New Ford Taurus is really good!
The rebirth of the Taurus name was greeted by laughs but, it turns out, Ford has made a good car out of what was the Five Hundred.
Base prices: $23,000 to $28,000
Seating: Four comfortably, five maximum
Fuel mileage: 22 mpg overall, according to new EPA testing method
Power: 3.5-liter V6, 6-speed transmission
Pity the new Ford Taurus. It's a restyled and slightly re-engineered version of the Ford Five Hundred, a dull car that simply got no respect.
To try and turn things around, Ford also changed the name to Taurus, a name originally associated with a great automotive success story. The original Taurus had once been the most popular car in America, but it had long since been eclipsed by the Camry when it finally slipped out of production last year.
When the revamped Five Hundred's name change was announced at this year's Chicago Auto Show, most journalists saw it as nothing more than a laughable attempt to relive a moment of long ago glory.
That's too bad, because it just happens to be a really good car. In fact, the Five Hundred was never a really bad car. It was just dull.
Except for that, the Five Hundred provided in spades: It had good fuel economy, enormous amounts of interior room and a trunk you could float a barge in.
For the new Taurus, engineers put in a more powerful engine and upgraded the suspension. Ford designers worked, both outside and inside, to relieve the painful blandness that marked the Five Hundred.
This car has chrome - maybe even too much chrome - and it has more-than-adequate power. All without changing any of the stuff that made the Five Hundred such a practical, decent vehicle.
Does all this mean the car formerly known as the Five Hundred will finally get some respect? It should.
Big small shape
The Taurus's overall tall, rounded shape is unchanged from the Five Hundred. The car still looks a bit chubby, but the big three-bar chrome grill and the flashy side vents help.
The Taurus Limited, the top trim level, comes with chrome side view mirrors and door handles, too. At that level, the sheer volume of chrome really does lend the car some luxury-class style.
The pudgy shape serves a purpose, though. This car fits an awful lot of space over a small amount of asphalt.
The basic idea has always been to offer all the functionality of an SUV in a sedan body. The Taurus succeeds at that and more. There is plenty of room for passengers in both the front and back seats - more than you'll find in most two-row SUVs, in fact.
With all its seats filled with passengers, the Taurus actually has more storage space than many SUVs. The back seats fold down flat, just like an SUV's, leaving a full top-to-bottom pass-through. Even the front passenger seat folds flat, letting you load items that reach from the taillights all the way to the dashboard.
It's also available with all-wheel-drive.
These are all features that already existed in the Five Hundred and, thankfully, the Taurus hasn't lost them.
Its new interior doesn't look as well put together as, say, the Toyota Avalon's or even the Chrysler 300's, but it's still an attractive and functional piece of work. The center console has two separate bins, a lower, larger one and a big one beneath that.
Even with four occupants, everyone gets plenty of space for beverages. There are front and rear cupholders in the center. The back ones come in a fold-down center armrest. There's als a bottle holder in each door large enough to hold a two-liter soda bottle.
Improved drive
With its new 260 horsepower V6, the Taurus has power enough to accelerate without feeling strained as the Five Hundred did when pressed hard.
The engine also provides enough power for the six-speed transmission to work smoothly. In the Five Hundred, the car would often slog between shifts that seemed to come too early.
The Taurus' 57 horsepower improvement over the old Five Hundred also comes at no cost in terms of fuel economy. In fact, the Taurus gets about one mile more out of each gallon than the Five Hundred did, according to new EPA estimates. (It's actually not that unusual for an increase in power to result in better fuel economy. A stronger engine doesn't need to work as hard.)
The suspension is also tighter, but this is still no performance sedan. The Taurus is supposed to be a roomy, comfortable cruiser. The new shock tuning makes it feel more controlled in turns and over bumps, though, while still offering a smooth ride.
Steering remains a weak point. It doesn't feel like you're tossing around one of those American land barges of the old days, but the steering still feels a bit remote and numb.
Top safety
In advertising, Ford bills the Taurus as "rated the safest full-size car in America." That's based on the Taurus' "Top Safety Pick" rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The Taurus actually shares that award with one other large car - the Audi A6 - not counting its own corporate twin, the Mercury Sable, shown here. The wagon version of the Taurus, the Taurus X, got the award, as well.
To earn that award, a car must get the Insurance Institutes's top rating of "Good" for front and side impact protection as well as for whiplash protection in rear impacts. Starting last year, cars were also required to offer electronic stability control, at least as an option. ESC is a computerized system that helps a driver maintain control when a skid or rollover threatens.
The Taurus also gets 5 stars, the top score, for front and side impact safety, according to the government's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Lots to like
In all, the Taurus is a car with a lot to show for itself. Unfortunately, it may be brushed off by shoppers who see it as just a Five Hundred with a little make up and jewelry, but who miss the more powerful engine and suspension improvements.
They're the same shoppers who missed that the Five Hundred - while no-one's idea of a hot ride - really wasn't bad if you were just looking for a practical family car.
If questions about reliability are standing in your way, check with J.D. Power & Associates and Consumer Reports.
If you just look at recently introduced models, like the Ford Five Hundred and Fusion, it's a non-issue. Ford's new models perform just as well as Toyota's and Honda's and, in some cases, better. There's no reason to think the same won't hold true for the Taurus.
If you're shopping for a large car, the new Taurus should absolutely be on your list. In fact, if you're shopping for a mid-sized SUV, it should be on your list as well. You'd have a hard time finding anything in an SUV that you're not getting here except with better fuel economy and closed-in lockable cargo space.
