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2010 Ford Taurus
Anyone know anything about the new upcoming 2010 Ford Taurus, especially if there is to be an SHO variant?
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Visibility WILL be compromised. They've gone to a quasi-300C profile with a higher beltline. The look is sharp but outward visibility would have to be reduced to a degree. Only time behind the wheel will tell how much.
This is a vast improvement over the current model any way you slice it.
And when the Crown Victoria police interceptor is retired, expect to see this Taurus with big 18 inch black wheels, a lightbar and siren driving around perhaps your town. That big 20 cubic feet trunk, 202 inch length and Horsepower like the Crown Victoria screams, "FLEET SALES."
I think that all Fords have too big steering wheels. And all American cars, for that matter, The Imports have better designed steering wheels, smaller, and better integrated controls than Ford's design.
Also the Taurus, and many recent Ford designs, have too busy dashboards with too many similar buttons. Recent Honda/Acura's does the same and they get a lot of critics. Remember, the simpler the better. More dials than buttons. And the buttons/dials should be big! Take the Toyota Highlander for an example. How beautiful interior!
I also don't like the fonts (typefaces) Ford is using on their buttons and especially their gauges. But that is my personal taste.
Those things have nothing to do with each other. Did you buy the Subaru because of the price, the all-wheel drive, or the gas mileage? There's no competitor for the Taurus from Subaru.
Maybe it was happy hour?
1.) The price is fully competitive with other full-size sedans on the market with this level of equipment.
2.) The best Subaru on the market won't match the power/fuel economy balance that the Taurus has, thanks to its AWD. The closest economy comes from the Impreza AWD (20/27 vs. Taurus at 18/28) but is compact, and is down by 93 horsepower from the current Taurus.
Edmunds got it wrong this time!
People will be able in this market to pick up a well-equipped new Taurus for low to mid 20s. And the SHO is a bargain as well for any sedan with 365 hp. Makes me wonder why people would pay the extra for the Lincoln MKS.
The Crown Vics (reliable as they may be) are so cheap because they are moving them out, because the tooling was paid for back in the dark ages, and because they are such old tech..solid rear axle, not particularly quiet, shuddery-juddery structure, inferior safety (no stability control, fewer airbags). Not to mention they are ugly and inefficient (huge overhangs with a relatively tight back seat), have huge seam gaps and cheapo interiors. On resale, they are worthless.
It also points out that you don't need a Mercury model in between the Ford and Lincoln vehicles.
The SHO and Ecoboost MKS have some things in common but there are important differences, too. The SHO will be positioned as a sportier, high performance model with firmer suspension, small spoiler, and sportier interior than the Taurus Limited model. OTOH, the Ecoboost package in the MKS really adds nothing particularly sporty to the base MKS - other than a lot more power. You can get an optional "appearance" package on the Ecoboost MKS that adds some sporty doo-dads but otherwise it is more luxury biased rather than sports sedan.
If I were in the market for just a base MKS, I would certainly have to give the Taurus Limited some consideration, though.
The Taurus is a large vehicle, so it should be compared with other large vehicles (Lucerne, DTS, S-Class, 7-Series, Genesis, Avalon, LS, and so forth). People who do not need a large vehicle will save money and save gas with one of the numerous mid-sized vehicle choices (Fusion, Camry, Accord, 6, 5-Series, C-Class, Altima/Maxima, Malibu/G6/Aura/9-3, LaCrosse, CTS, Passat, and on and on).
Sing with me! One of these things is not like the other...
John
That said, I'm looking forward to seriously evaluating the 10 Fusion & Taurus, Lincoln MKZ; & the New Buick Lacrosse - If GM is still around. Timing is right for me; the 06 Avalon is coming up on 150,000 in a couple of months & if any of these cars are as good as they appear to be I might just give the big 2 - forget Chrysler - another chance.
Why in the world would it weigh so much. My 2000 Sable (Taurus cousin) weighs 3600; the first montego/500 series weighed about 3900. Why the incessant journey to morbid obesity? The new engine with 365 horses will be performance strapped trying to push all this lard about. Where is the extra weight and why? The SHO sounds like a great new direction for Ford but where are the weight police. The weight gain will cancel out most of the other gains with respect to acceleration, fuel economy and tossability. My god it's getting up to SUV weight. WHY?
the SHO is advertised in this story as 4365 pounds and 365 hp for a weight/hp ratio of 11.9, so it should move better than the earlier generation of Tauruses. Still imagine if they had held the weight down to 3500 then the weight to hp ratio would be less than ten and the thing would move. All Wheel drive and the size increase and the heavier engine must be the difference.
As an example the 2010 Honda Accord EX-V6 weighs 3109 (also a full sized sedan car) and has a HP rating of 271 for a ratio of 11.4. A little better than the SHO.
What I fear is that the enormous weight rise will water down the new engine so as to make the SHO just another large sized sedan compared to the top of the line V6 competition (Honda, Toyota, etc).
However you slice it the Ford is Porky compared to its peers and about 80 horses are tied up trying to move that extra weight. In the end it will perform like a 280 HP lighter competitor. That is a huge advance over the prior Taurus/Sable models but hardly a new champion in the sector. Why can't they shed some of these pounds?
Mfrs are always looking to reduce weight because it helps with fuel economy. They don't make them Porky on purpose. AWD, turbos, airbags, door reinforcments, moonroofs and gadgets all add weight.
That weight you quote for the Honda sounds way low. I think the curb weight for a well equipped Accord V6 is closer to 3700 pounds. Where did you get the 3109 number?
Accord numbers (5MT/5AT) for 2009, straight from their website.
The points about torque are well taken and I had not considered them. The SHO should have more mid-rpm zest for sure and that is a big plus.
I like the car and the idea and will certainly shop it when it is available. There is no question that it is a significant improvement over the Homer Simpson taurus (Mullaney's own words) that bored so many people in the past. I liked that version as a good value and wasn't bored at all so imagine my anticipation of the new model.
The taurus and sable have been great values for about 6 years and the mercury version has consistently finished at or near the top in initial customer satisfaction. After 130,000 miles in my 2000 Sable I am still impressed at how reliable and powerful it is after ten years and there have been no major surprises at all. (the spark coils and tie-rods were weak points in the 2000 version but were corrected later.
I firmly believe that the taurus and sable (if it survives) will continue to represent great value for people who intend to keep their cars for a long time. The rapid depreciation is unlikely to change for years even if the quality continues to shine.
Ford has done a very good job on these cars for the typical family car. Sports enthusiasts should look elsewhere----although maybe the SHO will change that. I wonder how much it will cost? If it goes over $30K (and it seems it will have to) then the market may shrink since there are true sporty cars starting to appear at that price.
That sort of price means there are very few people who will consider it seriously, no matter how nice it is.
If I were Ford, I would be concentrating more on vehicles like the Fiesta and an inexpensive small pickup/SUV.
No doubt, the Taurus is moving up-market. Some people might go to a Ford showroom interested in the SHO but drive out in a Fusion Sport, instead. That would still be good for Ford. They haven't had anything interesting to draw much of a crowd for quite some time. Some good press and some interesting cars like the SHO could generate lots more showroom traffic.
It's also a lot more car than any previous Ford sedan - way more. Show me a full size sedan with the same features and power and I guarantee it will cost at least that much and probably way more. An Audi A6 Quattro starts at $62K (and it's smaller).
A fully optioned Accord or Camry goes for $32K (with a lot less power and without AWD). Perhaps you haven't looked at new car prices in a while?
You'd do better to compare to vehicles such as the 300C. Similarly equipped with AWD and the big 5.7, the Chrysler weighs in at 4,280 lbs.