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4.6

Ford Taurus

Starts at:
$23,635
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4dr Sdn SEL FWD 4dr Sdn SEL AWD 4dr Sdn Limited FWD 4dr Sdn Limited AWD Shop options
New 2008 Ford Taurus
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4dr Sdn SEL FWD 4dr Sdn SEL AWD 4dr Sdn Limited FWD 4dr Sdn Limited AWD Shop options
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Key specifications

Highlights
Gas V6
Engine Type
18 City / 28 Hwy
MPG
263 hp
Horsepower
5
Seating Capacity
Engine
249 @ 4500
SAE Net Torque @ RPM
263 @ 6250
SAE Net Horsepower @ RPM
3.5L/213
Displacement
Gas V6
Engine Type
Suspension
Coil over shock
Suspension Type - Rear (Cont.)
MacPherson strut
Suspension Type - Front (Cont.)
Independent
Suspension Type - Rear
Independent
Suspension Type - Front
Weight & Capacity
N/A
Aux Fuel Tank Capacity, Approx
21 gal
Fuel Tank Capacity, Approx
100 lbs
Wt Distributing Hitch - Max Tongue Wt.
1,000 lbs
Wt Distributing Hitch - Max Trailer Wt.
Electrical
N/A
Maximum Alternator Capacity (amps)
N/A
Cold Cranking Amps @ 0° F (Primary)
Brakes
Not Available
Drum - Rear (Yes or )
N/A
Rear Brake Rotor Diam x Thickness
N/A
Front Brake Rotor Diam x Thickness
Yes
Disc - Rear (Yes or )

Notable features

Revision of slow-selling Five Hundred
New, larger V-6
Available AWD
Six airbags standard
Optional electronic stability system

Engine

249 @ 4500 SAE Net Torque @ RPM
263 @ 6250 SAE Net Horsepower @ RPM
3.5L/213 Displacement
Gas V6 Engine Type

Suspension

Coil over shock Suspension Type - Rear (Cont.)
MacPherson strut Suspension Type - Front (Cont.)
Independent Suspension Type - Rear
Independent Suspension Type - Front

Weight & Capacity

N/A Aux Fuel Tank Capacity, Approx
21 gal Fuel Tank Capacity, Approx
100 lbs Wt Distributing Hitch - Max Tongue Wt.
1,000 lbs Wt Distributing Hitch - Max Trailer Wt.
100 lbs Dead Weight Hitch - Max Tongue Wt.
1,000 lbs Dead Weight Hitch - Max Trailer Wt.
3,741 lbs Base Curb Weight

Electrical

N/A Maximum Alternator Capacity (amps)
N/A Cold Cranking Amps @ 0° F (Primary)

Brakes

Not Available Drum - Rear (Yes or )
N/A Rear Brake Rotor Diam x Thickness
N/A Front Brake Rotor Diam x Thickness
Yes Disc - Rear (Yes or )
Yes Disc - Front (Yes or )
N/A Brake ABS System (Second Line)
4-Wheel Brake ABS System
Pwr Brake Type

Photo & video gallery

2008 Ford Taurus 2008 Ford Taurus 2008 Ford Taurus 2008 Ford Taurus 2008 Ford Taurus 2008 Ford Taurus 2008 Ford Taurus 2008 Ford Taurus 2008 Ford Taurus 2008 Ford Taurus 2008 Ford Taurus 2008 Ford Taurus 2008 Ford Taurus 2008 Ford Taurus 2008 Ford Taurus 2008 Ford Taurus 2008 Ford Taurus 2008 Ford Taurus 2008 Ford Taurus 2008 Ford Taurus 2008 Ford Taurus

Factory warranties

New car program benefits

Basic
3 years / 36,000 miles
Corrosion
5 years
Powertrain
5 years / 60,000 miles
Roadside Assistance
5 years / 60,000 miles

Certified Pre-Owned program benefits

Age / mileage
Fords and many non-Ford vehicles up to 10 years old with less than 150,000 miles
Basic
90-Day / 4,000-Mile (whichever comes first) Comprehensive Limited Warranty
Dealer certification
139-point inspection

The good & the bad

The good

Crash-test ratings
Price
Ride and handling balance
Backseat space
Trunk space

The bad

Dated cabin design
Mushy brakes
Some cheap interior details
Narrow front seats
Same stodgy profile

Consumer reviews

4.6 / 5
Based on 60 reviews
Write a review
Comfort 4.8
Interior 4.7
Performance 4.6
Value 4.7
Exterior 4.3
Reliability 4.8

Most recent

I've had my 2008 Ford Taurus X since new.

