Vehicle: 2008 Ford Taurus Limited FWD
Price as tested: CDN$38049

Performance: The new Taurus is basically a facelifted FiveHundred. Power, or lack of, was one of our major complaints when FiveHundred first introduced 2 years ago. With the reintroduction of the Taurus nameplate, the FiveHundred finally receives the powerplant that it desperately needed in day 1. Underneath the Taurus remains Ford’s bulletproof Duratec engine series. This 3.5 liter DOHC 24-valves with Ford’s variable valve timing or iVCT, provide a delightful 263 horses and an useful 249 lb/ft of torque. Drop the anchor and Taurus really moves, unlike its forebear, FiveHundred, which was simply a dog. This motor is also surprisingly refined and quiet, which it should be, consider Taurus’s status of life as a comfortable highway cruiser. However, don’t expect much as it will run breathlessly through high rpm range. The 6-speed automatic is a willing partner to this Duratec powertrain. It has quick and smooth up and downshifts. When you really need to push the transmission to downshift when merging on to a freeway off-ramp, it won’t set you any complaints with the fuzzy logic program.

Handling: Given the Taurus is based on a modified version of Volvo’s large car platform, which underpins vehicle like an S80 premium sedan. Its no doubt it has a stiff and sound foundation. Unlike its predecessor, this chassis doesn’t detect any chassis flex and rattles. As you would expect from a Taurus, dynamics isn’t its highest priority when Ford developed the vehicle. The same goes for its latest iteration. Both the suspension and springs are soft. When pushed into a corner, there are plenty of body rolls and understeer. Steering continues to feel lifeness and dead. The ride comfort has improved a lot over over FiveHundred its based on. The suspension finally received enough damping to absorb expansion joints and rough pavements decently. Combine all this with a cushion ride quality. If you drive like all Taurus’s intended target audience, you shouldn’t notice the torque steer gone through the steering when pushed off-the-line. With 263 hp goes through the front wheel, its a better choice to stick with Haldex AWD when one accelerates aggressively of the traffic light. This torque steer is more obvious during the summer rain happened recently in Vancouver.

Brakes: With 4-wheel discs and standard ABS, Taurus performs decently even under pouring rain. The brake pedal is easy to modulate and ABS only kicks in when necessary.

Interior: In our Limited model, Taurus is completely loaded with all the luxury features. Dual zone climate control, leather seating surface, white-faced gauges and plastic wood trim. While the interior is comfortable and comes with lots of kits, we found some of the interior details lacking. The white faced gauge just looked out of place with the plastic wood trim. The center analog clock is a tacky touch to the interior. The plastic wood trim’s color and quality are an insult to anything made by plastic. Speaking of plastic, there are plenty of hard plastic thoroughout the dashboard.

There are plenty of head and legrooms for back-seat passengers.

With the fold down rear seats and uninstrusive trunk hinges, Taurus’s cargo area can swallow basically anything else one can think of.

Conclusion: Even if the new Taurus isn’t as revolutionary as its forebear, its certainly the best Taurus ever made. It got plenty of space, loads of luxury and safety features; along with a decent powertrain and handles acceptably. It won’t get your heart pumping but will get the job done properly.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2008 FORD TAURUS
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Performance: 4/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 2/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 4/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 3/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 3/5
Value-for-money: 3/5

Overall rating: 3.25/5