Drove a new Taurus today...

[Camino LS6]

...and YUCK!

What a floaty boat!

Twitchy front drive too - instant turn-off of a car.

[ocnblu]

Is it in a whole separate galaxie from what you're used to?

[Camino LS6]

Something like that, Ocn.

The car was just so... disconnected from the road.

I usually don't get such an instant bad vibe from a car - even a FWD.

This thing just felt all wrong from the moment I got in and twisted the key.

[Robert Hall]

Interesting...the one I drove a few months ago seemed pretty buttoned down, the steering was light, but didn't seem overly artificial. I liked the hefty feel and size of the car...I got to drive it on a mix of So Cal freeways, city streets, and twisty canyon roads..only really noticed the FWD when I squealed the tires on a couple corners.

I'd love to drive a SHO, though..sat in one yesterday, with the saddle suede seat and door inserts...love the interior.

Edited November 30, 2010 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[daves87rs]

The SHOs are fun...

[knightfan26917]

Hmmm...but, wait. WHY were you driving that FWD Taurus?????

Cort | 37.m.IL.pigValve.pacemaker | 5 Monte Carlos + 1 Caprice Classic |* Chicagoland Meets, 2011?

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"Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree" ... Elvis Presley ... 'Blue Christmas'

[Camino LS6]

I was in mid-repair on the Tahoe and needed to run out for a serpentine belt, so I borrowed the Taurus.

[Lamar]

As much as I like the current Taurus, I still haven't driven one yet.

Don't scare me off!

[regfootball]

my feeling when i drove it was that it needed more heft and feel in the steering, that it needed to be quicker ratio, and that the steering wheel should have been leather and thicker.

i thought it was a bit soft and floaty too.

i thought it was odd since my 500 had really good steering and heft and all of that. Oh how i miss that car. I can't believe i had that car now that i look back.

the taurus is refined though. Most folks will think its a quality piece.

I really think Ford should butch up the driving dynamics of it, and maybe it depends on the wheel and tire package. But they really could surprise some people if the base taurus was a sleeper handler. at a minimum they could tune the handling and suspension to match the feel of some of the average German cars.

Edited December 4, 2010 by regfootball

[ocnblu]

This new Taurus is a bunch of bull (get it? Huh? Huh?).

[Camino LS6]

As much as I like the current Taurus, I still haven't driven one yet.

Don't scare me off!

Sorry if I scared you off, but I was unimpressed. I really expected it to be much better.

[Lamar]

Sorry if I scared you off, but I was unimpressed. I really expected it to be much better.

Nah, I'm not really scared, lol. In all likelihood they're putting the next-gen Taurus on an elongated version of the next Fusion platform, which should cut a lot of weight and make driveability a lot better.

Hey, when's the last time you drove a FWD sedan anyway? Seeing as how they're anathema to you and everything.

[Camino LS6]

Nah, I'm not really scared, lol. In all likelihood they're putting the next-gen Taurus on an elongated version of the next Fusion platform, which should cut a lot of weight and make driveability a lot better.

Hey, when's the last time you drove a FWD sedan anyway? Seeing as how they're anathema to you and everything.

I have to drive them from time to time - the only one that ever really impressed me was a mid-nineties Bonneville. It was extremely well-behaved and balanced. I find most FWDs to be very twitchy.

[Robert Hall]

With Mazda and Volvo out of the picture, I wonder what Ford's plans for their next gen mid and full size cars are...

[Lamar]

Camino, understandable. They do tend to overboost everything these days.

Moltie, IIRC Fusion and Taurus are sharing the new platform co-developed between FNA and FoE, which will be the successor to the platform currently used by the Mondeo and most Volvos. Obviously, Taurus will be stretched. I'm not sure about Lincoln, but I think I heard somewhere that the MKS at least will stay on the platform it currently uses.

[caddycruiser]

These cars do feel big, in a not so big, but still "it's bulky..." kind of way. Very, very nice car, nice looks as long as it isn't a base model SE with the small silver wheels, and a cool cockpit.

I finally drove a new SHO off our lot this week, and liked the size, features, look and promise of turbo power...but it did feel large and I just didn't fall in love with the front seats. A hair too soft and not properly shaped for me, but I could adjust. Need to get more seat time with the Ecoboost, but just in the short mulling around that I did, it felt like a strong V6 with some extra kick...but again, I didn't go above 45/50.

I was most interested to drive an SHO after the year and memories with my G8 GT. Definitely a different car, but either way could give you similar power/performance depending on which drivetrain layout you preferred. The G8 feels like a Bimmer in a good way, the Taurus feels like a big FWD based sedan that's well polished.

[Robert Hall]

Camino, understandable. They do tend to overboost everything these days.

Moltie, IIRC Fusion and Taurus are sharing the new platform co-developed between FNA and FoE, which will be the successor to the platform currently used by the Mondeo and most Volvos. Obviously, Taurus will be stretched. I'm not sure about Lincoln, but I think I heard somewhere that the MKS at least will stay on the platform it currently uses.

Hopefully stretched and widened...the Fusion currently is pretty narrow..

[Lamar]

Hopefully stretched and widened...the Fusion currently is pretty narrow..

I think that's the plan.