Unique Motors

2008 Ford Taurus

Editor: Jim McCraw
Major revisions make previous Five Hundred vastly superior.

Walk Around

The 2008 Ford Taurus is a much, much better looking car than the Five Hundred, kind of reminiscent of the Lincoln Town Car in a smaller size.

In the transition from Five Hundred to Taurus, Ford completely redesigned the front end, with a large three-bar horizontal grille that fits in better with the Ford family look of the existing Fusion, the Edge, and the coming Flex. It's altogether a better looking and more contemporary design for the grille, with new, quieter mirrors, gigantic new headlamp units, big driving lamps under the new bumpers, with necessary changes to the hood and fenders. Decorative, nonfunctional gills have been added to the front fenders to add visual interest and take up some space on the huge fenders.

Likewise, the taillamps, rear quarter panels and decklid have been redone, and the rear bumper has been rejiggered to feature exposed dual exhaust tips.

Interior

We found the 2008 Taurus a very pleasant car to be in. It offers a nice, high seating position, with excellent outward vision in all directions, very comfortable and supportive bucket seats, and instruments and controls that were easy to look at and easy to use. The navigation system was a snap to learn and use.

The most noticeable interior feature of the new Ford Taurus is the sheer size of the space inside the car, 108 cubic feet inside, with a 21 cubic-foot trunk, according to EPA measurements, making it by far the largest interior in the class at 129 cubic feet total.

With folding rear seats and a flat-folding right front seat, you can put a nine-foot-long object inside the car. After you notice the space and the limo-like rear-seat accommodations, you then begin to notice that every piece in the interior, the instruments, controls, shifter, seats, console, and dashboard, has been redesigned, with a more luxurious feel and lots more chrome trim here and there. They've added a plug for an MP3 player inside the center console as standard equipment.

The Motorola Sync system offers integration with all Bluetooth-enabled phones and music players, including iPods, via electronic and USB 2.0 connections. Sync features include the ability to have text messages read aloud, voice recognition for control of both phone and music functions, and phonebook transfer. The system is upgradeable for future players and for additional functionality down the road. Sync will be offered on Taurus and 11 other 2008 Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles later this year.

A Taurus Limited AWD we drove was loaded with options, including AdvanceTrac electronic stability control, a roof-mounted rear-seat DVD entertainment system, heated front seats, convenience package, wood package, power adjustable pedals, a moonroof, voice-activated touch-screen navigation, Sirius satellite radio, and reverse sensing system, bringing the bottom line to $33,600, and making it the best-equipped Taurus possible, short of the 18-inch chromed aluminum wheel option.