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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  Lemon - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By Mr Mike - February 28 - 10:00 am

  I bought a new X-Type in Jan 02. After just one day I had to return the car because of a faulty drive shaft. New one was faulty and so on. After 4 replacements it work. Oh, did I mention that the car had a missing Head light when I picked it up. Next problem the heating system stopped working. Sun roof needs re-cycling from time to time. Now the car is back with the Dealership to try and sort out a bad noise from the roof. Worse car Ive ever bought. I did suggest to the Dealership that they should replace the car after one week which they agreed too if I bought out the lease for $16,000! Avoid this car and Dealership.

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  Edmunds Confuses the X-type issue - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By libby - February 13 - 9:46 am

  This is a very good car, which is comparatively cheap if you stick to the base model, which Motor Trend describes as surprisingly quick. I bought it because of good initial reviews, including a very positive one on the Edmunds web site. Then I was distressed to see Edmunds reverse itself with an extremely negative review. More recently there has been a grudgingly neutral review, which still describes lower speed statistics than the ones in Motor Trend, Car and Driver,etc. How can Edmunds be useful to buyers if they keep contradicticting themselves?

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  jaj s series - 2004 Jaguar S-Type
  By gilbert parker - January 13 - 10:00 am

  bought mine in1999 used about 6000 miles on car when bought. have had no problems of any kind. probably the most relieble car i have ever owned now has 40000miles

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  S - 2007 Jaguar S-Type
  By Lee - January 10 - 6:03 am

  Our Jag S-type is definitely one of a kind. Very classy, smooth ride, excellent design. However, we did notice that it needs work on the sunroof area. Theres definitely a vibration, a low rattling sounds coming from the ceiling near the sunroof. We took the car back into the dealer in efforts to fix the sounds but its still there. Maybe Im a bit more sensitive to sounds than other people but the sound is still there. Hopefully well figure out of a way to get rid of the sound. Other than that, an excellent automobile.

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  Pleasant Driving - 2004 Jaguar X-Type
  By Matshum - January 2 - 10:00 am

  I found the Jaguar X 3.0 to be comfortable, fast, and easy to drive. Exceptional power and I like the all wheel drive.

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  You Bought a What?? - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By David Rosenberg - December 13 - 10:00 am

  ed During the few months that Ive owned the Jaguar X-Type, to say "Pleasantly surprised" would be my first reaction. Coming from the Honda Accord, I would say it would be the same as coming from a Cadilliac to a Rolls Royce. Being some what of a car buff, I knew of the troubles Jaguar had had and faced in the past. The car is luxurious yet functional.A smooth ride but, can be knocked around without you feeling it. I cant wait for the first Snow fall, to experience the AWD in a luxury automobile.

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  2 years and still enjoying my X - 2003 Jaguar X-Type
  By Varilux - November 16 - 1:03 am

  Purchased a certified used 5 spd/2.5L X-Type in 3/05 (had 12k miles). 2 years and 18k miles later, the only issues have been a popping air vent (fixed under warranty) and a drivers door handle that intermittently sticks. Handles like a dream (the AWD is amazing), but could use just a bit more punch in 1st gear. Acceleration from 20 mph on is just fine. Quiet ride and gets compliments everywhere I go. Very satisfied with performance, reliability, and gas mileage (24 mpg with 50/50 highway and local driving, and I tend to punch it a lot). Looking to upgrade to either a 3.0 X-Type Sport or used XK8 next year.

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  Love my Jag! - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By walt_beth - November 11 - 10:00 am

  This is my first Jaguar and I love it more and more each day. The car is very luxurious, moreso than the bmw, lexus and mercedes we test drove. So far no, problems, but we are worried about the reliability after reading the edmunds report.

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  funcar - 2003 Jaguar X-Type
  By siena - November 7 - 10:00 am

  at this point, one month, I am very pleased with the auto.

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  Jag Addiction - 2001 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By lyleseven - October 19 - 2:00 am

  this has been a fabulous car. Absolutely no problems other than a front end alignment which the dealer covered under warranty and replaced front tires at no charge. The Pirelli P6000s wear out within 20k miles but they handle and ride beautifully. if you can afford this car why complain about a $125 tire? Gas mileage has been consistently 16+ around town. Everything works. Compared to my 87 XJ this is heaven....