Early models of this ride offered a variety of engines, including a 2.5L four-cylinder and a 3.0L V6, with front-wheel drive. The Taurus was a huge success for Ford and became one of the best-selling cars in the U.S. during its early years. It was praised for its innovative design, safety features, and spacious interior.
The Taurus featured new technologies like front-wheel drive, advanced suspension, and a modern interior. The sixth-gen Taurus featured a range of engines, including a 3.5L V6 and an optional 3.5L EcoBoost turbocharged V6 for added performance.
Advanced technology like Ford’s SYNC system, adaptive cruise control, and collision warning became available. The Taurus was often ahead of its time in terms of design and technology, influencing other American sedans.
The performance-oriented SHO (Super High Output) versions were notable, particularly in the third and fourth generations. These high-performance versions featured powerful V6 engines and sportier suspension setups.
The Ford Taurus has had a significant impact on the automotive industry, despite its discontinuation in 2019. Its legacy lives on in Ford’s approach to sedans and in the memories of many drivers who appreciated its design and reliability over the years.
With this sports car, long highway drives are a strength of the Taurus. The engine makes passing on the highway a breeze, and the sport suspension is very firm for fast driving over bad roads. Having all-wheel drive will provide more security when the weather gets bad on your trip.
Exterior & Interior
The full-size version of the Taurus started out as the Five Hundred, but the name was eventually changed, and new styling, which substantially improved its looks, followed.
It’s a handsome car from the outside and one of very few that manage to make the fender side vents so common these days actually look good. I also like this car’s adoption of Ford’s three-blade grille, as it doesn’t look like something I shave my face with in the morning.
On the inside, the interior is well-laid-out, and I never found myself hunting or reaching uncomfortably for the buttons and controls I needed. I also thought the interior looked so good and that there was a nice mix of materials.
The Ford Taurus is an automobile that was manufactured and marketed by the Ford Motor Company in the United States from 1985 to 2019. From 1985 to 2009, Ford marketed the Taurus alongside its rebadged variant, the Mercury Sable. Four generations of the high-performance version (named the Ford Taurus SHO) were also manufactured from 1988-1999 and 2009-2019.
The original Taurus was a milestone for Ford and the American automotive industry, as the first automobile at Ford designed and manufactured using the statistical process control ideas brought to Ford by W. Edwards Deming, a prominent statistician consulted by Ford to bring a “culture of quality” to the enterprise. The Taurus had an influential design that introduced new features and innovations.
2013 facelift
First revealed at the 2011 New York Auto Show, the Taurus received a mid-cycle refresh for the 2013 model year. The body featured a new front fascia and slightly updated rear fascia with LED taillamps, as well as all-new wheel options. The SHO model featured revised styling elements. Refinements were made to the 3.5 EcoBoost V6.
Power in the 3.5L naturally-aspirated V6, standard in non-SHO models, was up to 288 hp. With this engine, EPA-estimated fuel economy ratings were 19 mpg city and 29 mpg highway in FWD models, and 18 mpg city and 26 mpg highway in AWD models.
There was a new engine option for non-SHO models, a 2.0L EcoBoost inline-4 developing up to 240 hp and 270 lb-ft of torque while delivering a best-in-class 22 mpg city and 32 mpg highway.
All models received upgrades to the steering and braking systems to improve driveability, including standard torque vectoring and curve control, improving tracking at higher speeds.
Updates to the instrument dials were added, which were fully digital, clearer, and more colorful. MyFord Touch was added as part of Taurus’s Sync system.
All Round Overview Performance
Power delivery of this car is confident not high-strung. Handling is crisp not twitchy. If you want to take a more active role in where you’re headed flick through the gears of the available six-speed Selectshift Automatic transmission with paddle activation.
The available all-wheel drive will help you stick to the road when conditions get sloppy. Available multi-contoured seats provide a therapeutic massage to help reduce driving fatigue.
The controls illuminated by Ice Blue Lighting. While available leather-trimmed climate-controlled front seats and adjustable ambient lighting with seven colors and five dimmers let you get the environment just right. This was designed to be a driver’s car from those lumbar-massaging fatigue-reducing nerve-stimulating seats on out.
