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Review: 2010 Ford Taurus Limited -- it's better as a family car than a $39,000 luxury sedan
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The 2010 Ford Taurus is more stylish but less roomy and more expensive than its predecessor. Nonetheless, it's a competitive car if you pick one with less than $13,000 in extra options like this tested Limited. See more photos of the Taurus in today's slideshow. (photos by Brady Holt)
In 2005, Ford introduced an extremely spacious, thoroughly competent, and thoroughly dull large sedan called the Five Hundred. In 2008, the company responded to sluggish sales by making it even more competent – adding additional power, refinement, and interior quality – and renaming it the Taurus. The sales trend did not reverse.
Now there’s a new 2010 Taurus on sale, still mechanically based on the 2005 Five Hundred, a car that itself was derived from even older Volvos. With this new model, Ford is abandoning the model that failed for its two predecessors, trading the outgoing Taurus’s vast and airy cabin for a new level of styling inside and out.
The thorough competence remains. The Five Hundred was always agile for its size, and this Taurus has retained that trait without sacrificing ride quality. The 3.5-liter V6 is strong, very quiet, and reasonably fuel-efficient. Crash-test results remain impeccable. All-wheel-drive remains available, a relatively rare option in a sedan. The seats are comfortable and the trunk is huge.
Based on initial sales numbers, Ford might be ready to declare success with its new formula. In its first months on the market, the Taurus has been selling at more than double the pace of its predecessor at this point last year, and most dealers in the D.C. area have been quickly selling out of all but the priciest fully-optioned cars, like the $43,000 high-performance SHO version reviewed here in September and this $39,000 luxury Limited version reviewed today.
But strong initial sales are generally par for the course from any high-style car that comes to market with any degree of competence. For a car to have staying power, it needs enough behind the styling for someone to consider it when its looks are no longer the latest thing.
The Taurus’s styling, with a high windowline, sloping roofline, and tall rear end, leads to undeniable sacrifices in its interior volume, which is not expansive even in one of the largest sedans on the market. Some may find the front seats too narrow; they’re separated by a very wide center console. And the rear seat has no excess of head space, and while legroom is sufficient, there isn’t any foot space beneath the front seats, which gives many smaller cars more stretch-out comfort than this huge vehicle. The styling also greatly reduces rear visibility, which had been a strong point in the old Taurus.
There are also some detail issues with the car’s high-style interior. The nicest interior materials are well out of easy reach atop the dash, while hard, cheap-feeling plastic adorns the center stack. The car driven for this review also suffered from some panel fit and finish imperfections.
See more photos of the Taurus in today's slideshow
However, as noted earlier, the Taurus does demonstrate impressive driving dynamics, with an excellent ride/handling balance and well-weighted steering. Cruising is serene and acceleration is prompt, and the Taurus goes around corners easily despite its heft and width.
The ride did occasionally feel jittery on the highway; this Taurus Limited’s 19-inch wheels may bear the blame for that.
The strengths and weaknesses of the Taurus seem quite similar to those reported in the Buick LaCrosse, another high-style American large sedan freshly redesigned for the 2010 model year. (read review)
The list of strengths and weaknesses with the Taurus is very similar to that of the new Buick LaCrosse, another high-style large American car. Both drive very well and look luxurious from the outside, yet have some interior quality missteps, less space than they should, and poor visibility.
Of the two, the LaCrosse is more of a luxury car. A few panel misfits on its interior don’t detract from its overall sense of solidity, and it uses nicer interior materials and an arguably more upscale design.
The new Taurus, like its predecessor, feels more like a big mainstream car. And like its predecessor, it does a pretty good job at it. This new car gains ground in style and solidity, but makes a significant practicality sacrifice. It is roomier than the LaCrosse, particularly in its massive trunk. But Ford has put the Taurus’s cheapest plastics front and center, and the car seems designed to feel huge on the inside.
The Taurus also is huge – 203 inches long, 76 inches wide – which can be problematic when combined with poor visibility. But more significantly, its overall ambiance gives it the feeling of a nice mainstream car rather than a luxury one.
Which isn’t necessarily a problem. With a $25,000 base price, there are nicely-equipped Tauruses in the mainstream. Tauruses with a sticker price of under $30,000 will probably have no trouble in the marketplace in the coming years, for their combination of impressive driving dynamics and acceptable utility. Those are the cars that have quickly vanished from dealer inventories, leaving only this $39,000 version available for a test drive.
The fully-optioned Taurus – which easily passes $40,000 if you spring for the all-wheel-drive along with the navigation system, heated/cooled front seats, power rear sunshade, adaptive cruise control, and sunroof – will probably be a short-term phenomenon. Its core customer base will be those who buy the Latest Thing at any price, and that customer base will dry up when the Taurus is no longer new.
And that makes sense. For near $40,000, you can buy true luxury sedans instead of just fully-optioned mainstream ones. Buick’s LaCrosse is now one. The Hyundai Genesis is another. Even the midsize Lexus ES350, Acura TL, and Infiniti G37 give up relatively little interior room to this Taurus and offer a different level of interior quality and overall polish.
But for under $30,000, the Taurus’s ride, handling, and refinement are impressive and a few interior quality lapses are easier to excuse. And that’s where the Taurus makes sense. If you’re considering a luxurious sedan in that price range and don’t mind a discrepancy between exterior and interior size, the Taurus should be one of the cars you shop.
Vehicle tested: 2010 Ford Taurus
Vehicle base price (MSRP): $25,170
Version tested: Limited
Version base price (MSRP): $31,170
Vehicle price as tested (MSRP): $39,175
Test vehicle provided by: Hunt Ford of La Plata, Md.
Key specifications:
Length: 202.9 inches
Width: 76.2 inches
Height: 60.7 inches
Wheelbase: 112.9 inches
Weight: 4,015 pounds
Trunk volume: 20.1 cubic feet
Turning radius: 19.8 feet
Engine (as tested): 3.5-liter V6 with 263 horsepower
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
EPA city mileage: 18 miles per gallon
EPA highway mileage: 27 miles per gallon
EPA mixed driving: 21 miles per gallon
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