Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable Sedans Pre-2008

asdxere · June 2002

I recently test-drove a 2002 Taurus SE
with the Flex-Fuel (12 valve) engine.
I was a little surprised when it revved to 2000 RPM immediately.
The salesman said this was "normal, to get the oil flowing".
Is this normal ?
Anybody take their's in to see if it could be reduced
to a more sane 1000 RPM ?

badgerfan · June 2002

I cruised over to the Lexus ES300 discussion.

Makes me feel pretty good that I could buy nearly 2 well equipped Tauri for the price of one ES300 (which, by the way is a Camry with more bells and whistles-and the Camry, comparably equipped is still more expensive than a Taurus). Not only that, many of them are complaining of the poor shifting!

Oh well, I suppose whatever floats your boat.

ezaircon4jc · June 2002

The salesman is right and wrong. It is normal, however, the purpose is to get the catalytic converter warmed up faster, thereby getting the engine in "closed loop" faster and reducing emissions. My Sable and Lincoln do the same thing. Just pop the trans into neutral before driving off and the rpms will settle down to around 1K.

asdxere · June 2002

Thanks for the info about the high RPMS.
The Taurus is a nice car for the price.
I just have to decide if I can live with the
slightly uncomfortable seats...

ehenness · June 2002

Did you try a car with buckets and a floor shifter, or just the bench style with the flip-fold console? I have a '98 SE with the floor shifter and buckets, and they are MUCH more comfortable than the '98s with the other style of seat. I thought maybe that changed with the newer cars, but when I recently had a dealer loaner (an '01 SES with a column shifter), it was the same thing as the '98s I'd driven. Firm, almost hard, rather uncomfortable, and not much bolstering at all. It was a power seat, but the position was not the problem. I noticed this in ONE day, just using it to get to work the day my car was in for service. I was glad to return to my car.

I recently took a 1200 mile round trip, and I was very comfortable in the car. The seat itself is great, plus the power adjustment meant I could get it just the way I liked.

If you haven't tried a bucket seat/floor shifter car, try one and you may find it to be very comfortable--it's a lot nicer than the bench. If you already have, then you'll have to decide for yourself.

asdxere · June 2002

I tried the 6-passenger "bench" seat on the this test drive.
I can't seem to find a 5-passenger Taurus without leather seats.
I test drove one of those the last time I traded, and liked it,
but the leather isn't very comfortable in our hot Oklahoma summers.
Also, the 5-passenger is much better looking,
with the floor shift and cupholders.
The 6-passenger, with the cupholders out, looks too cheap...

upsetter1 · June 2002

Try Sable. It has upscale interior and has bucket seats with cloth or cloth with leather that look and feel even better than just leather. Actually I don't like Taurus interior - looks too cheap comparing with Sable.

ehenness · June 2002

I think it's the SES Deluxe and/or the SEL that come with the 5 passenger seating and floor shifter. Leather is optional, but it looks like the dealers you are checking have loaded them up, or else Ford did some 'free leather seats' promotion in your area some time recently... I think at least the SEL comes with the 3.0 4V Duratech, if that's okay with you.

If you are looking at new 2002s, you might try the Ford website and do 'build your own,' picking the option for the 5 passenger seating/floor shifter. Then pick 'find this car' and enter the zipcode for your area. It will pop up nearby dealers, and you can look at the actual inventory of each dealer (and the page will compare the specific cars to the one you 'built'). That might help you find a non-leather car somewhere close to check out.

Upsetter1 made a great suggestion too, and you might want to try Sables as well. The seats should be the same as the Taurus ones in terms of design and comfort. It may be easier to find Sables with the floor shifter and buckets (unless of course, they all come that way--I am not as familiar with the Sable equipment--then it would be very easy to find one :-).

mralan · June 2002

I knew I was "rolling the dice" when I purchase my 01 SES with 26k miles being a former rental car. But, after 4k miles I can report the car is still perfect.