And, if you want a third row of seats, there's the Ford Taurus X. It's basically a crossover SUV based on the Taurus.
(C)CNN
Base prices: $23,000 to $28,000
Seating: Four comfortably, five maximum
Fuel mileage: 22 mpg overall, according to new EPA testing method
Power: 3.5-liter V6, 6-speed transmission
Pity the new Ford Taurus. It's a restyled and slightly re-engineered version of the Ford Five Hundred, a dull car that simply got no respect.To try and turn things around, Ford also changed the name to Taurus, a name originally associated with a great automotive success story. The original Taurus had once been the most popular car in America, but it had long since been eclipsed by the Camry when it finally slipped out of production last year.
When the revamped Five Hundred's name change was announced at this year's Chicago Auto Show, most journalists saw it as nothing more than a laughable attempt to relive a moment of long ago glory.
That's too bad, because it just happens to be a really good car. In fact, the Five Hundred was never a really bad car. It was just dull.
Except for that, the Five Hundred provided in spades: It had good fuel economy, enormous amounts of interior room and a trunk you could float a barge in.
For the new Taurus, engineers put in a more powerful engine and upgraded the suspension. Ford designers worked, both outside and inside, to relieve the painful blandness that marked the Five Hundred.
This car has chrome - maybe even too much chrome - and it has more-than-adequate power. All without changing any of the stuff that made the Five Hundred such a practical, decent vehicle.
Does all this mean the car formerly known as the Five Hundred will finally get some respect? It should.
Big small shape
The Taurus's overall tall, rounded shape is unchanged from the Five Hundred. The car still looks a bit chubby, but the big three-bar chrome grill and the flashy side vents help.The Taurus Limited, the top trim level, comes with chrome side view mirrors and door handles, too. At that level, the sheer volume of chrome really does lend the car some luxury-class style.
The pudgy shape serves a purpose, though. This car fits an awful lot of space over a small amount of asphalt.
The basic idea has always been to offer all the functionality of an SUV in a sedan body. The Taurus succeeds at that and more. There is plenty of room for passengers in both the front and back seats - more than you'll find in most two-row SUVs, in fact.
With all its seats filled with passengers, the Taurus actually has more storage space than many SUVs. The back seats fold down flat, just like an SUV's, leaving a full top-to-bottom pass-through. Even the front passenger seat folds flat, letting you load items that reach from the taillights all the way to the dashboard.
It's also available with all-wheel-drive.
These are all features that already existed in the Five Hundred and, thankfully, the Taurus hasn't lost them.
Its new interior doesn't look as well put together as, say, the Toyota Avalon's or even the Chrysler 300's, but it's still an attractive and functional piece of work. The center console has two separate bins, a lower, larger one and a big one beneath that.
Even with four occupants, everyone gets plenty of space for beverages. There are front and rear cupholders in the center. The back ones come in a fold-down center armrest. There's als a bottle holder in each door large enough to hold a two-liter soda bottle.
Improved drive
With its new 260 horsepower V6, the Taurus has power enough to accelerate without feeling strained as the Five Hundred did when pressed hard.The engine also provides enough power for the six-speed transmission to work smoothly. In the Five Hundred, the car would often slog between shifts that seemed to come too early.
The Taurus' 57 horsepower improvement over the old Five Hundred also comes at no cost in terms of fuel economy. In fact, the Taurus gets about one mile more out of each gallon than the Five Hundred did, according to new EPA estimates. (It's actually not that unusual for an increase in power to result in better fuel economy. A stronger engine doesn't need to work as hard.)
The suspension is also tighter, but this is still no performance sedan. The Taurus is supposed to be a roomy, comfortable cruiser. The new shock tuning makes it feel more controlled in turns and over bumps, though, while still offering a smooth ride.
Steering remains a weak point. It doesn't feel like you're tossing around one of those American land barges of the old days, but the steering still feels a bit remote and numb.
Top safety
In advertising, Ford bills the Taurus as "rated the safest full-size car in America." That's based on the Taurus' "Top Safety Pick" rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The Taurus actually shares that award with one other large car - the Audi A6 - not counting its own corporate twin, the Mercury Sable, shown here. The wagon version of the Taurus, the Taurus X, got the award, as well.To earn that award, a car must get the Insurance Institutes's top rating of "Good" for front and side impact protection as well as for whiplash protection in rear impacts. Starting last year, cars were also required to offer electronic stability control, at least as an option. ESC is a computerized system that helps a driver maintain control when a skid or rollover threatens.
The Taurus also gets 5 stars, the top score, for front and side impact safety, according to the government's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Lots to like
In all, the Taurus is a car with a lot to show for itself. Unfortunately, it may be brushed off by shoppers who see it as just a Five Hundred with a little make up and jewelry, but who miss the more powerful engine and suspension improvements.They're the same shoppers who missed that the Five Hundred - while no-one's idea of a hot ride - really wasn't bad if you were just looking for a practical family car.
If questions about reliability are standing in your way, check with J.D. Power & Associates and Consumer Reports.
If you just look at recently introduced models, like the Ford Five Hundred and Fusion, it's a non-issue. Ford's new models perform just as well as Toyota's and Honda's and, in some cases, better. There's no reason to think the same won't hold true for the Taurus.
If you're shopping for a large car, the new Taurus should absolutely be on your list. In fact, if you're shopping for a mid-sized SUV, it should be on your list as well. You'd have a hard time finding anything in an SUV that you're not getting here except with better fuel economy and closed-in lockable cargo space.
And, if you want a third row of seats, there's the Ford Taurus X. It's basically a crossover SUV based on the Taurus.
(C)CNN
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