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My comparison: 10 large sedans


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10 full reviews with photo galleries, 10 quick summary review, and separate rankings for different categories and different types of potential buyers. 2014 LaCrosse, Impala, 300, Charger, Taurus, Azera, Genesis, Cadenza, Maxima, and Avalon.


Spoiler alert: It's time for a new Taurus.

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10 full reviews with photo galleries, 10 quick summary review, and separate rankings for different categories and different types of potential buyers. 2014 LaCrosse, Impala, 300, Charger, Taurus, Azera, Genesis, Cadenza, Maxima, and Avalon.
Spoiler alert: It's time for a new Taurus.

 

spoiler alert #numero dos.....no surprize there.....interestingly enough I think more and more people are gravitating to midsize sedans...would be interesting to compare sales numbers....

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ALERT!

 

I don't care what anybody tries to tell me about this or any pack of cars, I love the Taurus. In fact I've been shopping for one.

 

Taurus IS the best looking of the group and... Sorry...Impala is GM's failed attempt to copy the Taurus' style.

 

Hyundai/Kia? Ah, no.

 

The '70s just called and they want their Charger/300 back.

 

Not clinking on your link.

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I actually like the Impala and think it's much better than the current Taurus. And you'll hardly ever hear me say that about a GM product.

 

I do expect the next Taurus to match or exceed it but the current one is hamstrung by a piss poor car platform.

We've agreed twice today, so it's obviously the apocalypse. Lucky that I have leftover Superbowl munchies...!

 

The Impala is GM's most handsome large sedan in a long time, and it supposedly drives well. They paid attention to what was basically a fleet and rental special...finally.

 

Also, from all I've read, the Avalon is actually far better to drive than anyone expects a Toyota to be, so the next Taurus will need to step up sharply from the current car. Not being on evolved Volvo S80 bones will likely help a ton.

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I actually like the Impala and think it's much better than the current Taurus. And you'll hardly ever hear me say that about a GM product.

 

I do expect the next Taurus to match or exceed it but the current one is hamstrung by a piss poor car platform.

From the front I honestly get a Taurus vibe like GM had it in mind. I may be alone on this one but from a side view I actually have to look twice to see if it is a new Accord or Impala and I have use the curved quarter panel line to figure it out. From the back I think it is rather generic. Although...It is much better looking than the previous Impala.

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I still disagree with "Ford's is a mess" on the infotainment system.

 

I have to agree as well. Use the system longer than 5 minutes (meaning sit there for a bit and push all the buttons and find where things are located/how it works), and it really is not as difficult to use as all the writers seem to make it out to be. I feel like a lot of them just copy/paste the "it has MFT, which sucks" line and then throw their hands up and don't even try to use it.

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Probably the only Taurus vibe I get from the new Impala is the narrow headlights. Other than that, nothing.

 

Oddly enough for me, I have no seat time in one. And I usually check out the new GMs as soon as they hit lots. Such is my life...

Since you mentioned the headlights (I'm kind of picky about styling) I am not entirely thrilled with narrow headlights. I wish Ford would maybe use a curved headlight and follow with a narrow side light on the fender.

 

I absolutely love Taurus' greenhouse and especially how it is formed in the c-pillar. I hope that aspect of a new design carries over to the next generation.

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Well since I'm a Taurus owner myself, the only issue I have with the infotainment system is the unknown number/caller on the right hand side of the primary display on the dash.

 

Performance/handling doesn't really apply to me since I have an SHO...the car has great power (even more since I have a tune) and the handling is a nice combination of comfort and handling, but you can't ask a heavy ass car like this to handle like a Miatia..but it's a great car for highway crusiing.

 

The car is sorta ponderous at the same time due to its size...but nothing terrible.

 

I love my car, but when I'm done with it, I'm hoping ford has a Fusion ST since I wouldn't mind something slightly smaller.

 

I'm sure the next gen fusion based Taurus will fix most of the issues that the current car has

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I have to agree as well. Use the system longer than 5 minutes (meaning sit there for a bit and push all the buttons and find where things are located/how it works), and it really is not as difficult to use as all the writers seem to make it out to be. I feel like a lot of them just copy/paste the "it has MFT, which sucks" line and then throw their hands up and don't even try to use it.

 

If I read it right (only skimmed it), the biggest complaint is the touch-sensitive dash buttons (not just the MFT), which is a deficiency Ford has acknowledged. I am extremely glad my C-Max has physical buttons.

 

MFT's problem was never its complexity, just its reliability and responsiveness.

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If I read it right (only skimmed it), the biggest complaint is the touch-sensitive dash buttons (not just the MFT), which is a deficiency Ford has acknowledged. I am extremely glad my C-Max has physical buttons.

 

MFT's problem was never its complexity, just its reliability and responsiveness.

 

Yeah, this is more of the issue. There are complex infotainment systems that work well, and then there are those that don't. Chrysler and Kia have great systems -- the screen is there for all the fine-tuning details (or for people who like using the screen), but then there are simple buttons and knobs that you can feel for for simple things. And the screens on those also tend to respond faster than Ford's, and freeze up less often.

 

Sure, you can get used to it, but that doesn't mean it's well-designed.

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If I read it right (only skimmed it), the biggest complaint is the touch-sensitive dash buttons (not just the MFT), which is a deficiency Ford has acknowledged. I am extremely glad my C-Max has physical buttons.

 

MFT's problem was never its complexity, just its reliability and responsiveness.

I don't remember what the article specifically said, but I recall the lack of buttons being mentioned.

 

On a side note, I find the setup for the reviews he posts absolutely terrible....you have to click several different links to hopefully get to the summation of the vehicles, let alone trying to find a review of each car. A simpler "next" link progressing through reviews of each car would be better, IMO).

 

Anyway....back to MFT....the lack of buttons is a fair criticism. We've seen Ford move back to buttons. I wonder if creating indents/bulges in various areas (while retaining touch sensitive controls) would've worked as well

 

Reliability and responsiveness is definitely a fair criticism, but refusal on the part of reviewers to actually sit with and learn the system for more than 2 minutes is not necessarily the system's fault.

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ALERT!

 

I don't care what anybody tries to tell me about this or any pack of cars, I love the Taurus. In fact I've been shopping for one.

 

Taurus IS the best looking of the group and... Sorry...Impala is GM's failed attempt to copy the Taurus' style.

 

Hyundai/Kia? Ah, no.

 

The '70s just called and they want their Charger/300 back.

 

Not clinking on your link.

I'll second that. Taurus is still a very attractive car, and my number one choice.

Impala may look better than it did, but it looks like it will age quickly.

I'd then take the 300 over Impala or what is left.

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