Voice activated Navigation adaptive cruise control and Blind Spot Information System are just some of the features that will enhance each and every drive. Keys are so old-school. Thanks to the industry-exclusive SecuriCode keyless entry keypad you don’t have to fumble with keys to lock or unlock your car doors.
Simply touch the exterior keypad to illuminate and enter the security code to unlock the doors. The 2012 Ford Taurus America’s most Innovative Full Size Sedan.
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Ford Taurus Price & Full Experience Review
The 2012 Ford Taurus, depending on how it’s equipped, can play several different roles. At the base level, at about $26k, the Taurus is a big-car alternative to the likes of the V-6 Honda Accord or Chevrolet Malibu.
On the other hand, it could be a luxury rival to the Buick LaCrosse or Toyota Avalon. And in top SHO guise, it’s a strong, tech-loaded 365-horsepower luxury performance sedan that can sticker at $45k or even higher.
From one of the front seats, the 2012 Taurus feels almost like a personal-luxury car. There are focused, defined areas for the driver and front passenger, with a wrap-around instrument panel design and a low, wide center console that firmly splits the driver and passenger sides (and actually, taking up a lot of space).
The back seat is wide, with potential space for three adults, though legroom and headroom can be surprisingly tight, given the Taurus’ full-size exterior. Faux-wood and chrome trim combine with good fit and finish to give it an upscale look and feel that’s generally in sync with its price tag.
Special badging, glossy black dash trim, and more metallic highlights inside and out help give the SHO more interior panache, while a trunk lid spoiler, twin chrome exhaust tips, and different grille hint at the brawn.
The 3.5-liter V-6 that’s under the hood of most 2012 Taurus models moves this big sedan plenty quick. With 263 horsepower and 249 pound-feet of torque, plus a smooth six-speed automatic, it’s rarely caught flat-footed, and the paddle shifters included in SEL and Limited versions even feel a little gimmicky in such a big, comfy sedan.
On the other hand, the Taurus SHO is focused around performance, with all-wheel drive and a 365-horsepower, 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 capable of running this big, heavy (nearly 4,400 pounds) sedan to 60 mph in about six seconds.
Styling
In all, the 2012 Taurus is complex at first take, as there’s a lot of chrome, creases, and details. Up front it’s less than perfect; with a broad upper chrome bar, three dissimilar painted bars below, a new grille, and wrap-around headlights, it’s a bit overwhelming, if not garish.
The rear fenders are most interesting, with sculpted shoulders and firm, straight character lines playing off each other in a way no Taurus has ever seen. Special badging, glossy black dash trim, and more metallic highlights inside and out help give the SHO more interior panache, while a trunk lid spoiler, twin chrome exhaust tips, and different grille hint at the brawn.
From one of the front seats, the 2012 Taurus feels almost like a personal-luxury car. There are focused, defined areas for the driver and front passenger, with a wrap-around instrument panel design and a low, wide center console that firmly splits the driver and passenger sides (and actually, taking up a lot of space). Faux-wood and chrome trim combine with good fit and finish to give it an upscale look and feel that’s generally in sync with its price tag.
Conclusion
The SHO suspension is tuned for handling, with stiffer shocks and springs, thicker anti-roll bars, and new suspension mounts, and it pays off with crisp turn-in and nicely balanced handling. Hustle it through corners, and the SHO leans a little before it takes a good set and grips the pavement as well as any competitor, save for the Nissan Altima, the handling standout in the class.
Road manners for standard Taurus models are quite impressive, too. It rides more firmly than you might expect from such a big sedan, taut but not high-strung, with a smooth ride and some natural body roll. The steering is direct and precise, and it provides plenty of feedback, a notable accomplishment since it’s electronically dialed in, rather than hydraulically assisted.
The Taurus is strong on safety. In addition to great crash-test scores (IIHS Top Safety Pick) and the standard roster of safety features, Ford offers a collision warning system and adaptive cruise control on the 2012 Taurus, as well as Blind Spot Information and Cross Traffic Alert systems. For 2012, a side-mirror-integrated blind-spot system is standard across the model line, which does help make up for the limited visibility. The Taurus SHO also offers an optional rear view camera.