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2008 Ford Taurus Limited AWD Road Test

In front of a select group of journalists at the North American InternationalAuto Show bright and early on a January morning, Ford debuted the facelifted Five Hundred driven on stage and introduced by its then-new CEO, Alan Mulally. Weeks prior, he had canceled his order on a Lexus for a Ford product, and then proclaimed the new Five Hundred to be a surprisingly good car. Greeted with undue skepticism of these changes, the car was generally dismissed, but what we want to know is whether or not Mr. Mulally was merely plugging his company, or, if the car he renamed Taurus is actually any good. Over two days, we stuck the knife to Ford's latest update by taking it on a road trip.

But before we carry on, why would Ford decide to rename the vehicle less than a month after it was launched? Mulally, and some others inside the company felt that reverting back to a name people would be familiar with was a good idea. In fact, short of the F-150 pickup (America's best selling truck) and the Mustang (America's favorite pony car), the next Ford product people know best is the Taurus. Few

The Five Hundred is dead, long live the Taurus. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

people knew thename "Five Hundred" as it failed to make an impression on the car purchasing crowd, but people are familiar with Taurus, be their experience good, bad or rental, and Ford is willing to bank in on it. It's also why they've switched the US-market Mercury Montego back to Sable, and the Freestyle crossover to Taurus X. We're just glad they've broken out of their obsession of naming every all-new Ford car with an "F"-word and every new Mercury with a word starting with "M".

I recall when the Five Hundred was launched not three years ago, it received backlash for its styling, not so much because it was bland or boring looking but because it looked too much like a Volkswagen Passat, no surprise since the two cars shared the same stylist.

The three-bar grille of Ford's Red White and Bold design language is the biggest change in terms of style. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

I didn't find that a particularly bad thing, as with its chrome trimmed window sills and modest Ford of Europe grille and headlamps, it really did have a foreign and sophisticated appearance. But that's all gone now, replaced with a strong infusion of the all-American “Red, White and Bold” design language, most apparent of whichis the new three-bar grille that sits level with the headlamps. Together with large chrome-plated side-view mirrors and lower headlamp housings, they contribute to the Taurus' husky profile. And while little additions such as the dummy fender vent and clear-lensed taillights do bring some extra jewelry to the car, the problem that the Taurus faces is that the new look doesn't seem to amount to enough. When crossing the border on the way back, a crossing guard

The all-new 3.5-liter engine does a great job at powering the Taurus. All models receive it, plus the new 6-speed auto. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

asked in all seriousness if this was just a Five Hundred with a facelift. No, it's not. It's more, and Ford needs to get the word out on it.

Surely a coincidence given the old car's name, Ford's engineers made in excess of five hundred changes to this vehicle, but If I was only able to isolate one improvement it would have to be the engine. The old 3.0-liter Duratec V6 (and I do mean old, if not prehistoric) wasn't an effective enough motor to move its 3,682 lb stout frame. Rated at 203 horsepower, itneeded to work hard to build and sustain momentum, which usually meant exposing the somewhat coarse nature of the powerplant at higher revs. To make matters somewhat worse, the standard gearbox was a CVT transmission (unless the optional AWD was selected) which exacerbated the problem further. In the old engine's place is the brand new 3.5-liter V6 with 263 horsepower

Changes around the back are more modest. Funny how Taurus has grown in shape and size... (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

and 249 lb-ft of torque that affords the Taurus the grunt that it needs. Sports car fast it is not, but the new engine and standard six-speed automatic effectively shave about a second and then some off its 0-60 mph acceleration time, making it faster than any large run of the mill domestic V6 sedan; although it'll still be staring at the taillights of a Toyota Avalon.

Although this new engine is larger and more powerful than its replacement, it certainly isn't thirstier. Fuel economy has already been proven to be about 10-percent better thanks to the new powertrain, so really there's no losing out on the upgrades. In terms of real world consumption, the car supplied to us was brand new with less than 25 miles on the clock before it headed out on our road trip, so fuel consumption wasn't great. On the way back after the break-in period, things were much more reasonable, with an average of around 25 miles per gallon. One bonus is that the Taurus will happily run on regular unleaded,

Few changes were made to the interior, but it is quieter and has a higher quality feel to it. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

which can amount to a savings of a couple of dollars per tank, adding up over the long run.

And speaking of the mechanical garage sale, Ford's engineers got rid of the Volvo-Haldex all-wheel drive system from the Five Hundred and have swapped it for the all-wheel drive system used in the Edge. Having only driven the previous FWD version, but hearing from my editor that the old AWD was very capable in inclement weather as well as on loose surfaces, even on extremely steep grades as he experienced during the Five Hundred launch program, one would expect that the new system could only be better, or it saves them lots of money. With Ford's emphasis on product quality these days, my guess is the latter, although due to dry conditions during my run to Detroit there was no opportunity to test it out.