Anyone else get excellent service from a former rental Taurus?

iusecad · June 2002

a '96 LX (back then the LX's came with the Duratec) that was a rental from Fargo w/30k on it. No problems in the 40k he put on it. (So at 70k he traded it for a '99 F-350 because his old pickup was getting tired.) I miss that car. I won't miss his '00 Impala, though...

upsetter1 · June 2002

Hertz has powertrain waranty 1 year/12,000 miles additional to factory. You can also chose 4/48,000 for additional $900. But Hertz doesn't have any Duratec Taurus/Sables. Though it is interesting how much improved Vulcan better than old one and what they did to improve it. It has 155 hp and 185 torque compared with 140 hp/160 of original.

ehaase · June 2002

I rented a Duratec Sable from Hertz at the Cincinnati airport in December, 2000. I had it for 2 weeks. Personally, I could not see any higher performance from the Duratec vs. the Vulcan except on the highway, where the Duratec is much faster. Around town, I could tell little difference.

riswami · June 2002

for a 97 Taurus with a Vulcan is 145 and 170 Torque. I checked a 93 with the Vulcan 140/165.

I'm not sure when they had 140/160, but I'd guess you don't see many 86 thru 89 models on the road anymore.

I have a 97 with the Vulcan, for my driving I find the power adequate; no speed burner, but it cruises 70 to 75 real nice!

ezaircon4jc · June 2002

Load up the car for the obligatory family vacation and the Duratec will show it's value. Especially climbing hills/mountains and merging. In town there is probably little difference, until you need to "get on it" to avoid a situation. I had a 91 Sable with the 3.8L and now a 96 with the Duratec. The Duratec does much better in the above situations, IMNSHO.

upsetter1 · June 2002

I have '94 with Vulcan and it is hard to accelerate on freeway on overdrive. Also with three people it starts to pinging when driving uphill. It has 130,000 miles on it though. And I use regular plus.

Duratec has the same fuel efficiency and is lighter. And costs just $600 more. But if to buy used one you have to pay $2,000 more, because they put Dutatec only on LS premium, and it doesn't depreciate so fast (but thats just my theory, just try to find one year old with Duratec).

My friend btw bought new Camry with V6 for 22,000 (the catch is - no special financing).

badgerfan · June 2002

I think it would be difficult to spend $22K on a fully loaded new Taurus these days unless you are a very poor negotiator! My advice to prospective Camry owners is to look hard at a Taurus, save all the extra money and you will easily pay for the likely minimal amount of extra repairs you will have for your Taurus.

crissy2 · June 2002

Thank you to everyone who responded to my inquiry about choosing a car for my daughter. Finally made a decision and chose the Taurus, silver 2001 SES with 17,000 miles, certified w/75,000 mile warranty. Sales experience at Villa Ford in Orange, CA was very pleasant. I'm very satisfied with the car, and she loves it. I like the large trunk area, similar to my Crown Vic, but I have a question for you Taurus experts. Is there some type of cargo restraint available for the trunk? The space is great, but groceries tend to slide forward. Thanks for your input.

kw_carman · June 2002

Just wondering, how old is your daughter? Most teenagers wouldn't be caught dead in one.

badgerfan · June 2002

There are "grocery bag hooks" on the plastic panel below the trunk latch that I guess you can hook the plastic handles of your plastic grocery bags onto. These would not work for paper bags that have no handles.

I believe your Ford dealer may also have a net that you can buy to strap into these hooks, but I am not sure.

Another approach that might work and is likely cheaper, is to get the right length bungy cord to stretch between the hooks and around the bags, which would hold them upright just inside the trunk.

upsetter1 · June 2002

Taurus with Vulcan engine is a great car for teenager. My son has one already. So why it is so great? First of all it is not a sport sedan and is not even fast (only 85 mph maximum). It is big and safe. It is cheap in repair. Yeah, my son wants Porsche. But until he had three years of everyday driving he is not going to get anything fast from me. If he makes money himself he can buy fast car, who cares.

BTW he hates Mitsubisi for some reason, Corolla too(I understand) and is a Porsche fan (I also understand, I would like to have one too:).

gtyates · June 2002

Our daughter (17) absolutely loves our 2001 SES. It is black with rear spoiler, tinted windows, and gray leather. Her friends (boys and girls) also really like it. She drives it every chance she gets. Her usual car is a 1991 Tracer LTS, which she also likes. For some reason, she never chooses to drive my Explorer, though.

As a matter of fact, our only real complaint about the car is the crappy Firestone tires. We now have 18k on them and absolutely hate the way they ride, grip, and handle.

kw_carman · June 2002

I, actually, have no problem with Tauri at all, and wouldn't mind having one myself. So what if the little Honda Civic coupes out-run me? I think that the current Tauri have style and class. I could easily drive a silver one to high school any day. A Jeep or a BMW would be nice, but I seriously doubt that will be happening.

