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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  Nice car for the price - 2004 Jaguar X-Type
  By SouthCarolinaGuy - June 30 - 3:20 am

  Ive leased this car for the past 39 months. I love the styling, smooth ride. The AWD just hugs the road. Turning, parking,etc. all great. I feel safe driving this car. Great visibility all around. I have not been pleased with the workmanship. My dash vents have popped up, the cloth covering on the roof support along the windsheld is wrinkling, the lighted mirror on the passenger visor wont stay up - flops down when opened. The covering for the driver-side rear view mirror disappeared - assume it just fell off. The oil pan gasket had a leak that was repaired under warranty. Back seat is tight, but I rarely have passengers there.

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  GOOD LOOKING....NOT SO CLEVER! - 2004 Jaguar XK-Series
  By LEEji - June 18 - 10:00 am

  What a beautiful car to look at,inside and out! I outfitted mine with the 19 wheels and it looks amazing.Now,driving it on the other hand is a different story,or you could say sailing it,o.k. thats unfair,my other car is an Audi S4 (on tracks!) This car creeks, shudders,and wobbles.The build quality is very questionable,which is probably something to do with Ford,only the cost of the parts are not quite in line with Ford! The V8 is good but feels dated and sounds like a taxi.I always feel like selling this car,then when i get out and look back i realise why i dont.

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  Jaguar X 2.5 - 2003 Jaguar X-Type
  By Ron B - June 12 - 2:00 am

  Outstanding ride with firm and deliberate control at all times. Holds up well (too bad I found out) in a crash at 35 mph. Comfortable front seating, fun to drive. 2.5 engine peppy, but somewhat under powered. Good gas mileage. Outstanding comfort and stability even over large bumps or train tracks.

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  An Excellent Automobile - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By davidb - June 9 - 8:00 pm

  This automobile is excellent except for three drawbacks: there is minimal space in the back for passengers, gas mileage is very poor, the wheels cannot be easily removed, they stick to the rotors. It would be impossible to remove a wheel in an emergency. Otherwise an excellent car, well built and reliable.

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  2005 X-type VDP - 2005 Jaguar X-Type
  By Andy - May 29 - 11:03 am

  Overall I am very pleased with my experience with the car. The styling is exquisite and the interior elegance is above its competitors. The car has plenty of power (3L V6 engine) to make my driving fun and leave a fair amount of cars behind.

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  Disappointed - 2005 Jaguar S-Type
  By slj769 - May 21 - 10:32 am

  I bought this car b/c Ive always wanted an S type...had the pre-purchase inspection, & all they had to say was it would need upper ball joints in the near future. But the price seemed right, so I bought it. A week later, the battery was dead, then every week after, the battery would die, faithfully. Come to find out, it has a parasitic drain that wasnt disclosed to us & I guess this is a huge problem with these cars. My husband traced it out, & its the GECM. Im disappointed that Jaguar produces such beautiful cars with such ridiculous flaws. I love this car, but hate this car. Other than that, its been great, but I wouldnt buy another Jag.

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  Air Conditioning LED screen flashes - 2006 Jaguar S-Type
  By rogerelliott2 - May 12 - 4:05 am

  This is a 2006 S-type with an usual intermittent problem. Sometimes, the temperate display, a/c. fan, etc. flashes on and off endless. It doesnt seem to effect the a/c but it worries me that it m may be indicating a problem. A similar display message appears sometimes on the dash regarding cruise control. It says: "Cruise control not available." And then cruise doesnt work. It seems to fix itself though and although Im not noticing when, it starts working again. Any thoughts on either issue? I absolutely love this car.

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  So far so good - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By bigbaby - March 17 - 2:53 pm

  Bought used 2002 X-Type 2.5 for my wife whose 95 XJ6 finally bit the dust. Car has about 1 year left of certified pre-owned Jag warranty and 58K miles. Car is absolutely beautiful inside and out. Not a rocket but is ok to get around town. Took long trip in Texas and performed well, but I found the seats a bit tiresome on long drives. Tranny shifts quickly and smoothly.

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  A lot of little car. - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By Jess - March 17 - 12:06 pm

  I have owned this car for 8 months now and I believe I am sold on Jaguar for life. It is such a joy to drive at any speed. You can really feel the road with this car and you have to make a conscious effort to push it to the edges of its performance envelope. I have the sport suspension and manual trans and when I get on a twisty road I really want to wring it out. The car is very quiet with respect to wind and the all wheel drive and traction control systems are top notch. The engine will rev to 7000rpm and has power from about 1500 rpm on up. After owning about 20 cars I cannot praise this car enough if you like performance in your subtile family sedan.

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  2003 needs help - 2003 Jaguar S-Type
  By Paul - February 20 - 3:33 pm

  Love look of car, always a head turner. Been in shop avg of 1x per month, unacceptable. Tranny slips, especially in turns and when slowing. Would never own unless I had a warranty AND the free rental. 3 recalls since I have owned. Had it not been a great deal on a demo car, I would not have pulled the trigger to purchase. Can sell today for what I paid for it. Will probably sell in a year with warranty left. Dont buy the ivory interior if you have kids. It shows everything and is not the easiest to clean. I have a gold color that hides a lot of dirt, but the brakes dust drives me crazy. To keep wheels looking nice, have to clean EVERY week even though the car is not dirty.