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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  Reborn Driver - 2005 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By David T - November 9 - 11:30 am

  This car has put the fun back in driving for me. What was a chore has become pure pleasure. I jump into my Jaguar at the slightest excuse. On the highway, you set the cruise control, settle into the pilots seat, & luxuriate. What strikes me after driving high-end Volvos for 25 years (& a TR-6) is the quiet of the cab, the surge of power when needed, & the superb handling. And lets face it: theres no other car in the price range that has such beautiful styling. Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus - especially from a 3/4 view - all look the same. I take pride in owning a classically distinctive motorcar that turns heads, esply mine. Admittedly Ive only owned it three months, but Im still in love.

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  Great Car - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By NenaKennedy - November 2 - 9:33 am

  I love this car!its one of the best cars Ive ever owned. not only does it do great in the snow,but you look good driving it. I always get compliments on this car as well!

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  SuperJag - 2004 XKR Coupe - 2004 Jaguar XK-Series
  By JON - November 1 - 5:26 am

  I recently upgraded my xk8 to a 2004 xkr - what a machine! The growl of the supercharged V8 alone, is worth the ownership fee. The Jag is an almost perfect mixture of grace and pace, its truly lovely. Its nice to see people still taking such an interest in the car when you take it out - it just oozes sex appeal.

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  CANT GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS SO FAR - 2004 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By LAUREN 329 - October 29 - 10:00 am

  HAD 1999 JAGUAR XJ8 THOUGHT WAS GOOD CAR BUT GAVE ME PROBLEMS TOWARDS END. TRIED XK8 FOR ABOUT A WEEK BUT WAS HARD TO GET IN AND OUT OF SO DESPITE MY LOVE OF ITS APPEARANCE I TRADED 2005 FOR 2004 VAN DEM PLAS. IT RIDES AND FEELS SO MUCH BETTER THAN MY OLD XJ8 AND THEXK8. I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A BETTER RIDING CAR BUT I HAD NO IDEA IT WOULD BE AS RESPONSIVE ON THE ROAD AS IT IS OR AS COMFORTABLE. HOPE I DONT GET MECHANICAL PROB. BUT SO FAR COULDNT BE HAPPIER

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  Its fun..............now - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By stlouisjag - October 25 - 2:00 am

  As I write this review I finally have my car back from 2 weeks in the shop. This was my fourth visit lasting 2 or more days over the past 6 months. Clearly disappointing and unacceptable. Most people I know questioned my decision to buy a jag based on quality but I told them that was the "old Jaguar". This story seems to have a HAPPY ENDING.... When I drove my car home last night (after having a new transmission computer installed?) I honestly thought I was driving a completely different vehicle. It was quiet, responsive, shifting smooth as silk, in short... A BLAST TO DRIVE!

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  Pretty Lemon - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By Tom - October 23 - 2:46 pm

  We purchased our 2002 x-type after leasing it for three years. During those three years we have had an interior water leak from the vent filter on the dash, pop ups of the vent, interior wood replacement, drivers door panel replaced, coolant hose prung a leak - twice, bearing replaced in suspension, squeaks, brakes replaced, worn tires- we have practically rebuilt the car from the ground up. Every time we bring it in we swear its the last time - but the beauty of it draws us back. Great looking car - but overall, a lemon. I would buy another BMW over a Jag any day- much more reliable.

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  - 2005 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By cortez - October 23 - 10:00 am

  this jaguar will give more bang for your buck. comfort, performance,great warrenty, you just cant beat it!

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  Cats, Bimmers, Soobies 25K mile update - 2004 Jaguar X-Type
  By K Kear - October 22 - 4:10 pm

  A constant maintenance nightmare!!! Every 5K I take the car for service and a list of problems to correct under warantee. 4 attempts to fix the outside temp guage, now turn signal/highbeam switch broke and not fixed right. Terrible Continental tires wore out at 20K miles even after 5K mile rotation and alignments every 10K miles. Guess I wont be buying this one out of the lease. On the positive side, it gets 24.4 MPG when using 94 octane and everyone still thinks I paid 70 grand for it.

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  Best in Class! - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By Scubaguy5 - October 20 - 9:16 am

  I took delivery 3 months ago, have put on 4500 miles since with NO problems whatsoever. My Jag handles great in the dry, and will outhandle anything in the rain! 2.5 Litre motor needs to be in the right gear for max power, but has a very wide powerband, and IMO is equal to the BMW 6 for smoothness and refinement.Frankly, I dont understand what people are talking about with the interior and quality issues. My car is rock solid, and the interior (and exterior) is better finished than Mercedes and/or BMW. I got my car delivered with flawless paint, leather seats, birds-eye maple dash, all wheel drive, 5 speed manual trans, and a 6 disk CD changer for exactly $31,000. Eat your heart out.

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  The best Jag ever - 2004 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By Marcos long - October 15 - 9:36 pm

  I bought my XJ8 with 87,000 miles on it. I now have 97,000 miles and this car feels and drives like new. Responsive, feels tight and it is very quiet. It is a wonderful car to drive in the open road, because of its power and great gas mileage. You will easily get 29 mpg on this powerful v8 car! The interior is simple, yet very elegant.