The 1997 Taurus may be of the ugly generation, but my grandma's is really fun to drive. One of the neat features is the power seats (my parent's cars don't have them). However, the "bubble" look is not my style.

ezaircon4jc · June 2002

"Only 85 max". Trust me, the car will pull right on up to the speed limiter at 113!

kw_carman · June 2002

85 is only what the speedometer goes to.

ehenness · June 2002

At least the newer generation (non-SHO) Tauruses ('96 and up) have 110 or 120 MPH speedometers. This may have been the same one used in some earlier cars as well. The Vulcan engined-cars have 110 MPH ones (1996 through 1998) and the Duratechs have 120 speedos ('96 through '98). All cars since '99 have the same speedometer that tops out at 120, used in both because they went to a dial with numbers only every 20 MPH.

SHOs have 150 MPH speedos, and those go back to the first SHOs back in '89 I believe.

Somewhere along the line, the 85-MPH speedo was dropped. This was after the Feds decided it didn't do much good in keeping speeding down (the idea was that doing 85 in one of those cars vs one with a higher endpoint would make you think twice or something, given that you were running out of needle travel...) and killed the requirement, somewhere around the mid 1980s. I believe it was made mandatory for the 1979 model year.

The '96-up Taurus is pretty aerodynamic, and will cruise at greater than legal speeds with ease, until, as was posted, you hit the rev limiter in the powertrain computer. BTW, that's there to match the speed rating of the tires (usually they are T-rated). There's probably more power in there (at least on the Duratechs) if the speed weren't governed.

ezaircon4jc · June 2002

"There's probably more power in there (at least on the Duratechs) if the speed weren't governed."

The Lincoln LS with the Duratec is governed to 142

. The power is there!

upsetter1 · June 2002

Compared to Camry e.g., or any German car, Taurus has a rather poor aerodynamics, it is far from modern standarts. All in all Ford pays much more attention to engineering European Fords and ignores American ones, that ones are getting more and more ancient. Fiesta, Mondeo, Ka, Focus all are top notch modern cars and leaders of the class, competeing head to head with VW.

Now, Taurus was designed in 96 to compete with '92 Camry. Isn't it a joke? All attention was paid to the radical appearence of the car, though sleek exterior didn't translate to the good aerodinamics. Camry was redesigned 1997, and then was completely reengineered just recently. What Ford did in 2000 was just facelift, nothing serious. So now Taurus is lagging two generations behind Camry, it is just not comparable to Camry in any aspect except the price and the size of trunk. Effectively what Ford did - just slowly killed Taurus what intitally was a leader of the segment. When Toyota came in 1992 with new Camry I guess there was a panic in the Ford but they did a car that couldn't compete with a newer 1997 Camry, that just was a one year later that 1996 Taurus, but was a generation ahead. So what option left is just drop current Taurus and get a new modern platform from scratch, from somewhere else, presumably from Volvo or Mazda.

I cannot tell you that it was Jacks fault, they screwed thing since 1996. Jacque just added to it squandering money and experienced engineers and managers.

badgerfan · June 2002

It was more than a facelift. Suspension revisions, steering response, shift quality, completely redesigned dash, "smart airbags", more interior space, in my mind is more than just a facelift.

By the way, you would probably be very surprised how much Camry carried over internally from their last design also. I would bet except for tweaking, the engine, transmission and suspension did not change much. The low hanging exhaust pipe, which has been on both previous Camry incarnations is a major sign that they didn't mess much with the internals.

Besides, I would much prefer a company making continuous upgrades and improvement whether it is Toyota or Ford, rather than starting from scratch every 4-5 years. This minimizes new model bugs. Hey, even Camry owners are complaining about squeaks, rattles, and uncomfortable seats in the new model.

kw_carman · June 2002

Tauri being good cars for teens, I think that they are a great, safe, reliable car. The enigine has pick-up (to move them out of the way of that out of control semi) and the insurance is lower than something like, well, a Civic.

tomcat630 · June 2002

To teens, a Taurus is "modern", while a Crown Vic or Marquis would be "not caught dead in" car.

upsetter1 · June 2002

You can drive Taurus and Camry and feel the difference. Then there also were several family sedan comparision tests lately (e.g. in Motor Trend and Car and driver), where Taurus was invariably in the last places even after Impala. And it reflects on the sales. Probably Camry was the good design from beginning. It has better brakes, steering, more refined engines and it is smooth. You feel it when driving.

