Jaguar S-Type

The story

Under Ford ownership, Jaguar returned to the smaller saloon market it had left in the 1960s. The styling looked back to the Mark 2 and the original S-Type. The supercharged S-Type R of 2002 had 400 bhp.

Inside

Leather and wood in the traditional manner, though the first dashboards were criticised for looking too plain. A redesign in 2002 fixed that.

In period colours

Tap a colour to respray the drawing.

Meanwhile, in 1999

A total eclipse of the sun crossed Cornwall, and leaded four-star petrol was about to be withdrawn.

Best-selling single of 1999: ...Baby One More Time by Britney Spears

Before you buy a 1990s car

• On petrol engines, check the cooling system and any sign of head gasket trouble.
• Ask when the timing belt was last changed, where fitted.
• Parts for mass-market cars are widely available; specialist and low-volume models can be hard to find.

General notes, not specific to this model. Check the model's own history before buying.

Rivals of its day

Picked automatically: cars on sale at the same time with similar size, speed and price.

See the real thing

These open in a new tab: the car on Wikimedia Commons, the interior and the badge as Google image searches.