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CD: Taurus SEL AWD


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http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2013-ford-taurus-sel-awd-instrumented-test-review

 

Freshened for 2013, the Taurus is reminiscent of Ford’s top-line family sedans of yesteryear, cars like the Galaxie 500, the LTD; big, comfortable, and quiet, with relaxed dynamics and respectable power. Plus interior appointments that border on luxury. But even though Taurus pricing can soar well above the $40,000 threshold, Ford refrains from portraying it as a luxury sedan. As with its premium family-sedan forebears, luxury is the province of Lincoln.
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I find it slightly amazing that they complain about the steering on the car, yet the SHO wins praise for its setup, which is just a re-calibrated setup?

 

Other funny thing too is they complain about a 15.4 second 1/4 mile time, but yet yet thats about the same performance of a Mustang GT about 15 years ago...LOL

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I read the article and they were pretty fair. I agree that the 4100 pounder can do 0-60MPH in 7 flat...pretty impressive. I can't argue with the concern on stopping. Overall they referred to the Taurus as "Deluxe!" Its always annoying to see all the anti-Ford snipers comments in the article. These are idiots who never drove a Ford and carry the 'I hate Ford no matter what attitude!" However, the true fact is Taurus is a top seller in its category!

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I read the article and they were pretty fair. I agree that the 4100 pounder can do 0-60MPH in 7 flat...pretty impressive. I can't argue with the concern on stopping. Overall they referred to the Taurus as "Deluxe!" Its always annoying to see all the anti-Ford snipers comments in the article. These are idiots who never drove a Ford and carry the 'I hate Ford no matter what attitude!" However, the true fact is Taurus is a top seller in its category!

 

It's usually the Charger that's the top seller (not even counting the Impala), but it's definitely up there.

 

Edit: Just saw you said "a top seller." Whoopsie.

Edited by DC Car Examiner
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It's usually the Charger that's the top seller (not even counting the Impala), but it's definitely up there.

 

Edit: Just saw you said "a top seller." Whoopsie.

 

I believe Chrysler inludes cop sales in its Charger monthly sales figures and Ford keeps the Taurus PI sales figures separate. So hard to compare. And the Impala is such a fleet queen it might as well be compared to Ford E-Van sales. The Taurus has become a good seller for Ford with its 7,000/month sales figures and with third engine option, I wouldn't be surprised to see it get close to 10,000 some months.

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I find it slightly amazing that they complain about the steering on the car, yet the SHO wins praise for its setup, which is just a re-calibrated setup?

 

Other funny thing too is they complain about a 15.4 second 1/4 mile time, but yet yet thats about the same performance of a Mustang GT about 15 years ago...LOL

 

Yeah, and a new Focus is as fast as an 82 Mustang GT. Things have changed!

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I believe Chrysler inludes cop sales in its Charger monthly sales figures and Ford keeps the Taurus PI sales figures separate. So hard to compare. And the Impala is such a fleet queen it might as well be compared to Ford E-Van sales. The Taurus has become a good seller for Ford with its 7,000/month sales figures and with third engine option, I wouldn't be surprised to see it get close to 10,000 some months.

 

Nah, it's pretty easy to compare -- just add the Interceptor and Taurus sales. (I do when I compile my sales charts.) The Charger still has a higher volume.

Edited by DC Car Examiner
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I noticed the Charger is a few dollars cheaper than the Taurus and was offering a $2000 rebate. I bought my Taurus too soon...drove it home and a week or so later...boom they added $750 to the rebate of $1000. wAHHH! I see the Chrysler 300 has $3000 rebates/incentives. Charger sales will continue to grow with the police cars, now that Crown Vic is gone.

Edited by bobbyd
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Charger sales will continue to grow with the police cars, now that Crown Vic is gone.

 

I'm sure they will; how much is the question. Police forces that have to buy cheap will be looking at it; better-funded outfits will run with the Taurus. Time will tell, especially as the durability problems with the Charger continue to cause problems for the maintenance people. :)

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I also heard about the maintenance issues with the Dodge cop cars. Before Ford finished production of the CV

police car, I heard California's police (I think it was LA) bought and was storing 150-200 new Crown Vics in a storage yard for future deployment. I always enjoyed watching California police chases on TV with a whole swarm of Ford CV's going after the bad guys. Maybe the Taurus will fill in...but not in volumes like they are with the Fiat Chargers. I'm sure the cops will miss that massive trunk and front seat room of the CV compared to the Charger. I almost laughed when I saw my local cop who was sitting in his Charger....not much wiggle room behind the wheel. Its got to be a challenge getting in and out of that small area all-day-long!

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Before Ford finished production of the CV

police car, I heard California's police (I think it was LA) bought and was storing 150-200 new Crown Vics in a storage yard for future deployment.

There were several departments doing that. I read an article that the Austin, TX, PD was making a big ($1M+, IIRC) purchase of CVs before the end of the run, and I was told that the Kansas Highway Patrol stocked up, too. The article on the Austin PD said one of the main reasons they were doing it was because they had a metric boatload of money in parts stocked for their CVs; I'd imagine that a lot of the bigger departments are in the same boat.