Though I like Sable interior more, it is more in American style when you drive with one hand, and also Camry is made with stick in mind, there is no right armrest. Steering wheel is too far away for for a typical non-asian with long legs. Qualitywise there is not a big difference. It is not GM for sure:)

ezaircon4jc · June 2002

Bad news for you, the 96 Taurus was designed with NASCAR in mind. Knowing the T-Bird would be gone, Ford had to design a new NASCAR race car. The 96-99 Taurus was the most aerodynamic car on the road. IIRC .29cf. The hood, roof line and deck lid are of stock proportions on the race car. I would hate to see what would happen to the driver of a Camry at 200+mph. The new Camry is eclipsed in ugliness only by the Aztec, IMNSHO. If you want to start a "Camry is better" war, there is a topic. It's called "Are Import Cars Overated?".

upsetter1 · June 2002

Even Ford Divisions new president, Stephen G. Lyons, recognizes the Taurus sales problems. He doesnt agree with Ford dealers dismissive remark that the Taurus is dead in the water and is understandably not willing to give it an obituary date, but he does concede that its hard to sell 400,000 a year of anything. So now were dividing it (Taurus segment) into lots of 125,000.

To retain the millions of Taurus (and Mercury Sable) owners, Ford will position the 2004-model Ford Five Hundred sedan, 2003-model Mercury Marauder sedan and the 2004-model Ford CrossTrainer SUV/wagon as Taurus alternatives. Both the Five Hundred and CrossTrainer will be built at the revamped Chicago Taurus plant as upscale replacements for Taurus/Sable owners not quite ready to go for the full-size, rear-drive Ford Crown Victoria or Mercury Grand Marquis. The Marauder V-8 now reaching Mercury dealers could be offered as a Sable owners choice as well.

In its heyday, close to half a million Tauruses were sold annually. But during the late 1990s, former CEO Jacques A. Nasser preferred to invest Fords product-development kitty in other products, such as Lincoln, Jaguar and Mazda, leaving Taurus relatively un-updated. That left the door wide open for the Camry and Accord to seize the U.S. sales championship in the passenger-car derby. This years sales affirm the Taurus rise-and-fall story: from January-May 2002, Toyota has sold 189,118 Camrys; Honda, 148,486 Accords; and Ford, 133,892 Tauruses. Mac Gordon

badgerfan · June 2002

Just to be fair, you should also lump Sable sales into Taurus to compare vehicle sales with Camry and Accord. After all Camry and Honda don't have twins that are attacking almost the same customer base, like Taurus and Sable do.

Additionally, one person's "refinement" is another person's definition of boredom. Tomblike noise levels, boulevard ride and no feel automatic shift points aren't necessarily everyone's preference. On the things that matter to me, such as taught handling but without a punishing ride, good acceleration with the 24 valve V-6, and combined with much lower pricing than Camry, the 2000+ Taurus is a very good car.

sculldog33 · June 2002

Don't have exact numbers, but historically Ford sells 300-400K Tauri a yr and another 80-100K Sables so technically they are still the best selling mid size family car. (I suspect Camry total sales include the Solara which is arguably a different model.) Granted lots of these Fords are fleet sales, but Camry's are in the rental pools as well.

Value is definitely where it's at -- my 2000 Sable LS Premier has leather, m-roof, auto climate control, Mach Audio with tape/6 disc changer, fog lights, power everything, 200 HP V6, adjustable pedals, 16" alloys, ABS, etc.... all for an out the door price of 20200. Ford went cheap on the rear brakes, and dropped the dual exhaust, but otherwise there is little else I'd want. Back then, a similar Camry would have been pushing $27K. So for another $900 I purchased an extended warranty that covers me out to 6 yrs, and gives me a rental when the car is in for service. My savings is $6K and I get an arguably more attractive car (style), with more interior room and a bigger trunk and a solid safety record. 2002's are probably an even bigger value with the newly redesigned Camry's pushing 30K for one with all the options, and I've seen ads for Sable LS's, with a factory rebate, in the 19.5 range!

Almost 2 yrs into the ownership and no problems -- just change the oil, rotate the tires. Car rides well, seats are comfortable, and handles and performs as well as a 4 door family sedan needs to handle.

Depreciation on Sables sucks, but I'm keeping it for 8 yrs or so (as everyone should from a strict $$ perspective) and it won't be an issue. Time value of money folks. Don't spend tons of money on a depreciating asset and don't tie up valuable funds that could be used elsewhere. Take that 6K+ and get some new furniture, or a home entertainment system, college fund for the kids, Roth IRA, or a little of each!

