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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  Great Car - 2004 Jaguar X-Type
  By Lois Brooks - August 2 - 2:00 am

  Love the car. looking forward to new models.

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  Classic Style - 2006 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By Ronnie G - August 1 - 6:46 pm

  Ive been driving my new XJ8 for the past 3 months now and have been enjoying it ever since. I love the feeling of driving a car of this class, with its luxurious leather and wood and excellent Alpine sound system(worth the upgrade with the navi). The car feels big and important but at the same time feels very quick and sporty. The acceleration is super quick when merging on interstates and the car feels light when cruising. When driving, everything feels higher than your seated position giving a low, sporty feel, which is unique in a luxury car. Ive bought my dream and I love every bit of it.

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  Mustang to Jag - 2003 Jaguar S-Type
  By cburl - August 1 - 5:16 am

  Like MikeL, I went from a Mustang to Jag. Jag was a executive car for major dealership, so Im first private owner. Was well cared for and maintain. Most think its brand new. No problems whatsoever, and the guys at the dealership miss her. Love the ride as extremely quiet and relaxing. All black leather with silver exterior nice, but heats up in the summer sun. Garaged most of time. AC quiet even at full blast as to not drown out cd. All in all, excellent and attention getting ride. They lose value after newness, as the window sticker showed $47,478 and I got this perfect specimen for under $10,000. Maybe the economy and I was paying cash. Couldnt think of a greater value.

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  A Great Car - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By BCecill - July 31 - 10:00 am

  I have been completely satisfied with my new X type. The dealership in Dallas was great including the salesperson. You need to drive this car.

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  Great car !!! - 2005 Jaguar S-Type
  By Exbeemer - July 28 - 10:00 am

  I have had six BMWs before I bought this car. Even if Beemers are great cars this has been more fun, just as great a drive and much more class. I greatly recommend it !!!.

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  Save your money, get the base - 2014 Jaguar F-Type
  By naplestopless - July 15 - 10:08 pm

  After driving the base, V6 S and the V8 S, I leased the base V6. I felt that it actually drove better than the other two for much less money. For some reason the base Trans seems to shift better than the two higher models. While waiting for my base, I was given a V8 to drive, while very fast, it just wasnt as much fun as the base.

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  S-Type Review - 2005 Jaguar S-Type
  By Theresa Streer - July 14 - 2:56 pm

  This is one car we may keep for a long time. The design and engineering are timeless. It is amazing on how many second looks this car gets. We feel very comfortable with the free maintenance program and the dealership we are dealing with makes you really feel that you bought more than just a luxury sedan. We are a little curious why they did not iclude any type of door body side moulding to protect the car for any mishaps that generally will occur at any number of parking lots, which this car will be vulnerable to.

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  Great car - 2004 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By A. Silverstone - July 8 - 10:00 am

  Best looking, most innovative in the luxury class

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  A nice car that I love to keep - 2003 Jaguar X-Type
  By Hank - July 4 - 5:30 am

  This car has meant several things to me: Nice looks, decent power (3 liter), all wheel drive (AWD) versatility and of course, the Jaguar brand name. It feels great when friends and strangers recognize the brand and make positive comments about its looks. This is my 5th year of ownership and I still like its looks and feel. I liked it so much I decided to not trade it in when I recently bought a new car. The 3 liter engine feels strong and satisfying in most situations although the automatic transmission loses a second or two when downshifting in sudden acceleration. It makes up for this in smooth operation when needing to pass. Last but not least, the AWD feature has been great in snow/ice.

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  wife loves her new x-type - 2003 Jaguar X-Type
  By mikesail - July 3 - 10:00 am

  We picked up the x-type from the dealer about a month ago and currently have 2000 miles on it. My wife has never enjoyed driving so much, the car is just plain fun! Everything works the way it is supposed to, nothing to complain about. We live in a rural hilly area and the 2.5 with automatic has plenty of power to handle it. Cant wait for the winter to see how the AWD does. With the factory and dealer discounts on this car it feels like an incredible bargain.