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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  Steal this car in 07 for about $15,000 - 2000 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By Jeff- Arizona - May 14 - 5:06 pm

  This car is a head turner. I love the Alpine audio system. Very fast car. lots of power The car sold new for $75,000. You can buy one in 2007 with about 70k miles out the door for 15k. Also this was the top of the line Vanden Plas edition

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  2017 F Pace - 2018 Jaguar F-Pace
  By M Valentine - May 14 - 12:58 pm

  2017 was the introduction of jaguars entry into the SUV market and they hit it out of the park unfortunately 2018 they cut out the heart of this car by reducing it six-cylinder supercharge 340 hp to a four cylinder turbo charge 200 hp

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  Work of ART - 2003 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By Chris - May 6 - 3:43 pm

  I purchsed the car new in 2004 with 42 miles on it. No problems to speak of, the dealer did replace brake pads and rotors under warranty at 11,902 miles. one of the most comfortable cars for driver and passager, back seats are cramped, but a small price to pay fo rthis car. Have gotten use to the navigation and really like it now. After owning a Jaguar, its hard to consider driving anything else. Such a high build quality, high grade materials that you jsut dont see in other cars.

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  my experience - 2001 Jaguar S-Type
  By james herauf - April 25 - 10:00 am

  very bad at best, jaguar corp. does not care or respond if there problems with your auto. Dealership can only replace parts not fix the problem. Stay away !!!!

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  Spectacular Chassis In Search Of Interior Designer - 2018 Jaguar XE
  By Scott in PA - April 10 - 4:14 pm

  This car, even in base model form, drives exceptionally well. Too bad it is also reminiscent of my wifes old Lexus RX350...great chassis with an interior that made you want to get out of it as quickly as possible. The Good: Acceptable acceleration, excellent steering and braking. A little too much nose dive under severe braking, but everything else works so well it can be forgiven. This car really holds a line when attacking those beckoning freeway on-ramps. Transmission shifts are buttery smooth and almost imperceptable. The Bad: Ergonomics & Design. At 6 even, the armrest on the driver door is at least half a foot short of where I need it to be. Totally useless. The shelf on the door with the window, lock and mirror controls is at an odd angle. It causes you to fumble around the buttons, then twist your wrist weirdly to actuate the controls. Very disappointing. The seat was not particularly supportive, nor did I find the seat back comfortable. The seat back angle is such that my shoulders didnt touch at all, just the back of my head and my middle-back on down. Switchgear was also disappointing.... very flimsy. Response time on the touchscreen is outstanding...no delay. Good luck though performing simple tasks like phone pairing or seat heating.... or re-setting your trip odometer. Lastly, road noise intrusion is just too much. Freeway driving at 70mph should not be this loud.

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  Great Car in need of pampering - 2003 Jaguar S-Type
  By WileCoyote - March 27 - 8:20 am

  The Supercharger makes this car a rocket and the styling over the normal S-Type is tremendous. That car flies and stops on a dime. The bake squeal drives me nuts as does the new steering whine. Overall that monster eats traffic for lunch. Its a great car that I think needs more attention that should have had been addressed at build time. Ill probably keep it for a while and then go for an E55 or M5. Its a great looking car that performs and Im glad I have not had the types of trouble others have had. It sure does turn heads.

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  best in show! - 2004 Jaguar XK-Series
  By Michelle A. Calo - March 8 - 2:00 am

  I love my car its a little hard to get in and out of because of the low roof

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  Its the little things! - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By gar - March 8 - 2:00 am

  Over all its a good car but its the little things that bug me. After a recall service there was a rattle in the dash. Serviced it twice and it wont go away. Same thing with wheel noise. Sounds like backing plattes for brakes. The chrome door handles here in sunny Florida get too hot after a few hours in the sun. Oh, please get rid of the sliding arm rest. I also have trouble reading the odometer in bright sun behind the car. Even in normal circumstances I find it hard to read when wearing sun glasses, which is most of the time in S. Florida. Id trade it in over these annoying little things but the resale is not in favor of that move.

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  Baby Jag - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By DC - March 5 - 3:03 pm

  X-Type is solid and a great performer. We looked at BMW-3, Mercedes C, and Audi. The Jag handled and rode better than all of them . Its plusher inside and the ride was very solid. Definitely drive one !!

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  Gorgeous car - seats not comfortable - 2007 Jaguar XK-Series
  By socalh2oskier - February 29 - 2:23 pm

  Sexy ext., and interior is best ever on a car - perfect combination of wood and leather. Super handling and ride - although car is rather large - 188 in. long and 75 in. wide - it drives smaller - turn radius shorter than BMW 3-series. Wind buffeting virtually non-existent. Excellent stereo and super quiet ride with top up. Seats are better than prior years, but still uncomfortable - headrest is rock hard, lumbar too high - Corvette, BMW, and Porsche all have better seats. Complicated integration of radio, A/C etc thru NAV screen - cannot see it with sunglasses - and too many screen required to make changes. Should have HUD like Corvette so eyes can stay on road.