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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  Jag, baby, yea!!!..This cat roars! - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By TAS - September 18 - 2:00 am

  I always wanted to own a Jag and it has been a dream come true. I test drove the 3 series BMW, and Audi 4, Mercedes C320 basically all the models in the price range and the interior was nothing to compare against the Jag.The car is excellent. I guess you can always be unlucky and get a lemon with any make of car, like some of the reviews here have been. Well worth checking this car out if you are buying a car in the 29k to 35k dollar range.Everyone will think you purchased a $50k plus car. Let them!!

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  A Beautiful piece of crap! - 2000 Jaguar S-Type
  By vballer1 - September 16 - 4:56 am

  I bought this vehicle with 90,000 miles on it as a back up vehicle, but simply fell in love with it. It rides so smooth that we ended up driving it more and more, unfortunately it has too many issues; the transmission being the main one. Also the fail safe engine mode light comes on once a month, it seems like and its always a $400-500 repair. You have to get it fixed b/c if you dont your car can shut down and just go 15 mph; not something you want to happen when you are on the interstate. Beautiful vehicle, but too much of a headache!

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  Mechanically a disgrace! - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By Richard Bobo - September 16 - 1:16 am

  I have owned this car for 7 months. It went back to the shop under warranty 5 times in less than two months. The transmission still shifts ruff after having the control module reset twice. I have had to replace the drive shaft at an expense of $883.00 and now I have to have the power steering hose replaced at a cost of $489.00. The warranty ran out last month and these expenses have been incurred within less than a month of that!!!! What a piece of junk!!!! Oh I forgot that the vent covers on top of the dash pop up when the temp outside changes and I finally supper glued them down. I will not buy another.

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  Favorite Car - 2000 Jaguar XK-Series
  By Chadwick - September 7 - 11:06 pm

  I decided to take a chance on a Jaguar and it is by far the best car I have ever owned. Not only is it beautiful to look at, it is responsive and a joy to drive. Select the sport function and this baby is a rocket. As fun to drive as my 911, but in a different way. A real head turner!

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  This mean cat kills all Mercedez and Bmw - 2004 Jaguar S-Type
  By jin_makaveli - September 7 - 10:00 am

  with a huge 4.2 litre engine, the jaguar s-type type R and its new edge styling exceeds the standards of the Infinity G35, Nissan Altima, Most Mercedez and Most BMWs. Undoubtably, this car will change the world of motoring. This mean cat has it all, power, luxury, styling, accesories, and most of all a mean growl off the V8 300+ horsepower engine, pushes 0-60 mph in an impressive 6 seconds flat! This car is a great buy!

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  Purrfect! - 2007 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By Mike - September 4 - 5:00 am

  I purchased a 2007 XJ VP and find this car to be an absolute joy to drive. For the first time in owning most other prestige makes, I have finally found a vehicle that I am proud to own. The XJ VP interior is total comfort and the finish quality is unbeatable. Despite its size, the 300 HP V8 and all-alloy body makes this car surprisingly quick and it handles almost like a sports car. Thank you Jaguar! After so many years I am enjoying the experience of driving again.

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  Bad cat, worst pick of the litter - 2001 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By mad lawyer - August 30 - 10:00 am

  Ive owned many luxury cars, all American, hence I never had a jag before. Bought this one used because it was just so pretty sitting on the lot. From day one, Ive had nothing but extremely expensive repair bills from the most wide variety of areas, including, windows, sun roof, shocks, transmission, wheel bearings and finally the engine. In just over 3 years I spent over $10k on repairs, including $3500 for trans., and now they want $7k for a new engine, as I was stranded out on a quiet freeway in a corn field when the engine died last month. I would never recommend this vehicle.

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  Wonderful Jag ! - 2008 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By gmayfield - August 30 - 2:30 am

  Very fun to drive. Not sure about reliability as it only has 14k miles. Drives like a dream & very responsive handling and acceleration. 2 quirks I will mention: No back-up camera in navigation system. "beep" signal is very adequate though Rear seat headrests hinder rear outward vision TREMENDOUSLY !!! I wish they could flip down out of the way or could be removed easily. The headrests enlarge the blindspots on both sides, therefore you must rely heavily on rear view side mirrors when changing lanes. Make sure mirrors are adjusted correctly or you WILL cut someone off when changing lanes. Otherwise, one of my most memorable cars to drive & to look at.

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  A SOLID RELIABLE CAT - 2003 Jaguar X-Type
  By str8cash - August 29 - 11:11 pm

  I have owned this x-type for 3 years and I bought it with 125,000 miles on it. I am the 2nd owner.It now has 160,000+ miles and still runs & looks like new. Only things I have had to do is oil changes and a new coolant tank ($129.00 ebay). This car was very well maintained by the original owner and that is key. She had all maint records and only major repair was new rear struts. Other items were normal wear items, brake pads, oil changes,tune up, coolant flush, tires, battery,etc. I have owned several Lexus, BMW, Infiniti, Acura, Cadillac, Mercedes vehicles and this is my favorite. AWD is fantastic. Car is now 10 yrs old & still gets looks. I would recommend this car without question.

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  Understated, Elegant & Reliable - 2007 Jaguar X-Type
  By markle1 - August 27 - 11:05 pm

  You get all the luxury without a BMW or Mercedes price tag. Bought it with 70K miles and put a little TLC into it (brakes, oil, air) and have had no problems for the last 10K miles. This Jag loves the open road. Rides straight, quiet and comfortable. Put it in cruise control and drive from San Diego to Phoenix with 100% ease and peace of mind.