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Road Test: 2010 Ford Taurus SHO car review: SHO of authority
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This…doesn’t feel like a full-sized sedan. But it is. It’s a Ford Taurus. It’s not an ordinary Taurus, however, but a 2010 Ford Taurus SHO, and those three letters at the end—or at least what they stand for—make all the difference.
We recently reviewed a 2010 Ford Taurus Limited and found the new-from-the-ground-up Ford to be a big step up from its predecessor and a more than credible player in the full-size automobile class. In other words, we really liked it. And as a “me” car, as Ford calls it, suggesting that it’s a personal car with room for friends and family, it succeeds. It’s not what one would call a sports sedan, however. Ford saved that for the 2010 Taurus SHO, tweaked with sportiness from tires to (almost) the roof.
The 2010 Taurus SHO isn’t the first time Ford had this idea. One could go back further, but the first Ford sport sedan to wear the SHO appellation was the 1989 Ford Taurus. Three generations of Taurus SHO followed, spanning 1989 through 1999. Those earlier Taurus SHO models developed a passionate cult following that remained unrequited as Ford allowed the Taurus franchise to wither.
As noted in our Taurus review, however, Ford determined that Taurus name still had value, and perhaps the SHO concept did as well. Which brings us up to some winding, best left unidentified North Carolina mountain highway, over which we’re wringing out the Taurus to see what’s there other than the washwater.
Ford did several things to make the new SHO different from the standard 2010 Taurus, the most obvious of which is the engine. Ford decided to make the Taurus SHO, along with the Lincoln MKT crossover, one of the first vehicles to receive the new 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 engines. We’ve discussed the EcoBoost concept earlier, but the major elements are turbocharging and direct injection, the sum of which is better than the parts. The result is V-8 performance, 365 horsepower to be precise.
Of course, turbocharging is an easy and cheap way to horsepower, and it was the cheap and easy turbocharging applications that resulted in the term “turbo lag,” defined as that time between pushing down the gas pedal and the actual delivery of power, typically an entertaining but tardy shove in the back. It’s fun but only for a while, the semi-randomness of the arrival of engine power making smooth driving more difficult than it should be.
In theory, EcoBoost should solve this. We’re here to say it does. The SHO’s V-6 engine reaches its horsepower peak at 5500 rpm, but the acceleration-providing 350 lb-ft of torque spreads from 1500 to 5250 rpm. In other words, hit the throttle and the Taurus SHO moves. Now. Ford lists sec for 0-60 mph. Believe it. Then remember that this is a Taurus.
See the photo gallery for more views of the 2010 Ford Taurus SHO.
A wide torque curve means there’s less importance which gear the 2010 Ford Taurus SHO is in, but the SHO comes only with a high-capacity 6-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifting, because, you know, it really does make a difference. While the transmission allows full automatic operation, the paddle shift feature provides the control the driver of a sport sedan craves. Traditional automatic transmissions, however, tend to jerk when the next gear down is selected. Not so the SHO, which has downshift rev matching that really works. You’ll appear a better driver than you likely deserve.
The Taurus powertrain is nominally front-wheel drive but fortunately, the Taurus has optional all-wheel drive. It’s standard in the SHO, and it torque steer that would have a front-drive Taurus SHO pointing any which way but straight ahead when the power was poured on.
No doubt the all-wheel drive system—as “advanced array of internal electromechanical clutches”—has advantages in handling as well, but Ford has also equipped the SHO with special shocks, springs and anti-roll bars, plus unique strut bushings. The SR-1 rear multi-link suspension is particularly well suited for performance tuning, says Ford, not to mention allowing the use of the SHO’s standard 19-inch or optional 20-inch wheels.
Our test Taurus SHO was equipped with the 20-inch wheels. The wheels are available as a standalone item or as a part of a SHO Performance Package that also includes the electronic throttle recalibrated for quicker response (which also makes the car feel faster), a sport mode for the stability control system, upgraded brake pads for improved fade resistance and a “shorter” final drive ratio for quicker acceleration.The preceding is the SHO’s big stick. Like its predecessors, however, the 2010 Ford Taurus SHO speaks softly in external trim. By the rear deck spoiler, small “SHO” badges on the trunk and C-pillar, twin chrome exhaust and special finish on the grille distinctive parking lamp bezels shall ye know the SHO. Subtlety is something the SHO faithful liked about the old SHOs. They get it again with the new SHO.
Inside the 2010 Taurus SHO comes with leather-trimmed seats with artificial suede (made from recycled plastic soft drink bottles) inserts. The steering wheel is leather wrapped, and the pedals hare aluminum trim. Ten-way power seats are standard, and the interior also has aluminum appliqué trim that only the SHO gets.
But trim isn’t what makes the Ford Taurus SHO. It’s the performance. And there, on tight North Carolina switchbacks and short bursts of straight, the 2010 Ford Taurus SHO demonstrated an agility that belied its size. Not perhaps at full-out racetrack speeds and maximum cornering—not that it might well be capable but we didn’t have the opportunity—but in real-world quick mode hustling, abetted by the paddle shifted transmission that held gears selected and cleanly matched the downshift revs for smooth approaches to corners like Mr. Lucky at the bar. Helloooo, corners.
We can’t speak for the SHO faithful, of course, but we believe after their entreaties to Ford to resurrect the Taurus SHO, they should be happy with this particular result. Meanwhile, we have to check those dimensions on the 2010 Ford Taurus SHO again. Can it really be a full-size sedan? Yes, it can.
Illustrations: 2010 ForTaurus SHO. All photos by John Matras.
| Layout | Front-engine/all-wheel drive, steel unit-body construction |
| Engine | 3.5-L / 365-hp DOHC 24-valve twin-turbo V-6 |
| Displacement, cc | 3496 |
| Compression ratio | 10.0:1 |
| Construction, block / head | Aluminum / aluminum |
| Horsepower @ rpm | 365 @ 5500 |
| Torque, lb-ft @ rpm | 350 @ 1500 - 5250 |
| Maximum rpm | 6200 |
| Recommended fuel | Premium |
| Transmission | 6-sp automatic w/ paddle-shift |
| Suspension, front | Macpherson strut, rear-facing lower control arm, anti-roll bar |
| Suspension, rear | Multi-link w/ coil-over shocks, stamped steel lower arms, cast upper |
| Brakes, type | 4-wheel disc w/ ABS, stablity control and traction control |
| Disc dia., in.. f / r | 12.4 / 13.0 |
| Steering, type | Rack & pinion, electric power assist |
| Turning cirle, dia., ft | 41.0 |
| Wheels, size / type | 20-inch / aluminum |
| Tires, size / type | 245/45YR20 / summer performance |
| Dimensions & capacities | |
| Length, in. | 202.9 |
| Width, in. | 76.2 |
| Height, in. | 60.7 |
| Wheelbase, in. | 112.9 |
| Cargo capacity, cu ft | 20.1 |
| Fuel tank, U.S. gal. | 19 |
| Performance | |
| Fuel eon., EPA mpg, city/hwy | 17 / 25 |
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