not a real Jaguar- Never had a Jag before, and after having all sorts of problems with my Audi A6 (no dealerships on Long Island could figure out what was wrong with the car), I swapped it for the X-type. What a mistake! The instrument gauges work intermittently (YES, sometimes they are just still, reading 0 MPH when on the freeway, etc.), the car SQUEAKS over every bump and dip in the road, the automatic headlights only work when they want to, and the dashboard vents curl up (had these replaced under warranty twice, still curls up! Ive given up on these). The rear park sensors dont always work. NOT acceptable for a $36k car. Look elsewhere when shopping in this category.

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  Nice, but VERY High Maintenance - 2005 Jaguar S-Type
  By JGY - May 26 - 10:00 am

  I bought this car and the dealer highly suggested I purchase the extended warranty, and Im glad I did. I like the car, drives great, is quiet, shifts smoothly, fuel economy is ok, around 21 avg. However, it is in the shop every 2-4 months for either oil leaks, electrical probs (my wife called me this morning saying the temp read out was flashing on and off), transmission fluid leaks, parking break motor going out, etc. and I have only had it 2 years. The dealer is normally good about giving me a loaner, and they always fix it for free, except when the gas tank latch broke. I thought that was bad, but didnt say much. All in all, I would never buy a Jag again, but I am glad I owned a nice car