Site RSS Feed2008 Ford Taurus X
Taurus X falls short on adequate crate space
Tue, May 13th 2008
| VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS | |
|---|---|
| type | 5 door, suv - mid, awd |
| msrp | $32,600 |
| trans | automatic |
| gas mi. | 16mpg/24mpg |
| rating |  |
The folks at Ford have a way with names. Changing names to be exact.
Over the past few years, Ford decided to name all of its models with words that started with the letter “F”. They had the Ford Fusion, Ford Focus, Ford Five Hundred, Ford Freestar, Ford F-150 and, finally, the Ford
Perhaps they ran out of “F” names (that you could print, at least) so they decided to do something else to confuse the public. A couple of years after retiring the popular Ford Taurus sedan, the marvelous marketers decided to bring it back . . . twice.
So in 2007, Ford redesigned its full-size sedan -- the Five Hundred -- and replaced its name with that of the Taurus, one of Ford’s best-selling sedans throughout the 1990s.
But they didn’t stop there, Ford also removed the Freestyle name and replaced it with another Taurus label, adding an X to signify the fact that this is the crossover SUV, not the sedan.
So we have it, the Taurus X, a mid-size sport utility vehicle that shows great promise as a viable DogCar . . . until you look inside. The Taurus X features what is called “Stadium Seating,” meaning that the seats are on graduated levels, with the third row higher than the second row of seats. And while the seats do eventually fold flat, they don’t leave enough vertical space to be useful for dog crates and other canine-related cargo.
The available power tailgate and one-touch, flip and fold second row seats are nice and easy to use, but again, not enough to help dog owners that much.
The conclusion: The Taurus X holds much promise, but in the end it seems more suited for soccer moms than for dog moms.
In this instance, the “X” clearly does not mark the spot.
-- Gina Spadafori
* * *
Carguy Comments: The Ford Taurus X comes in three models: the SEL, Eddie Bauer and Limited trims and is built at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant. The 3.5-liter V-6 produces 260 horsepower and is available with all-wheel-drive that anticipates wheel slip before it happens. The front-wheel-drive version achieves an average of 16/24 mpg while the all-wheel-drive version gets slightly less. Base prices range from $27,030 for the SEL front-wheel-drive version to $32,600 for the all-wheel-drive LTD model.
-- Keith Turner, The Family Car
2008 Ford Taurus X: Not a good fit for four-legged friends
Barking Lot Banter: Soccer moms and carpoolers may be attracted to the new Ford Taurus X SUV, but dog lovers who crave crate space may be left wanting more.
