Ford Taurus: 2013 Updates Add New EcoBoost Power, SHO Revised

  • Thread starter Thread starter YSSMAN
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After bad experiences with my father's face-lifted first gen Taurus, I vowed to hate the Taurus name without end...

...Time to break those vows.
 
Too bad the back looks like hell. This car is only "stunning" because it's coming from Ford. In other words, this should have been the car Ford had all along. It's about time we got more Ford Euro-spec design here.
 
*tisk* always gotta be some detractor.

It looks and sounds like it'll be a wonderful, world-class fullsize car. I look forward to seeing more.
 
Good god that thing is sexy! I love everything about it. Now EcoBoost + AWD makes one exciting prospect.
 
Rotary Junkie
Really?

Where exactly is the benefit of FWD in this gigantic and lardy of a vehicle?
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Cheaper, lighter, no driveshaft hump in the back seat, more cabin room, better in the snow, and so on. The Taurus is not a performance/sporty vehicle so there really isn't any reason to go through and make it RWD. You know as well as I do that the type of people who buy this aren't going to be driving it like a Ferrari.
 
Joey D
Cheaper, lighter, no driveshaft hump in the back seat, more cabin room, better in the snow, and so on. The Taurus is not a performance/sporty vehicle so there really isn't any reason to go through and make it RWD. You know as well as I do that the type of people who buy this aren't going to be driving it like a Ferrari.
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Add to that that the Taurus has been FWD from the start, it's not like Ford changed it like GM did the Impala.
 
Joey D
Cheaper, lighter, no driveshaft hump in the back seat, more cabin room, better in the snow, and so on. The Taurus is not a performance/sporty vehicle so there really isn't any reason to go through and make it RWD. You know as well as I do that the type of people who buy this aren't going to be driving it like a Ferrari.
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If there's going to be AWD it may as well be RWD based. You won't gain interior room with FWD when there's already a trans/driveshaft tunnel through the back seat for AWD, and FWD is just wrong when the car is this gigantic and heavy. (I find the Impala wrong for being FWD and huge as well)

GT3man2001
Add to that that the Taurus has been FWD from the start, it's not like Ford changed it like GM did the Impala.
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Yes, but the thing is... This isn't a Taurus any more. Wears the badge perhaps, but it's no Taurus. It's a Crown Vic-sized FWD lardass. The Fusion is now where the Taurus was.
 
Rotary Junkie
If there's going to be AWD it may as well be RWD based. You won't gain interior room with FWD when there's already a trans/driveshaft tunnel through the back seat for AWD, and FWD is just wrong when the car is this gigantic and heavy. (I find the Impala wrong for being FWD and huge as well)
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You are going to gain room since the engine is transversely mounted which will allow more room in the cab. And the AWD is an if, it may not be, so lets not go assuming that just yet, especially with the way the market it headed.

What makes FWD so wrong in a big car? The GMC Arcadia and it's clones are FWD and they work just fine and they probably weigh quite a bit more than the new Taurus. Yes it will be awful if you try to take it to the track or even drive spirited, but it's not really being designed for that.

Seriously the people who are always on about how everything must be rear drive are no better than those who think everything should have a manual gear box. Here's a news flash for you, most people don't care about that sort of stuff when they buy a car. You really think the clientèle for the Taurus is going to be people who want to have a sporty driving experience?
 
Nope, but I wouldn't mind something that would let Ford back into police fleet sales.

4000+lb FWD barges don't do that.
 
Rotary Junkie
Nope, but I wouldn't mind something that would let Ford back into police fleet sales.

4000+lb FWD barges don't do that.
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Dodge pretty much has that covered with the Charger, although most police vehicles around here are Chevy Impala's and ageing Dodge Intrepids. I think MSP is the only place I really see Crown Vics being used any more and even they are getting replaced with Chargers.

I still don't see how a heavy FWD vehicle is going to be bad though.
 
I'm glad to see the car has been pretty well received, because lets be honest, Ford needs the attention. Overall, the look is just fantastic. I think the only odd part that remotely bothers me is the little crease on the rear quarter panel. Other than that, I really can't find anything major to fault on it.

I found it interesting that Ford debuted the EcoBoost V6 in the Flex as opposed to this, but the thought of a 350 BHP V6 in one of these is just jaw-dropping. Ford has really hit the nail on the head with this car, and I'm very excited to know that it can be in show rooms sooner than later.
 
