First Drive: 2010 Ford Taurus [Review]

A long time coming, but it’s finally here: The 2010 Ford Taurus. The one that Ford’s Alan Mulally said should have been built in the first place. Gone is the J Mays-influenced Passat-on-’roids cum Ford Five Hundred with enough headroom for a stovepipe hat worn by none other than honest Abe himself.

Sure, it was a well-made car, but it was about as staid and unexciting as they come.

Long gone
But this new Taurus has refinement and looks going for it. Having been “gone” so long (in hibernation is more like it), the Taurus has ceded the role of Ford’s bread and butter vehicle to the Fusion. But this is the new flagship is large and in charge. Measuring out at nearly 203-inches, the Taurus is a 4015-pound behemoth (4,224 with AWD) that is so far ahead of what it replaces that perhaps Ford should not have even bothered with the Taurus name this time around.

To hear Chief Engineer Pete Reyes say it, the new Taurus is about being a sedan for me (as in the “collective” me rather than Pete, or me, or uh, never mind). The idea of a minivan is passé. So, too, an SUV, as the need to haul around the kids’ hockey or soccer gear is diminished by those who have left the nest. So in essence, “the Taurus is a sedan that’s all about me.”

Dimensionally an inch or so within the length of its corporate cousin the Lincoln MKS (with whom it shares many of the underpinnings), the Taurus is a car that we find much more interesting to look at, even though some angles are rather similar. Starting with a greenhouse that is more mainstream than the MKS, it offers plenty of headroom without the exaggerated fishbowl that plagued the last version of its namesake. That’s not saying it’s tall. It does have a chop-top type appearance, that while not as exaggerated as the Chrysler 300C, style has a low, sinister look to it.

A sculpted powerdome hood gives a more muscular look, as does the wide stance of the front fascia that includes wide wrap-around projector lens xenon headlamps, and a new evolutionary look at the by-now-familiar tri-bar grille that has become a recent Ford trademark. Between flared wheel wells reside new “suck-sculpted” side panels, unlike the slab-sided MKS. We like this look as it adds a certain character that is missing on many cars today. A smart, tapered tail end finishes off the new Taurus. Complete with dual exhausts, it is a sophisticated look fitting of a flagship.

Puttin’ down
Power for the new Taurus comes from a transverse-mounted 3.5-liter Duratec V6 engine, which in this instance produces 263-horsepower and 249 lb-ft. of torque. Power gets to the road through a choice of six-speed automatic transmissions. A regular automatic awaits an SE buyer, while the SEL and Limited models are equipped with a SelectShift slusher with paddle shifters, which actually resemble buttons more than paddles. Shades of Porsche-style paddle shift design, they are effective but not the best around by any means. The Taurus comes with front wheel drive as standard but offers optional all-wheel-drive for the SEL and Limited. MacPherson struts and L-shaped lower control arms with isolated subframe and stabilizer bars plant the tires in front, while an independent multi-link suspension with coilovers, and stamped lower- and cast upper- control arms keep things grounded flat at rear.

The ride of the SEL and Limited models we drove was extremely well modulated, maintaining great road feel while isolating most road noise from the cockpit. The Duratec proved more than sufficient to power through some of the twisties in western North Carolina, near Asheville and to maintain a steady pace going up and down the Blue Ridge Parkway. Road holding was actually very good: Firm without being overly stiff, with nary a wallow. Direct power rack and pinion steering left us with a satisfying sense that we knew exactly what the car was doing while whipping wheel on the ‘Ridge. Our Limited test vehicle was equipped with 19-inch wheels and tires.

This Bull, as the flagship, is loaded. All the latest technologies make an appearance from Adaptive Cruise Control to Collision Warning with Brake Support, which work in concert. While one finds a comfortable cruising speed, the other senses if distances close too fast, and pre-charges the brakes for panic stops should the need arise. Blind Spot Information system with cross traffic alert advises when out-of-sight-obstructions or parking lot traffic may cause your day to end on a sour note. Along for the ride is all of the other alphabeticals you have come to expect: ABS, ATC, SOS, BBQ, BYOB and so on.

With as much technology loaded into the new Taurus, we would expect nothing less in the fuel economy equation. Ford is employing a two-speed fuel pump and Aggressive Deceleration Fuel Shut-off technology to assist in saving fuel when your foot is not into the gas pedal. The EPA says to expect mileage ratings of 18 mpg city and 28 mpg highway for front-wheel-drive and 17/25 for the four-wheeler.

The inside line
The interior of the new Taurus is summed up in two words: World class.

Materials, from the leather seating surfaces, with available ventilated seating and Active Motion massage functions help to cool things down and rub them out should the need arise. Exacting tolerances where soft and hard materials meet show quality that to this date we haven’t seen in a Ford.

Sync is back as an available upgrade and now includes traffic, directions, 911 Assist and other information. Voice-activated navigation with Sirius Travel Link shows the way, and a Sony audio system provides the entertainment with an available 12-speaker Surround Sound package.

The driver and passenger seats in front offer decent bolstering but are not as scooped out as those found in, say, an Audi. No matter, they are comfortable over long hauls, and when combined with the adjustable pedal system, offered any size and shape of driver an opportunity to find the best seating position for them. The rear bench seat offered width for three, with plenty of legroom. Details including customizable ambient floor lighting, stitching on door panels and sophistication of layout on the dashboard’s center console show an added attention appealing to nearly all of the senses. As the standard seems to be determined by how many golf bags fit in the boot, this Ford carries four.

Leftlane’s bottom line
It has been a long time coming, but Ford has finally re-invented the Taurus and, in the process, the personal sedan – a segment long forgotten. Loaded with enough gadgets and doodads to satisfy even the most discriminating technophile, it can add up. Ford has built what is probably one of the best sedans in their corporate history and we hope it will find its place in the market.

2010 Ford Taurus base price range: $25,995 to $33,845.