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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  5 Years Old and Still Purrs Like a Kitten - 2000 Jaguar XK-Series
  By jagboi - February 15 - 2:33 pm

  All you can say is the design is now 8 years old, and its still one of the best looking cars on the road today. Ive only had the car for a year and a half, but have been very pleased with it. The performance, handling, build quality, and reliability are all exceptional. I dont typically keep cars for more than a year, but Im making an exception with this one. Just cant seem to find another one that I think has better styling.

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  Edmunds Confuses the X-type issue - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By libby - February 13 - 9:46 am

  This is a very good car, which is comparatively cheap if you stick to the base model, which Motor Trend describes as surprisingly quick. I bought it because of good initial reviews, including a very positive one on the Edmunds web site. Then I was distressed to see Edmunds reverse itself with an extremely negative review. More recently there has been a grudgingly neutral review, which still describes lower speed statistics than the ones in Motor Trend, Car and Driver,etc. How can Edmunds be useful to buyers if they keep contradicticting themselves?

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  Are The Edmunds Reviewers for Real - 2002 Jaguar X-Type
  By RonDC - February 10 - 2:00 am

  I completely love this car. From the styling to the leather interior, this is far better than the BMW 3 or the MB C Class. The trunk space is awesome. Drove the sport package and did not purchase it as it seemed to make a lot of noise. The non-sport package is just fine. The AWD is spectacular. Edmunds reviewers need to look at the posts to see how happy people really are with this vehicle. Did I mention the head-turns of other drivers when they see the styling?

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  More than pleased - 2004 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By Car Buff - February 7 - 2:40 pm

  Purchased just a few months ago still with new warranty and then CPO with 19,000 miles on it - I am in love. Truly had wanted one for many years but finally took the leap and couldnt be happier. It is the most luxurious sporty car imaginable (and I am very, very familiar with most all of them out there). Quite surprising how much of a savings when purchased 3 years old. It is almost a piece of art in a class by itself. Now I am glad I always wanted one!

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  The BEST vehicle on the ROAD - 2004 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By kumarkarn - February 5 - 10:00 am

  This vehicle is beyond belief. It is a heart stopper to look at and drive. I can not believe i am sitting down outside of it. Own one and you will understand, i love how it dosent get dings either.

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  Wow! - 2004 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By car enthusiast - February 4 - 12:03 pm

  I have owned my CPO car now for 7+ months and must say it is awesome! The car is flawless and is probably one of the best kept secrets in terms of $ for value out there. The gas mileage is a shocker-avg. at min. 22 in the city and 29+ on the highway-glad I didnt buy some small, cheap car "to get good mileage" because this luxury/sport car gets better than them. Not only is it impressive to look at, but to drive, arive in, and own. Could not be more happy!!

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  My Jag - 2000 Jaguar S-Type
  By Dmitry Pasich - February 3 - 5:00 pm

  I love this car! One of must beautifull cars in the world!!!

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  Bad transmission - 2000 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By rbinlex - February 2 - 5:00 am

  Purchased from original owner, low mileage. Beautiful car, best ride ever IF you can keep it out of the shop. Never could get the heater to work properly, froze every winter. Difficult time finding a "good" jaguar mechanic that could troubleshoot. It seemed to always be something. Every time it went to the shop it was $600-$1000. The final straw was when the transmission went out at 79K. Resale value was so low I chose to not fix the car. What a shame. Ill never buy another one.

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  Black Cat - 2001 Jaguar XJ-Series
  By Peter - January 29 - 1:33 pm

  Bought used. Car has performed flawlessly ever since. Silky ride, very roomy back seat in the stretch sedan. The smoothest ride in the world. Gets around 27 MPG at 70 MPH, typically 19 MPG in city.

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  New Owner. - 2004 Jaguar XK-Series
  By Gap - January 18 - 2:00 am

  The wife lets me drive it. Its fun. Goes like hell. Just have to get use to the gear range. Wife likes the sound system & the color.