Cars.com's Joe Wiesenfelder takes a look at the 2010 Ford Taurus. It competes with the Chevrolet Impala and Mercury Milan.
Transcript
(upbeat music) <v Announcer>Cars.com Auto Review. Hi, I am Joe Weisenfelder of cars.com. I feel like a recruiter or a coach that saw, potential in a car, called the 500, which was then called the Taurus. Now, it is called the Taurus again.
The 2010, full-sized sedan has been redone. They finally made the front end, something that people can embrace. They have scooped, the side out, kind of like the mid-size Taurus. You might remember the name for one as a mid-sized car, not a full-sized car. And another thing is, it comes backed in here. And I think, to me that looks like, someone backed into you. And, a lot of people that have looked at it thought the same thing. Now, they have changed the rear too. It was, again, very plain. This is definitely more modern, I am not sure how I feel about it. To my way of thinking, the 500/Taurus story has always been about the interior. It is extremely roomy, especially for the outside, length. You sit up high, which I think is good for people who are accustomed to SUV's. Generally speaking, I do not think someone who, owned an SUV is necessarily going to go into a large sedan, but if they want to, for better fuel efficiency, at least they are sitting a little higher. There is all-wheel drive, which people are used to, and general versatility with the folding seats. Apart of the changes, for this year are, they added about a half inch of leg room in this space, actually, it took a little bit of headroom away, which surprises me. But with the seat down, I have got plenty. I mean, really plenty. One disappointment though, the seats are still in my opinion, kind of overstuffed. And even though there is a, lumbar control. down here, even when it is all the way back, too much for me. In terms of the materials, soft, low gloss stuff everywhere, I mean really soft to the touch, which we tend to appreciate, maybe we, over appreciate it. The gauges are brilliant, just really nice. There is no glare on them. And one thing I have noticed is, they have the ambient lighting, in this car, where you can choose the color. I came down really hard on the fusion mid-size sedan, because that came in the form of a big glowing led, that you could see right on the inside, and a couple shining at the passengers on the backseat. Here, they are all hidden, tucked away, so you get a nice glow, hard to see during the day, but it is a nice touch. Also, the, the center control panel has a, kind of, an imitation metal look, but it is not the cheesy type, it is darker. We have got heated and cooled seats in this model. And thoughts of well covered stuff, not only do you change the color, of some of the accent lighting, you can also change the level independently of the dashboard lights, that is nice. Now, in terms of the driving, I would not say this is a driver's car, but at the same time, it does what it needs to do quite well. The ride quality is really nice and soft, without being too mushy. The engine is a 3.5 liter V6, even in this loaded model, with lots of features, and all-wheel drive, it is quick enough, six speed transmission, shifts smoothly, and you are not going to want to like throw it into corners, and drive like a lunatic, but if you do, and if you have to make evasive maneuvers, I think you would be surprised, at how well it holds on, and how controllable it is. With the looks on the outside, and the quality on the inside, it seems like the Taurus, finally is ready for the public to appreciate. Done like this, it might finally be a hit. <v Announcer>For more car related news, go to cars.com, or our blog, KickingTires.net.
