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:

• 

  Great Car. - 2004 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By Patrick McLaughlin - July 10 - 10:00 am

  Great Car, Proforance Great,handling better than my new corvette,and the ride is the best i,ve even driven.

• 

  Service Nightmare - 2011 Jaguar XJ
  By Dissapointed - July 8 - 10:00 am

  Ive had my XJL SC 16 weeks. 2 weeks after taking delivery, it was in the shop to have multiple rattles and pops repaired. 3 weeks later, I got it back, free of pops and rattles. Yesterday, I got in the car and the audio system was only putting out sound on the passenger side. Hoped it was a fluke, but no, same problem this AM. And these arent the only issues- Edmunds only gives me so much space I cannot deny that this car is compelling to drive. On the days that everything works, it is a true pleasure. The build quality and reliability are abysmal though.

• 

  This is not a car, its a Jaguar! - 2003 Jaguar X-Type
  By Minetta Robinson - July 4 - 2:00 am

  I love this car. It rides beautifully and I love the "get up and go" of it. The trunk space is great as well. I never thought I would own a Jaguar, but now that I do, I am hooked.

• 

  LOVETHISJAG - 2004 Jaguar X-Type
  By Ron x-typeowner - July 4 - 2:00 am

  I bought my Jag last month and Iam enjoying every second. I looked at the 2.5 but it lacked the power I needed. I just splurged and got the3.0. I am really satisfied and to me it burns the 3 series BMW and the C-Class Merc in style and appeal. This car is just perfect.

• 

  may b cheap, but still holds tru to jags - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By Jon Brewer - July 2 - 10:00 am

  VERY nice car. I sometimes find myself with my camera jsut taking photos of it. I dont know what id do without it!

• 

  Awesome Ride - 2003 Jaguar S-Type
  By racebrat - July 1 - 3:16 pm

  I wanted a Jaguar for a long time and finally purchased this one. It is far more fun to drive than any car I test drove or imagined it would be. This car has so much power I dont have to worry about merging onto a busy expressway. I get a compliment just about every day about how beautiful a car I have.

• 

  cool car - 2004 Jaguar XK-Series
  By killio - June 27 - 2:00 am

  this car is awesome Ilove my car I got it a year ago and Its great

• 

  Very Poor resale value - 2001 Jaguar XK-Series
  By loud - June 27 - 2:00 am

  Very Poor resale value, Im getting very little for a trade in value. Seems like you can $10k off the price of a new one. That type of discount on new ones is killing the value of mine.

• 

  Nice Car - 2004 Jaguar X-Type
  By Chambersec - June 27 - 2:00 am

  So far very good reliability (always a concern with Jaguar). Fun to drive. Get lots of approving looks. Great paint finish. Like folding rear seats.

• 

  Whats not to love! - 2003 Jaguar S-Type
  By Linda Wells - June 26 - 4:30 am

  This car is an absolute pleasure. Its everything I hoped it would be. I have no complaints. Friends told me not to buy it, but its performance has proved them wrong, not to mention its classy appearance. Buy one, you wont be sorry!