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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  Jaguar--Never again - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By ALEX - April 25 - 10:00 am

  I had to trade it in for a Lexus after it had spent almost a month out of 12 month in service department. (transmission failed, electronics, engine failed).

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  Up From X - 2003 Jaguar S-Type
  By magcity - April 25 - 10:00 am

  Got a great end of the year deal on a platinum S type: Xenons, Sport, Manual, Nav System, Premiun Sound: every option. Traded up from a manual X type (which I loved), but was not as smooth or comfortable as this car. Could it have more roar? Sure, but it handles really well, and it is quick if you drive it right. Very comfortable, beautiful, cozy cabin, very smooth. just wish the tail end had a little more styling pizzaz. You cant go wrong with this car.

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  Larrys review - 2003 Jaguar S-Type
  By Larryjag - April 25 - 10:00 am

  A totally fun car to drive. After owning Cadillacs since 1987, its nice to own a luxury car that you dont have to take back to the dealership for warranty work. The 3.0L version that I own has plenty of pep to accelerate when I need too. Quality is outstanding. Road noise is minimal, sound system is great.

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  Not like Jaguars of the past - 2003 Jaguar S-Type
  By Bruce Rogers - April 25 - 10:00 am

  This is my second S type. I bought a 2002 S type 4.0, liked it so much I put 24000 miles on in 11 months. So I decided to upgrade to the S type R and it is a headturner that is an absolute pleasure to drive. Despite the supercharged power I still get very good fuel economy. Its like driving a Porsche sedan.

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  Dreaming - 2011 Jaguar XJ
  By Dean - April 23 - 10:00 am

  The very best car I have ever owned. Cars I have owned,MB-SL, Lexus, BMW, Nissan Z, many great cars. This car is the funnest, fastest machine I have owned. And this is the wife"s car. If you can afford one you will buy after a test drive.

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  2005 X-TYPE 3.0 VDP Edition - 2005 Jaguar X-Type
  By Nice Jag - April 17 - 9:13 am

  Nice comfortable ride. Love the interior leather and the exterior styling on my VDP edition. Decent acceleration but not mind blowing off the line. I expect the manual would be a bit more fun. Roomy in the front and the back seat is par for the course. Nice build quality and has a large trunk. Alpine stereo is ok but the bass needs a little more depth at least for my ears. Seem to be getting 20.9 mpg but I have a heavy foot. AWD is nice -corners ok but does feel a little loose at higher speeds but hey this isnt a sports car. The local Jag service department seems very helpful. I am really enjoying this car and getting a lot of compliments on the interior and exterior styling!

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  These cars are junk and Ford knows it! - 2000 Jaguar S-Type
  By Larry Chick - April 13 - 9:46 am

  The car falls apart a little more every day. Service actions overseas were prompt but not in USA. Motor problems at 50K, J-gate shifter with plasic piece that fails when stuck in Park, windows that will fail and fall inside the doors, over priced dealer repairs, service reps that deny what is all over the net and reported to NHTSA and Jag international that does not care at all!

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  Spectacular Chassis In Search Of Interior Designer - 2018 Jaguar XE
  By Scott in PA - April 10 - 4:14 pm

  This car, even in base model form, drives exceptionally well. Too bad it is also reminiscent of my wifes old Lexus RX350...great chassis with an interior that made you want to get out of it as quickly as possible. The Good: Acceptable acceleration, excellent steering and braking. A little too much nose dive under severe braking, but everything else works so well it can be forgiven. This car really holds a line when attacking those beckoning freeway on-ramps. Transmission shifts are buttery smooth and almost imperceptable. The Bad: Ergonomics & Design. At 6 even, the armrest on the driver door is at least half a foot short of where I need it to be. Totally useless. The shelf on the door with the window, lock and mirror controls is at an odd angle. It causes you to fumble around the buttons, then twist your wrist weirdly to actuate the controls. Very disappointing. The seat was not particularly supportive, nor did I find the seat back comfortable. The seat back angle is such that my shoulders didnt touch at all, just the back of my head and my middle-back on down. Switchgear was also disappointing.... very flimsy. Response time on the touchscreen is outstanding...no delay. Good luck though performing simple tasks like phone pairing or seat heating.... or re-setting your trip odometer. Lastly, road noise intrusion is just too much. Freeway driving at 70mph should not be this loud.

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  I LOVE MY JAGUAR!!!! - 2004 Jaguar XK-Series
  By paulsobe - April 9 - 10:00 am

  This is my last car. I want to keep this carr orevver. It is a classic witthh mmodern technology. It never fails to attract people. I keep is spotlessly clean.

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  JAGUAR...ITS VEGAS BABY!!! - 2004 Jaguar X-Type
  By OmiyaLove - April 9 - 10:00 am

  It was love at first sight! Then we test drove our Jaguar X-Type and what a pleasure it was! We choose the 5-speed and what a job it does, especially on tight curves, Jag hugs them tightly and smoothly. From the sleek lines of the Jag body, to the 7 layer Platinum paint job with the black leather interior this vehicle is lustrous and smooth, glide your fingers over the paint job...its like butter!