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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  A Hopeless Lemon - 2003 Jaguar X-Type
  By boughtalemon - September 20 - 10:00 am

  A pretty car which is completely unreliable. Jaguar has replaced my fuel tank, my trunk lock 3 times, my navigation system twice, my integrated phone 4 times. The phone still doest work right, and they say it is not fixable. My childproof window locks are unreliable and fail nearly everyday. My headlights have failed. On the plus side, I think the blue color is pretty. A total disaster!!!!!

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  Dream Comes True - 2005 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By happy girl - September 18 - 11:33 pm

  The XJ was always a car I dreamed of owning, fell in love with the wooden dash and steering wheel back in the day. I love that I have this car but it scares me. I read lots of reviews before purchasing and felt confident in purchasing the 05 XJ8L. We started hearing a creaking noise overhead; it is now in the shop having the alumunium panels reglued, how scary is that. I have been reassured that this is minor but it sounds serious. Still in love and missing my car!

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  Entry Level? - 2003 Jaguar X-Type
  By Danjag - September 14 - 10:00 am

  My oh my. They say this is an entry level vehicle? Think again. My wife and I are wondering what professional car editors have against this vehicle? We test drove the BMW 3- series and the Mercedes at comparable prices. IOHO there comparison to fit and finish. No comparison to the service. This look will remain classic for a long time.

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  New to Jaguar - and Loving It! - 2003 Jaguar S-Type
  By Marketman - September 14 - 10:00 am

  I just leased a 2003 S-Type V8 as my new company vehicle and Im very impressed so far. The car looks great, commands a ton of respect and goes much quicker than I would have imagined. The fuel economy is not great and Ive noticed the brake dust problem as well but it sure is a heck of a lot of fun to drive!

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  2002 2.5 x-type - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By jim b - September 11 - 3:40 am

  Purchased this vehicle from a Jaguar dealer as a certified car. The car was fun to drive and is a great looking car. Reliability stinks. I was in and out of the dealer ever other month with little problems. Until the big one happen. 2 1/2 years later after I purchased my car I brought it in because of rust that I found along the rocker panel on both sides of the car. 1 month later the dealer came back to me saying that the car was not repairable. Jaguar purchased back the car from me. The dealer told me that this was a design problem and it was fixed in later year models. 2004 or newer. I purchased a 2005 3.0 x-type bacause of the after market accessories that I had on my 02.

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  Best Car in the world - 2004 Jaguar X-Type
  By nvosko - September 8 - 10:00 am

  Great ride, beautiful interior

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  sliding - 2001 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By qbnrico - September 2 - 2:00 am

  the car is a dream unless there is some snow on the ground. when i say some snow im being kind,its actually any snow. aside from the traction, you could not have a HOTTER car. you feel like james bond when your in it.

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  Massive value in luxury sedan segment - 2000 Jaguar S-Type
  By Tranpark - September 2 - 2:00 am

  Awesome blend of styling, quality, features, performance, luxury, comfort, and reliability. Jaguars somewhat tainted track record of years past is no more; product quality and reliability has improved drastically since the buyout by Ford.

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  My Jaguar-Tess - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By Cat-SpringTX - August 31 - 10:00 am

  No other car rides as well and performs as well as my Jag X-Type. Sleek and sexy that I have people staring at her in awe. With All Wheel Drive it corners like it is on rails. I have wanted a Jaguar my whole life and this one was affordable for the middle class person looking for luxury and comfort. I would like to get one thing straight, Jaguars are not FORDs. My husband and I have been to England and believe me these cars are still made there. The only differance is FORD now is the mangement and the fact that they have some English class now. The other imports in that price range better worry. She is in a class all of her own.

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  2002 Jag X-Type wows young family - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By MarkT - August 31 - 10:00 am

  My wife and i really enjoy our Jag X- Type 3.0. It is very secure in cornering. Accelerration is relaxed at low speeds but spirited when you are on the highway. The leather and real wood make the interior very comforting. The seats hold up to long trips. The ride is stiff but bumps are muted effectively by the exceptional suspension. The exterior styling is the best in class by far. I would recommend it to anyone who is shopping for a luxury car with tasteful styling and solid performance. Just remember to not place high value on interior gadgets because they are few in this car but it does make up for it with AWD and excellent engineering.