Even if you don't have that 6K savings in your pocket, with $4K down over 48 months, difference between the two (14.5K loan vs 23K loan) is about $200/mth, and you'll save $1200 in interest.

Only real reason to go Camry or Accord route is if you routinely put 30K a year on your cars -- then the extra reliability of the foreign cars probably makes sense. If you fall in the range of the national average of 12-15K a year, Ford makes more sense.

badgerfan · June 2002

I couldn't agree more. Why pay 30-40% for the slab sided Camry, when you can get the better looking Taurus/Sable, getting at least 90% as good a car, and pocket the rest for something fun or more important.

And, if you don't need quite all the bells and whistles, you can get a well equipped Taurus or Sable for well under 20K. MY 2000 Taurus SES was 18K and still had the 200HP V6 and include antilock brakes, remote locks, alloy 16" wheels and more. You would have to buy a stripped Camry to get into that price range.

The people a Camry might be good for are the ones who lease, as there are plenty of stupid people out there willing to pay top dollar for used Camry's as well. The lower depreciation keeps the monthly lease payments down.

As one who owned a 90 Taurus for ten years, leasing is not the way I want to go, as I prefer not to be continually paying for a car.

kw_carman · June 2002

I haven't seen any of the 2000+ Tauri on the streets as police cars or detective cars. The 1996 Generation Tauri were used as police cars in Wash. DC, and were used as detective cars here in NC, but I haven't seen any of the new models.

Our police department stopped using them as police cars after about 1994 when they discovered the front-wheel-drive wasn't gonna work for them

badgerfan · June 2002

Yes, most police departments tend to go with the full size rear wheel drive Fords. Likely more bullet proof, as they use them for high speed chases, pushing stalled vehicle out of the way, etc.

I have seen some police cars that were the new FWD Chevy Impalas. I wonder whether they will hold up.

alhar · June 2002

Both Taurus and Camry are good cars with Camry slightly ahead in many areas but I chose a fully loaded 2002 Taurus SEL Premium. It was available with my two most important options, side airbags and extender pedals and the price was right. Camry doesn't offer the extender pedals and no Camrys at local dealers had side airbags. No one was that eager to let me order an XLE with just side airbags and the fake wood dash turned me off anyway. The steering wheel positioning was inadequate and the seat uncomfortable. Available colors were not to my liking. More expensive even with an underpowered 4cyl. 6 CD changer in the trunk. I drive less than 10,000 miles per year (my 92 Acclaim had 90,000) and I keep my car at least 10 years. I'll get an extended warranty with the money saved. The Taurus just made more sense for me.

behhpp · June 2002

I love my 97 Sable for size and comfort. Bought it from Hertz with 26K miles 4 years ago. However, my ABS is not working, AC has needed work, check engine light is on, interior has had some things break in it. I can get a 2002 Camry for under 20 K if I don't care for all the bells and whistles. I am going to buy a 2003 Corolla LE for even less than that, and it has plenty of room for me inside. I bought new a 1987 Topaz that needed ignition switch work within 3 months. Looking forward to improved reliability for years to come.

bcohen · June 2002

Just thought I would throw a quick gas mileage brag out here. We just got back from a trip in our '99 Taurus SE 24V through hilly 50-65 mph two-lanes mixed with a little 75 mph highway with myself, my wife, our dog, two cats, and trunk full of all our stuff and we got an even 30 miles per gallon. Not too darn shabby.

I should say too, that in 45,000 miles, not a single problem.

fdthird · June 2002

I have to agree with sculldog33's post and others in support of the Taurus. Had an 89 wagon for almost 12 years (and it is still running strong for a kid I sold it to at work) and now own a 2001 SEL. This is my wife's/family car and we are very happy with it. She went from a '97 E-150 custom hi-top to the Taurus and loves it!

We looked around at a lot of cars before we picked the Taurus. For us, it was the best value and the best looking car in the class. Didn't like any of the American cars in the class and my Mom has a 2000 Camry LE and I have trouble believing it and the Accord are in the same size class as the Taurus/Sable. Also, as far as I am concerned the Taurus looks much more up scale then the Camry and in terms of size and features, there is no comparison on the inside of the cars.

We have an on going relationship with a Ford dealer and went the Taurus rather than the Sable route, but like the look of the Sable too.