We've tried the 3.5-liter engine in several different vehicles, including the upmarket Lincoln MKZ and the all-important Edge, but it feels most at home right here in the Taurus. As mentioned, the gearbox maintains six forward ratios, but changes design from ZF to one

The Taurus is great at highway cruising. Corners aren't its forte; it's too soft. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

developed by GM and Ford, and in all honesty it's very good. At the slightest squeeze of the pedal it seamlessly downshifts and the car moves on without hesitation. Aswith all other cars to feature this combo, a manual mode is not available. The somewhat high-strung nature of the new V6 has proven to be a bit of a mismatch in character in its other applications, as it's a high-revving engine, but the powertrain as a single unit is surprisingly refined. Some of this might be because Ford has mounted the engine and gearbox assembly on separate subframes, rather than directly on the chassis as with the previous car. The engine is also more muted at the high end, but compared to the Lexus ES 350 or Hyundai Azera, it is more audible.

Taurus probably isn't the first name thought of with regards to luxury, but a visible effort has been made in giving the car a high-quality feel. One way that they've done this is by targeting and tuning the car's sound. High-end cars not only feel solid, but sound solid too, such as the sound of a door when it's slammed shut. However, once inside, it's the lack of sound that truly convinces. The Five Hundred was a very quiet car, but thenew

Analog clock a nice touch. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

Taurus is even quieter. With all sorts of clever new noise-absorbing materials such as expanding pellets and Sononsborb foams, the Taurus might just be the quietest American sedan on the road today. Leaving no stone unturned, Ford has even managed to reduce the noise of the HVAC system by 50-percent.

The soft and rich feel of the leather used on the steering wheel, perforated bucket seats and the stitched shifter knob is truly impressive. The seats, while comfortable, are almost completely lacking in lateral support, but then again the Taurus wasn't made for corners; Ford's Fusion is much better for that. With a sporty car already in the range, Ford's ride and handling gurus decided that a big American sedan should focus its priorities on keeping its passengers comfortable, so they've reengineered the shock towers and have given the car an extra 10-percent wheel travel. The already cushy ride is now even cushier, and over undulating hills and bigger bumps you get just the slightest touch of wallow accompanied – but untroubled – by secondaryharmonics, yet it's much less floaty than the previous Taurus. Still, it doesn't help that as a car the Taurus has a high center of gravity and soft, lean-prone springs. Despite being the biggest car that Ford makes,

At 21.2 cu-ft, it's the biggest trunk in the segment. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

I found the interior to be a little on the cramped side in the driver's footwell area, particularly with such wide pedals and the large foot rest. Though the Taurus Limited features adjustable pedals to assist shorter drivers, the lack of a telescoping steering column meant the reach to the steering wheel was slightly longer than I would've liked.

Inherently speaking, big cars are safe, but the Taurus is actually one of the safest cars around. After briefly exiting the IIHS' Best Pick for Large Family Sedan, it's made its way back thanks to its strong frame (shared with the old Volvo S80), and a full count of airbags. The only option available is stability control. But there's more to the Taurus'safety story than its ability to fend off nasty mash ups with deformable aluminum barriers at 40 mph. I felt secure driving this big sedan. Sitting eye-to-eye with minivan and crossover drivers, a vantage point that no other car I know possesses, is a real bonus. Also, with thin, hollowed out rear pillars, over-the-shoulder glances let you check what's actually in your blind spots instead of a padded pillar.

Stuffed to the gills with every option available, a Taurus identical to this one will amount to the un-Taurus-like figure of $32,840, but trim back on the options and it's possible to get a well-equipped, full-size sedan for a fairly

Besides being big, the Taurus is very good value for the money. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

good deal. As a matter of fact, the base Taurus with front-wheel drive, automatic, air, power everything and more airbags than you can shake a stick at starts at just over $23,000, which ranks on the high end of the metal-for-your-dollar scale. Since the Sirius satellite radio with Premium speakers (a must for any road trip) only costs an incremental amount, adding leatherheated seats and parking sensors, etc, for the Limited model means you're only shelling out a very reasonable $26,845. Later in the year, the Microsoft-developed Sync system will arrive on the Taurus, providing handsfree Bluetooth connectivity with voice control, perfect for the modern-day traveling salesperson.

Two and a half days is the span of time we had with the Taurus, and within that time hundreds of miles and hundreds of tunes had passed us by, but Mr. Mulally's thoughts never seemed to leave the back of my head. In quite a few ways I really do think he's right. Cushy luxury sedans aren't my cup of tea, but as a large American sedan, one for soaking up highway miles with three or four on board plus luggage, you'd be hard pressed to find anything better out there, not to mention that it now has more power and better fuel economy. Though it won't become the nation's best selling car, a prestigious title the Taurus once held, it's by far the best vehicle to wear the Taurus nameplate.


Specifications (Taurus):

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