2008 Ford Taurus AWD
Because Ford had limited success with its large, front-drive family sedan called the Ford Five Hundred they introduced two years ago, Ford dumped the Five Hundred name and went back to the name they had great success with in the past, renaming this car the 2008 Ford Taurus. I test drove the Limited AWD ($28,695). The Taurus Limited AWD I drove was loaded with options, including AdvanceTrac electronic stability control, 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 $32,400, and making it the best-equipped Taurus possible. Ford also added a plug for an MP3 player inside the center console as standard equipment.
The first thing I noticed about 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. If you fold down the rear seats and the flat-folding right front seat, you can put a nine-foot-long object inside the car. The limo-like rear-seat accommodations was noticed and appreciated by the occupants we took with us to Colorado Springs.
The underpowered 3.0-liter V6 engine has been dropped in favor of a new 3.5-liter, 24-valve V6 engine that makes a full 30 percent more power. It's the same engine that powers the larger and heavier Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers and MKZ luxury cars. Likewise, the CVT transmission has been replaced by a new 6F six-speed automatic. The new engine and transmission in the 2008 Ford Taurus work very well together. The engine is extremely quiet and smooth, and uses a pendulum mounting system that effectively separates its motions and vibrations from the rest of the car. The car is powerful and smooth at full throttle and is plenty quick in acceleration and passing situations. At freeway speeds, the Taurus is very, very quiet inside. With the addition of AWD, the new Taurus should perform extremely well in Colorado's wet and snowy conditions.
The new Ford Taurus has about as much useful room inside it, counting the trunk, the folding seats, and the interior layout, as your average crossover SUV. It just happens to look and behave like a family sedan. It's big inside, and it's taller than almost every other sedan on the market, but if its room you need, this might be the one. It won't outrun the Chrysler 300 Hemi Challenger, but it's quicker than almost everything else in its class, and the price is better than comparable SUV's.
Denis and his wife Jeanie, live in Evergreen and own the Mountain Man Nut & Fruit store in Evergreen.