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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  Never Buy the First Year - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By Robert Dahowski - May 24 - 10:00 am

  The car is a lemon. You should never buy a car the first year out. The car has had tons or re-calls and is always in the shop. The car does not have much power from the get go.

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  Buyers Beware - 2000 Jaguar S-Type
  By adsharp22 - May 11 - 2:00 am

  While this is a beautiful looking vehicle, dont be fooled into buying or leasing for that matter. From day 1 we have encountered issues with electronical, steering, window motor, transmission, radiator, the battery and the list goes on. From driving down the freeway and having your trunk fly open to not being able to start the car on soo many occassions. What good is a beautiful looking vehicle if you cant trust whats under the hood?

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  Big mistake for my money. - 2003 Jaguar X-Type
  By nomorejags14 - March 30 - 11:02 am

  I bought it for my wife, even so it was used for only three years, after a week the radio screen stop working, not long the wheels bent(all four). Check engine light came on, cat converter 2, after replacing twice the light stills on, then all codes possibles were detected by the scanner, PO 116,PO 300s, PO 430, and no mechanic could even look at it. Last hope I took it to a expert, his first words get rid of this thing. I did and now happy is my middle name.

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  Save yourself the trouble - 2004 Jaguar X-Type
  By wrf - March 13 - 10:00 am

  I have owned two X-types, and had problems with both (the only reason I got the 2nd is because Jaguar and the dealer bought me out of the 1st). Ive had a litany of challenges with this car, such as: transmission breakdown in the 1st week of ownership, a acceleration hesitation in cold weather, fuel door malfunctions (couldnt get it open), lock malfunctions (including being both locked out and locked IN the car), navigation system malfunctions and computer malfunctions. Beyond that, the car spent 10 weeks(!) in the body shop to repair minor cosmetic damage due to backordered parts. The dealer and Jag blamed each other while I drove a Ford

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  Dont get a Lemon! - 2000 Jaguar XK-Series
  By donnyb - January 26 - 2:00 am

  Car in the shop for a total of 2.5 months in the first three years (every third month the car is in the shop). Poor electrical system and poor support. WOULD NOT BUY AGAIN...!!!