YSSMAN
I found it interesting that Ford debuted the EcoBoost V6 in the Flex as opposed to this, but the thought of a 350 BHP V6 in one of these is just jaw-dropping. Ford has really hit the nail on the head with this car, and I'm very excited to know that it can be in show rooms sooner than later.
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Speaking of the engine, it doesn't make much sense to give an SHO performance version the same engine that is available in run-of-the-mill stable mate cars. Can we expect a more highly tuned version of this engine to be in an SHO?
 
They say that 400 BHP is supposed to be pretty easy to pull out of the engine, but at that point you'd likely be stepping on what Lincoln would want to offer. Hard to say of course, because either way, 350 BHP is still a lot of power in the size class, really the segment in general.

Even if the SHO was "only" 350 BHP, AWD and a suspension package... At the right price, it makes a very interesting alternative to a TL SH-AWD or Audi A6 3.2 S-Line.
 
YSSMAN
TL SH-AWD or Audi A6 3.2 S-Line.
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Snap. Did I just realize that neither of those cars make anywhere near this much power? And the Audi S4's new supercharged V6 still only churns out 333hp and 325lb-ft? Damn, maybe 355 is plenty for an SHO. Maybe 355 is too much for a Flex?...

But I have to be pessimistic against 'Murica. How much do you want to bet that the Taurus, similarly sized to the SH-AWD, will still be slower, even with an extra 55hp. Eh?
 
American cars seem to need to offer quite a bit more power than the competition for people to buy them. See the CTS-V and the C-Class and co from Germany.

On the Taurus, the front fascia looks nicely modern, but everything else looks pretty big and actually kinda boring I think. And the shaping of the rear end is just awful I think. On the inside, it needs less open and flat area. Those compartments around the gearshift and at the bottom of the dash are way too much I think.
 
Rotary Junkie
If there's going to be AWD it may as well be RWD based. You won't gain interior room with FWD when there's already a trans/driveshaft tunnel through the back seat for AWD, and FWD is just wrong when the car is this gigantic and heavy. (I find the Impala wrong for being FWD and huge as well)
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If you make it RWD by default you throw out any ability for it to get decent mileage.
 
Pricing Deets Are Here:

After Ford revealed the new 2010 Taurus this morning at the Detroit Auto Show, it sent out a press release with full pricing information for each model. As we mentioned earlier, the base price of Ford's new flagship sedan in SE trim is the same $25,995 as the 2009 model. For those looking for more toys in their car, Ford is still offering the SEL and Limited models at $27,995 and $31,995 respectively. The two upper trim levels can be had with paddle shifters for the 6-speed automatic, a first for the Taurus. We'll probably have to wait until closer to launch to find out how much goodies such as the cross traffic warning system, adaptive cruise control and collision mitigation will cost. The other big unknown remains the cost of the EcoBoost 3.5L V6 and its 350 hp. That's a Taurus we can't wait to try.
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Nice! For under $30K, this is one helluva bargain, even without EcoBoost. Around this pricing segment, it looks like this competes more against the LaCrosse than anything else, which only adds to the confusion as to what the Lincoln brand is doing.
 
Omnis
Too bad the back looks like hell. This car is only "stunning" because it's coming from Ford. In other words, this should have been the car Ford had all along. It's about time we got more Ford Euro-spec design here.
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It looks like they took an idea from the Malibu, but they improved on it.
 
That's some really good pricing. I suspect the EcoBoost model to be around $34,995.
 
JCE
That's some really good pricing. I suspect the EcoBoost model to be around $34,995.
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I'd hope that Ford has the sense to make the EcoBoost available in the SE models, not just the SEL and Limited. I'd hope for 27.5 for an SE Eco, 29-some for an SEL Eco, and 33-34 for a Limited Eco.
 
It would be VERY smart for them to put both an EcoBoost I4 in the SE and base SEL models and the EcoBoost V6 in the SEL Limited and SHO models. Seriously, it would be mega if they did it.
 
Now that would be an idea, but if they're going to use the four I would want the four at least available in the Limited for the theoretically greater fuel econ...

Or do something like the Fusion... Where the four cylinder can be any trim level and the V6 can be any trim level, although the V6 would be more expensive for obvious reasons.
 
JCE
It would be VERY smart for them to put both an EcoBoost I4 in the SE and base SEL models and the EcoBoost V6 in the SEL Limited and SHO models. Seriously, it would be mega if they did it.
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If I'm reading Ford stuff correctly, it will happen within the next year or so. I don't know if they'd make AWD available on the four pot.
 

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