I've had my 2008 Ford Taurus X since new. Other than regular maintenance and tire replacements, I've had no other issues. It runs and looks as good as the day I bought it. It now has 177,000 miles on it.
  • Does recommend this car
Comfort 5.0
Interior 5.0
Performance 5.0
Value 5.0
Exterior 5.0
Reliability 5.0
2 people out of 2 found this review helpful. Did you?
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Problem with transmission and motor

Had problem with the transmission at 10,000 miles Ford fixed, Had problem with the motor at 90.000 miles. The Car ran hot on me, just had it service about 2weeks before. Don't know why it ran hot, but it mess up the motor, Had to get another motor put in.very disappointed with this Ford Taurus
  • Purchased a New car
  • Used for Commuting
  • Does not recommend this car
Comfort 5.0
Interior 5.0
Performance 2.0
Value 2.0
Exterior 5.0
Reliability 4.0
4 people out of 5 found this review helpful. Did you?
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2008 Ford Taurus review: Our expert's take

By Warren Brown


NEW YORK — The styling is governmental. It would fit nicely into any municipal, state or federal vehicle fleet.

That is our first impression of the 2008 Ford Taurus Limited AWD sedan, a full-size car designed to haul parents, children, police, perpetrators or politicians. Even with its bright, bold, three-bar grille, the new Taurus appears devastatingly official.

That isn’t a complaint. It is, instead, restrained praise. There is something to be admired about a car that automatically slows neighboring traffic because of a collective assumption by fellow motorists that they are in proximity to a traffic citation.

The Taurus sedan, available with all-wheel drive or front-wheel drive, gets respect. That is no small thing in an often unruly world.

We noticed as much on our drive to and around this hard-knock metropolis. People gave us space, or they gently pulled alongside the Taurus, looked into the front cabin and breathed sighs of relief when they saw a bespectacled, small, gray-haired man with a woman of eternally undetermined age.

My wife, Mary Anne, and I laughed. “There goes another one,” I’d say. “Yep,” she’d say. We’d chuckle.

But our humor was undermined by vanity. The styling and dimensions of the new Taurus — a car more conservatively designed and substantially larger than its mid-size predecessors of the 1980s and 1990s — made us feel old.

“I feel like a senior citizen in this one,” said my spouse. “Did Ford design this one for seniors?”

The answer is “no” and “yes.”

The new, full-size Taurus follows the ill-named Ford Five Hundred, which enjoyed some fame among senior citizens but hardly anyone else. The Five Hundred was a good, solid, spacious sedan friendly to aging backs and bottoms, attributes shared by its successor. But, given its size and its weight approaching two tons, the Five Hundred largely was treated in the market as an underpowered lump.

The new Taurus shares many of its predecessor’s structural underpinnings. But it has a substantially stronger engine, a 263-horsepower V-6 as opposed to a 203-hpV-6 in the Five Hundred. Fit, finish and material quality are discernibly better in the new Taurus, too. Also, the Taurus has more intelligence — seriously.

Ford has installed its Microsoft-based, voice-activated Sync communications system in the Taurus. You can make phone calls, play music or contact emergency personnel simply by telling the car to do so. It would consume too much space here to explain Sync technology. Don’t worry. The system comes with an owner’s manual.

We developed affection for the Taurus Limited, which we nicknamed “Das Boot” after the 1981 movie depicting life and death on a German U-boat in World War II. Admittedly, sitting in the Taurus Limited on a long drive was nowhere near as harsh and, certainly, not even close to dangerous. But we were overwhelmed by the girth of the thing. We sometimes felt that we were piloting, more than driving the car, an assessment shared by our counterpart in these matters, Ria Manglapus.

“It is so big,” Ria said. “Everything in this car is big. The front seats are so big, you feel like you can slide across them.”That is why, of course, it is good to wear seat belts, especially in cars as large as the Taurus Limited.

But we became accustomed to the car’s size and all of the living space it provided on the road. We could stretch out in this car. We could rest in it at rest stops.

Soon, we expect Ford to build Taurus sedans with advanced diesel engines. Those cars would be about 35 percent more fuel efficient than current models. That development should ensure the long-term success of the born-again Taurus — a big car, comfortable and solidly built, certifiably safe, with enough power and utility to meet the transportation needs of a family, or a city, county, state or federal agency.

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Safety review

Based on the 2008 Ford Taurus base trim
NHTSA crash test and rollover ratings, scored out of 5.
Frontal driver
5/5
Frontal passenger
5/5
Nhtsa rollover rating
4/5
Side driver
5/5
Side rear passenger
5/5

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