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I have to add that taking a 4200 lbs car from 0-60MPH in 7.0 seconds flat is respectable. I was looking at a few turbo charged , much lighter weight cars, and even the New Mercedes C class which was on Motorweek lastnight (I hate Motorweek) and it was in the 8 second range. Also the Taurus doing a 15 second quarter mile is decent. I also looked at my EPA window Sticker on my 2013 Limited and it had 19 City/29 Highway compared to Car and Drivers 18 City/26 Highway. Think they will report a retraction....NOT!

FYI...drove my car the first 125 miles and filled up to check mileage.....28 MPG! Wahooo! I love my baby!

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I have to add that taking a 4200 lbs car from 0-60MPH in 7.0 seconds flat is respectable. I was looking at a few turbo charged , much lighter weight cars, and even the New Mercedes C class which was on Motorweek lastnight (I hate Motorweek) and it was in the 8 second range. Also the Taurus doing a 15 second quarter mile is decent. I also looked at my EPA window Sticker on my 2013 Limited and it had 19 City/29 Highway compared to Car and Drivers 18 City/26 Highway. Think they will report a retraction....NOT!

FYI...drove my car the first 125 miles and filled up to check mileage.....28 MPG! Wahooo! I love my baby!

 

C/D Taurus test car had AWD so the number they reported was correct, however they admittedly could have presented that more clearly.

Also a FWD Taurus would scoot to 60 a few tenths quicker than an AWD one.

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Also a FWD Taurus would scoot to 60 a few tenths quicker than an AWD one.

 

Until it rains or snows. The Taurus AWD system has to be driven in the wet to be appreciated. The reduction in torque steer alone is worth the mpg penalty, IMHO, if you live where it gets crappy. :)

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Guys, thanks for the info on the AWd vs FWD.....so I'm safe to say my Taurus can do 0-60MPH in the high 6's! Vrooom!

HOWEVER, that police chase clip was so incredible. Unbelievable. If I was a cop that had to deal with that idiot driver...I'm not sure how controlled I would be after what they did. That driver deserves a prison sentence!

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Guys, thanks for the info on the AWd vs FWD.....so I'm safe to say my Taurus can do 0-60MPH in the high 6's! Vrooom!

 

So can my wife's '99 Maxima @ 3000 lbs.

 

That your Taurus can do it, with much more weight, is a testament to how far automotive engineering has come even in the past four years, let alone the past 14.

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I want to know why CD is even reviewing this vehicle.

 

I think you could put all of the people that make buying decisions for boring cars based on CD into a janitor's storage closet and still have room for the mop bucket.

 

So if the article isn't useful, why write it? Why spend time & resources to fill the magazine with the kind of stuff that the internet has made more or less irrelevant?

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I want to know why CD is even reviewing this vehicle.

 

I think you could put all of the people that make buying decisions for boring cars based on CD into a janitor's storage closet and still have room for the mop bucket.

 

So if the article isn't useful, why write it? Why spend time & resources to fill the magazine with the kind of stuff that the internet has made more or less irrelevant?

 

It doesn't make sense to me, either. Car and Driver's editorial staff may have been given a directive to review all new or refreshed passenger cars in the U.S. market. I recall reading something to this effect in an issue of C&D a while back...

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That's a dumb directive, if given. CD hasn't the authority to provide important reviews of new cars. I don't know that they ever did, and such editorial cluelessness is probably not a small reason why CD and other magazines have had such a hard time dealing with competition for ad dollars.

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I'll say this about C&D's mainstream car reviews: they're a lot more interesting to read than those of other mags like CR. And even Automobile.

 

It's possible, Richard, that C&D, MT, and R&T include more mainstream cars in their reviews as a service to their readers who buy them for their SRT/M/V-Series coverage yet wouldn't touch CR with a twenty-foot pole. Like me, for instance.

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I also heard about the maintenance issues with the Dodge cop cars. Before Ford finished production of the CV

police car, I heard California's police (I think it was LA) bought and was storing 150-200 new Crown Vics in a storage yard for future deployment. I always enjoyed watching California police chases on TV with a whole swarm of Ford CV's going after the bad guys. Maybe the Taurus will fill in...but not in volumes like they are with the Fiat Chargers. I'm sure the cops will miss that massive trunk and front seat room of the CV compared to the Charger. I almost laughed when I saw my local cop who was sitting in his Charger....not much wiggle room behind the wheel. Its got to be a challenge getting in and out of that small area all-day-long!

 

We, Fort Worth PD, bought an extra years worth of extra Crown Vics to give us time to test all the new models. I have seen some Caprices outside Fleet Services waiting to be set up but, have not seen one on the street yet. I was told we are getting several of each make/model to test.

 

The Charger is quite cramped ( I had one, V-6, as a test vehicle when they first came out) and that's not the worst part about them. Hopefully they have improved since then.

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