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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  Dont Buy an X-Type - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By lo - February 8 - 8:01 pm

  Tons of electrical problems that are not easy to figure out or fix and transmission died at 115,000 miles. Interior is average and gas mileage isnt very good. Unacceptable.

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  My Jag - 2004 Jaguar S-Type
  By Andrew Gutterman - February 8 - 2:00 am

  i purchased this vehicle in oct. of 02. i have so many complaints lets get started. this car is $47,500 to own, i am leasing it for 39 months for $639. When i first got the car i was very impressed.the GPS system is now a mental case who spits out my CDs, changes the radio stations and turns the radio/CD playeron. I often have trouble getting the car into drive, the shaftwont move, i push it beeps. after about 4-6 trys itgives and im off. the exceleration is great so is the handleing, but the gas in NYC is crazy and 18Mpg isnt to hott. i cant ever get the trunk open on the first try manualy nevermind with my trunk button on the key.

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  Top Quality, Tons-o-Fun! - 2007 Jaguar XK-Series
  By Timio-san - February 6 - 6:06 pm

  A proud owner since May 2006. I ordered the XK the very 1st day it was availabe for ordering in the US - got the 3rd convert delivered in the Wash DC area. I traded a 2003 Merc SL500 and couldnt have made a better choice. The XK is drop dead sexy and has stellar interior and exterior styling. Jags Ian Callum is a genius on this one! The quality and reliability has been better than any Porsche, BMW or Merc Ive owned. In other words, zero defects, only two trips to the dealer for minor tweaks. The performance is especially pleasing in Sport mode - plenty fast for DC driving. Ive taken four trips of 2+ hours and this thing is comfortable and joy on the highway.

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  great looks, but disappointing performer - 2002 Jaguar XK-Series
  By socalh2oskier - February 6 - 10:00 am

  This car is gorgeous...it has a great ride, always garners stares and compliments...but it is so disappointing to drive even a little bit sporty...all because of seats that seem like theyre straight out of a 1970s Cadillac. The seats have no side bolster support whatsoever...take a left corner at anything above granny speed and youll likely end up in the passenger seat...plus, the seats have terrible lumbar support. Im really amazed...the less "sporty" XJR sedan and even the lowly X-Type have much better seats than this "top-of-the line" supposedly sportiest of cats.

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  Baby Jag - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By Elaine - February 6 - 10:00 am

  2.5 I reallllly love the car.

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  XK Coupe for Carrera and no regrets. - 2008 Jaguar XK-Series
  By JCmd - February 2 - 6:03 pm

  Traded in a 2 year old Carrera with many, many problems for a more beautiful car. Although not the handling of the Porsche, this is a true GT with plenty of room, comfortable ride, and admirable get-up-and-go.

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  Great car, but can I rely on it? - 2000 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By gr8golfr - February 2 - 2:00 am

  Great car on the highway...smooth as silk and good overall handling. Takes a while for the tires to warm up and smooth out though. Its not as agile as the German cars, but I knew this when I bought it...just miss this sometimes. With only 36000 miles, I would expect more reliability and fewer quirky repairs.

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  Complicated! - 2016 Jaguar XJ
  By RKW - January 30 - 9:37 am

  I have had this car for about a month. It looks great and it gets compliments from total strangers. It is fun to drive if you are just driving on a highway. Good value for the price I am paying. However the car is quite long and I have trouble parking it. The park assist is helpful but can not be relied on totally. The car has quite a few glitches, I believe in its computer. It takes about a minute for the computer to boot up, almost like a PC and not like my Mac Book Air, for comparison. The Park assist is difficult understand. Is it on all the time or does it require manual turn on? However the main issue we have is with the AC. It does not cool as well as the Lexus SUV we are used to. Also the AC sensors may be at times having difficulty figuring out what to do. Even when we turn the temp dial up to 80 to stop the high speed of the fan (in AUTO mode )it keeps going. The navigation etc and other tech features will take some time to get used to, unless you are familiar with jaguar. I am probably half way through, that too with the essentials. Over all it has been a good experience and my brother who drove it a thousand miles to bring it to us enjoyed the drive and did not feel tired, even from the long trip. I may ahve to take it back to my summer home since parking space in the winter place is a tight fit, needing quite a bit of careful maneuvering. Since I do not have to be in a hurry any more that is ok!

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  Just got mine last Monday - 2011 Jaguar XJ
  By ecurry - January 29 - 10:54 pm

  I have owned 4 Mercedes Benzs and 2 Lexus. I owned two S500s ( an 01 and an 02), an 03 SL 500 and a 10 E350 that we recently purchased earlier this year. I still have my 02 S500 and I love that car. I purchased all my vehicles new. Prior to this new change, I wouldnt even look at a Jaguar. There was nothing exciting about the vehicle at all. ( The same way I feel about Lexus now. Its a safe boring car.) I had actually gone to the dealership to look at the Panamera when the salesman told me I should look at the new XJ. He walked me over there and I was done!!! This is the sexiest car ever built. Go ahead and spend more money if you wish, you will NOT get more car!!!

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  The best Jag for me - 2004 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By Richard DuBois - January 23 - 10:00 am

  This is my fifth Jaguar since 1994 and let me tell you that Jaguar has done a very good imporvement since then. The new Vanden Plas is very elegant and it says british carm all the way. It is very powerful and very roomy for me. The exterior looks alot like the old model but still is very beautiful and the interior is very clean and is laid out well.