Wipe everything you think about the Ford Taurus out of your mind.
Ford completely rethought and redesigned the car for 2010, and it’s a whole new ride.
The first thing you’ll notice is the size. The Ford Taurus is one substantial vehicle. Weighing in at more than 4,000 pounds, the car has a wheelbase of 112.9 inches and a length of 202.9 inches. Expect plenty of shocked looks from folks when they realize the car is a Taurus.
Part of the surprise is in the car’s sculpted, athletic exterior, with pronounced fenders, large headlights, recessed parking lamps, a three-bar grille and a lowered roofline. Many critics liken the low-profile design to those of European-made cars.
Yet with the size of the car come some accommodations. Expect to have to learn to park this car. The front is so large that it’s easy to pull way over the allotted space when curb parking.
That caveat aside, the Taurus is a solid, easy-handling performer with jack rabbit-quick acceleration, sure-footed braking and steady, agile handling.
All models of the Taurus — with the exception of the high-end SHO model — have 3.5-litre, 24-valve Duratec V-6 engines with 263 horsepower. (There’s also an EcoBoost option that boosts power and saves on fuel.)
The front-wheel-drive model I tested rated 18 miles per gallon city and 28 miles per gallon highway.
Make no mistake, though, this is no sports car. It’s exactly what it was designed to be: a steady, solid sedan with plenty of room for a family of five.
The exterior’s hints of size and comfort are fulfilled in the car’s posh interior, which has generously large seating.
The seats are extremely comfortable with what Ford reports are lumbar and air bladders that inflate and deflate. No, I didn’t feel any overt changes when I was sitting in the car. What I did feel was a very comfortable ride, especially because the steering column is easily adjusted to suit various drivers.
Of course the generous interior space — 39 inches of headroom and 41.9 inches of legroom — adds to that comfort.
Unlike many of its competitors, the Taurus also boasts generously proportioned — 37.8 inches of headroom and 38.1 inches of legroom — rear seating. The back seat would comfortably accommodate three adults.
I’m a big fan of the Ford Sync system — which has satellite radio, navigation, audio and even Sync’s 911 Assist — so you could say I’m an easy sale. There are extras on the new Sync, though — including traffic alerts — that really boosted my enthusiasm.
Once you have all the passengers in the car, you still have a generous 20 cubic feet of cargo room for luggage or gear. The rear seat folds down for even more cargo space.
The Ford Taurus may not have the high-end name that many of its competitors sport, but it does have many of their luxuries. It’s a safe bet that the Taurus will soon be among the standards for luxury sedans and midlevel prices.
