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:

• 

  best in its class - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By JagX - June 6 - 10:00 am

  Bought this car recently for my wife. the car runs great and 4WD is just as good as the ones on the A4s (another great car) but if you are not a performance oriented person (like my wife) and you are looking for that classy, sophisticated yet stylish look, then the x-type is it! no one believe this car is under 40K USD!! and yes ive heard plenty about people having problems about thieir x-type, im greatful that is not the case for me. so far the car is running great and black ext. black int. gives it an aggressive look. if you love the sporty feel then u should check out the A4. dont fall for the bmw 3s unless u can afford a M3.

• 

  nice car - 2004 Jaguar X-Type
  By striman - May 7 - 2:00 am

  comfortable good ride a change from the bmw fanatics

• 

  Breakdown city - 2000 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By rivercreek - May 1 - 2:00 am

  Purchased a low mileage car off a three- year lease with Jag certified warranty. The past year has been frustrating with broken automatic seat setting device (3 times), broken wiper motor, broken electronic antenana motor, broken thermostat, and countless other nit-picking problems. The car left us stranded twice. Love the car, just wish it was reliable.

• 

  2002 Jaguar X Type Sport - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By Miked37945 - April 27 - 10:00 am

  Jaguar, or Ford, whichever one suits or thrills you, produced a winner! Its true that the X Type is not a BMW but, if you need to compare it to a BMW then just go buy one. The car has its minor comparative faults but its biggest fault is a driver who has nothing to do but compare it to something else. The interior is not "Spartan," it is very conservatively sleek and pleasing. The rear seat room is a bit cramped but this is not a family vehicle or a taxi. The X Type holds the road well and is great in curves. The bottom line is that it is nice. Test drive it and if "you" like it, ignore those who dont.

• 

  No other premium offers this much for $ - 2003 Jaguar X-Type
  By Xenon - April 21 - 6:03 pm

  Ive considered a Saab 9-3 and an Audi A4 when deciding. Theyre both great cars, but the Jaguar X-Type offered more options, more character, more driving enjoyment, more emotional involvement than any other at the price. Every trip in this car is a special occasion. Reliability and quality has been far above my expectations so far.

• 

  2003 S-Type - 2003 Jaguar S-Type
  By Chris Hewes - April 8 - 3:40 pm

  A beautiful car... Jaguar style is rolling joy... unfortunately the car is not without its issues I am experiencing a lurch when the car is changing from 1-2 gear and a rubbing noise at 45 mph. Oh yes and the brake deployed while traveling down the road. a quick fix and no foul. Thankfully this car has 6/10000 warranty on it as it was bought as a "select edition" so I am hoping it will be addressed by the dealer in the near future so far they have been very helpful.

• 

  So far, pretty good - 2003 Jaguar S-Type
  By alexander,RG - April 8 - 1:00 pm

  Some poor engineering design like seats that dont go back far enough for easy entrance and exit. A 16 gallon gas tank for a supercharged engine that gets about 12 miles to the gallon overall. Headlights that keep failing and a odometer and other information display that is so poor that it cant be read unless the outside light hits it at exactly the right angle, which is practically never.

• 

  Maintenance - 2008 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By Al - March 29 - 9:16 pm

  I have owned the car for a little over a year and the air-conditioning went out. We I took it in the said the brake pads had to be replaced. We only have 15,000 miles on the car. The dealer mechanic said we would have to change them every 20,000 miles or less. This does not seem right. Is this a design flaw in the car?

• 

  Big Cars mean Big Bills - 2004 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By Phil - March 27 - 4:46 am

  Had it for one year (18,000 - 32,000 miles), solid & responsive car to drive, firm seats stand up to wear from 4th & 5th graders. Unexpected maintenance & problems as follows: 1. Complete failure of battery & remote entry system ($1,800); 2. Worn front tires, replaced all (28,000 miles, $600); 3. Complete brake job (28,000 miles, $800); 4. Car alarm goes off unprovoked at least twice weekly, still uncorrected; 5. Radio jumps to different band on its own; 6. Had minor wrinkle in front fender over wheel, didnt break the paint, est. to repair was $3,000 (aluminum unibody, I think), I had dent guy fix it for $200, looks ok.

• 

  Life Cycle of the S Type - 2003 Jaguar S-Type
  By Lean Consultant - March 5 - 10:23 am

  I purchased this car from a private party that fell on hard times after only putting 4100 miles on it. I love the styling of the vehicle and wanted the 4.2 liter V8. This car was to be my dream car. After seven years, I have to admit that it has lived up to most of my expectations. The original warranty, and then the extended warranty I purchased later, covered just about everything I could have requested. I get approximately 22 MPG with about 80% of my driving on the freeways of Southern California. By using Michelin touring tires I find that the ride cushion and quietness are better than I had expected. I compare the acceleration with what I had as a kid with my 64 Olds 442.