Our car has all the bells and whistles (moon roof, leather, buckets, traction/abs, etc) and the price of the car was much less than a similarly upscale Camry or Accord would be. The depreciation doesnt bother me because we are going to keep the car for the long haul. Besides, I've had Toyotas that went to 1/2 price in 2 years so what's the big deal. Too many times I find people who buy cars not for now but for 2-3 years when they plan on getting rid of it. Why not buy the best car for you and keep it till you've gotten your money out of it?

Its a rental car?? Well, so was my Dad's '66 Ford Galaxie 500. So is everyone's Camry. (not to mention Pontiac Grand AM, Ford Mustang, or Lincoln Town Car). Who cars???

What to drive an exclusive car that you don't pass everywhere and still spend $25,000 or less??? Then look for some Waco European or American brand (like the rebadged Renault that became a Dodge and Eagle). Personally, I want reliable comfortable transportation that I can get fixed EVERYWHERE!!

badgerfan · June 2002

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that Ford owns 100% of Hertz. If you were an automaker who owns the largest rental car company, wouldn't you put your own product into it? Just because a vehicle is used in rental fleets doesn't mean squat.

Besides, all you people who lease vehicles. Guess what: You are driving a "Rental Car". You just happen to have rented it for 3 years!

fdthird · June 2002

Just something interesting...

for the last 3 years we've gone to Vegas and placed an order with Hertz for a 2 door standard car. This is the Ford Mustang. For 2 out of the 3 years, we've driven out in a Pontiac Grand Am. Guess all the cars they rent ain't Fords!

tomcat630 · June 2002

The Herrz Used Car place near my house sells about 70% non Ford cars. More imports are filling the rental lots, and then the nit pickers can't say "It's just a rental fleet car" as an excuse to dismiss Tauruses.

However, I do agree that Ford needs a new mid size car, but we have to wait until a Mazda 6 based car comes in 2006

steeplejack10 · June 2002

I have looked for a 6 cyl, abs, pwr moonroof, cd changer for about 6 months. Finally found a loaded 2001 Taurus sel with just 9500 miles at $2-3k LESS than what Edmunds and Kelly say it should cost. Carfax shows it a Ford Exec car from California. It's certified with 6/75 extended powertrain. Too good to be true? I hope not! A deal? or not.

badgerfan · June 2002

My guess is Edmunds and Kellys both are not keeping up with the discounts now available on both new and used Tauri. With huge rebates available on brand new Taurus, this also depresses the prices of 1-2 year old used cars.

Sounds like your 1 year old Taurus with the extended warranty and low miles should be a good car. Shop around, though, there seems to be a glut of both new and used cars out there.

robertclark1 · June 2002

I had intended to purchase a new Camry but had rented two Tauri and my wife and I were very impressed by them.
Two days before going out to the Camry dealers we stopped by the Ford dealer that I had bought my 93 Aerostar from.
Long story short my wife fell in love with a silver SES deluxe Sport (why in h**l is this model not publicized?) with the larger engine, moonroof, CD, spoiler, really nice brushed chrome dash and console, custom mats, power seat and pedals, and special two toned interior for $18,900 (before T&L).
What a buy! I love this car! It handles much differently than the two Tauri I rented, much tauter ride and excellent cornering. Also the two rentals had the much noted hard door slam to close the doors and this closes like a mercedes...
I also like the "puddle lamps" and, of course, the acceleration!
I'm sure the Camry will probably last longer but according to Consumer Reports this era of Taurus has been very reliable.

alhar · June 2002

Robert, your SES Sport sounds great. Didn't realize Ford had a sport model in the Taurus line.
It isn't shown in the Taurus pamphlet I got from Ford. I haven't found anything not to like about my 02 Premium SEL. The spoiler really improves the overall line and the Duratec Engine has power to spare. If properly maintained the Taurus can be a very reliable car. I am not sorry at all about deciding againest the Camry. Sounds like the price was right for you too. At Father's day brunch my kids were quite surprised to see their senior citizen parents show up in a Matador Red fully optioned new Taurus with black leather interior. Life is great.

robertclark1 · June 2002

Exactly, Alhar...
Why doesn't Ford market this as a separate model (and advertise it-or list it in any brochures)?
It's got several very nice, unique touches inside and out from the brushed chrome touches to the custom mats and badging outside.
It also seems to be assembled with much more care than the two I rented.
This could definitely be sold as the replacement for the SHO and be quite popular. If only anyone knew!

Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable Sedans Pre-2008

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