Driving Sports

The new 2010 Taurus SHO

The original Ford Taurus was one of the most important American cars in recent history. Launched in 1985, it single-handedly saved the idea of the domestic sedan, ultimately becoming the best selling sedan in America. That is, until the Toyota Camry finally supplanted its position on that pedestal in 1997.

I saw my first Taurus when I was in Junior High School. Coming home from school one day (on roller-blades no less) I noticed one of the futuristic looking wagons sitting in a neighbor’s driveway. It had bulbous but functional aerodynamic lines and looked unlike anything else I had seen from an American car company. It was the automotive version Uma Thurman; equally attractive and odd looking.

Within a few short years almost everyone in the neighborhood had traded in a Toyota, Nissan or Honda for the well-equipped and very practical Ford Taurus. But, not unlike the Knack singing about “My Sharona,” ubiquity can also lead to a certain sense of ennui.

With Ford’s decision to load up the Hertz rental fleet with mountains of Taurii, it wasn’t long before smart and interesting became mundane and commonplace. Yes, the car that saved the American sedan quickly became known as nothing more than a rental or a fleet car, not something anyone

Taurus, back in 2000. Ew.

actually owned. By the late 90s, the SUV movement was well underway and the Taurus nameplate was left to wither, ultimately getting a long-overdue hatchet in 2006.

The nameplate’s salvation would come in the form of former aerospace engineer and executive Alan Mulally. The newly-appointed CEO of FoMoCo resurrected the Taurus brand, immediately slapping it onto the forgettable Ford Five Hundred and paving the way for the next generation Taurus.

That pretty much gets us to where we are today: I’m seated at a lakeside café in Seattle. Seated across from me is none other than Alan Mulally, who has joined a number of other journalists for a roundtable discussion of Ford and, especially, his new crown jewel, the 2010 Ford Taurus (and it’s evil brother, the Taurus SHO.)

“I told my team to build the world’s best sedan. They said they could do it in four years.” Mulally paused for dramatic effect, as he recounts the story, “I told them to do it in two!” This is what becoming known as a classic Mulally attitude, as positive as he is certain.

Mulally is on record as saying that a Lexus he owned was the greatest car in the world. This was shortly after taking the Ford reins, so you can imagine that raised a few eyebrows. Today he stands in front of us, confidently discussing what is clearly his pride and joy. “I’ve had every great car in my life.” He continues, “[Now] there is no finer car in the world than the Taurus.”

That’s quite a statement from a company that had seemingly abandoned the segment all together just a few short years ago. Could he be right? What’s his angle?

Technology.

Packed into the new Ford Taurus is a bevy of features Ford stresses as being available only in premium sedans costing considerably more (adaptive cruise control, keypad entry, GPS, collision warning system, and so on.) Other technologies, like the Cross Traffic Alert and Microsoft SYNC are Ford exclusives.

Interior may not engage current European luxury owners.

Being a technophile myself, I can appreciate a good set of toys. However, getting down to it, it’s not the adaptive cruise control in a Lexus or Mercedes that makes it a Lexus or Mercedes; it’s a unique sum of the parts that gives these cars their distinct character.

That said, how do the sum of the parts in the 2010 Taurus SHO add up? Is it now the “best car in the world?” as Mulally claims?

There are a lot of details I do like about the new Taurus SHO: The shape has great presence with a decent helping of European flair. I also wrote recently about my affinity for the new mill stuffed into the SHO: a twin-turbo-powered, 365hp/350 ft.-lbs, 3.5 liter, EcoBoost V6 coupled to a new 6-speed auto tranny powering all four wheels. This is a motor of epic abilities. The standard Taurus gets a far less interesting 263hp 3.5 liter V6 pushing either two or four wheels through a similar 6-speed autobox.

Have to admit, the SHO looks stout.

On a damp afternoon in Seattle, the SHO’s ride was confident, albeit on the soft side, with ample comfort and a slightly meaty exhaust note. It felt big and softer than I would hoped, considering the SHO labeling. The Yamaha-powered SHO of the past was a head snapper, this SHO is more of a head patter. The car’s hefty weight, well north of 4,000 pounds, is certainly not helping.

Even if it had the finest ride this side of Stuttgart (which it clearly doesn’t), that wouldn’t change my mind on the interior: I dislike it immensely. Not because of the quality of the materials or the color of the illuminated radio. The entire design language takes everything I have loathed about American interiors and wraps it in leatherette. The shifter is oversized and chunky, the transmission tunnel takes up what feels like half of the interior and the gauges lack spice. I cannot fathom how someone that considers a Lexus the pinnacle of the modern sedan could even tolerate such waste in space and form as it exists in the 2010 Taurus.

I didn’t think I’d ever say this, but Lincoln got it right in the 2010 Lincoln MKS. That car has an interior that a Lexus lover could live with. I have a hard time believing that the fresh Taurus will score big conquest sales against the European or Japanese for this reason alone.

Oh, wait. I see what Ford did there. Maybe that’s the point. Ford owns Lincoln, so it already has an offering with the same dynamite engine as the SHO with an interior and exterior design that squarely appeals to Lexus and Audi shoppers. And, what do Americans like to hear more than an American product is the “best in the world.” That’s the buyer to whom the new Taurus would have the most appeal. After all, disenfranchised GM and Chrysler owners who want to continue to buy American, but who don’t want to invest in what they perceive as struggling companies, now have an option. Ford is looking strong, the Taurus is proclaimed (by Ford) as “the best in the world.” Why wouldn’t a PT Cruiser owner trade up?

You got me, Mr. Mulally. I looked at the new Taurus as you presented it and almost disagreed. However, if you allow me to amend your statement just a little, I will change my mind: “The 2010 Ford Taurus is the best car in the world… for GM and Chrysler owners.” That is a point I simply cannot argue with.