Weekend Athlete: 2008 Ford Taurus X
I loaded up the new Ford Taurus X for Weekend Athlete duty, drove it, unloaded it and played with its features. It was nice, but I left knowing it wasn't something I'd buy.
It was the largest vehicle I'd tested up to this point, so there was enough room to put my bike in without removing the wheel. It's also the first vehicle since the Honda Element that held all my gear and my bike without taking the wheel off. If you plan on carrying a lot of stuff, don't get the optional center console in the second row — doing so eliminates a nice storage cubby.
It's an outstanding camping car, because there's plenty of room to take four people and gear on a camping trip if you fold the third row flat.
The downside is the Taurus X is quite long, and visibility — especially to the rear — is poor. I couldn't parallel park this car on the first time out, and that's unusual. There’s also a massive rear blind spot that hampered passing.
The rear seats require two hands to operate, and I'm not a fan of that. However, Ford scores major points for putting the instructions for folding the various seats on the seats themselves. There's no rooting around for the owner's manual. If the third row had a non-scuff, washable plastic surface (rather than carpet for the cargo area), it'd be perfect.
This is the first car I'd tried with a power hatch. It's a nice feature to have, but far from a necessity. What is necessary is that if you buy the power hatch, you’ll have to use it to raise and lower the hatch — doing so manually requires more effort than I think most people would want to put forth.
I can't rank the Taurus X with the champs, though. Passing isn't easy, and its poor visibility exacerbates that problem at highway speeds. Mileage isn't great, and this car is on the high end of the pricing scale. Must be all that sheet metal.
Rating: 7.75 out of 10.
It's not the type of car I'd buy, but if you’re a mom or dad, don't have to parallel park, want to camp with the family (and sneak off for the occasional race by yourself), it deserves to be on your "Must Test Drive" list. The extra size I found vexing might be just what you need.
But I write Weekend Athlete from the perspective of a single guy, living in the city, parallel parking a lot and not carrying kids. That's why it gets a 7.75.
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As a dad with two kids in the house and extended family nearby, I find this vehicle appealing as a fuel efficient alternative to a minivan. Could you tell us what type of fuel economy you observed while testing, and what type of driving you did (city, highway, aggressive, etc.)?
Hey there Cody, I probably should put "mileage is not estimated to be very great" because I didn't get the chance to really put the car on a long-haul highway drive. I drove for about 45 minutes on an even mix of city, highway and stop-and-go highway miles to my test site, and took the same route back. Some times I'm able to get the car for an entire weekend to take to a race and this wasn't one of those times. I should've made that more clear in the post.
I think you hit the nail on the head by saying it's an alternative to a minivan. Oddly enough, it looks like the next vehicle I'll get to test is a minivan, so we'll have to see how it compares.
Bill J.
Thanks for the quick reply. Too bad you didn't get to test it more. I was hoping to read a good, real-world guy test of this vehicle with the new engine.
You and me both, Cody. I wish I had more time to test it too. The full-time reviewers do a great job of getting me time in the car, but it is hard for them to give it to me for more than an afternoon sometimes.
The good news is there will be a more in-depth review, with more real-world use of the Taurus X coming in the future from the full-time reviewers. Hopefully that'll help more than I was able to.
Bill J.
I own a 2005 Freestyle and LOVE it. Of course, I am speaking as a camper with two kids, so it fits my needs very well. My former vehicle was a 2001 Windstar, and I can attest that this vehicle does very well as a minivan replacement. I agree that a non-skid surface behind the second row would be great, but I resolved that problem with an $80 Husky Liner. My main problem with the Freestyle is its dismal towing capacity (2000 pounds). I do not own a trailer, but I am considering a small pop-up and my options are very limited. I understand the 2008- Taurus X has a 3500 # towing capacity, so that's nice. I would definitely (and have) considered replacing my Freestyle with the Taurus X. The first alteration to the new car would be removing the Taurus X badge, though. After 31000 miles in a 2005 Freestyle with the CVT, I see 20-23 mpg in mixed driving. I can see why a single urban guy would not be interested in this vehicle. However, as a suburban dad, this vehicle is an unbeatable combination of style, utility, and comfort!
Nice looking vehicle...stupid name!!
i guess since ford cant sell minivans this is what they offer.... ill take a pass and get a nissan x-terra or honda element, at least i know its reliable
I would love someone to define reliable. I rely on my five hundred every day and it has never let me down. Before that it was a focus- again flawless (and I drove the hell out of that one everyday). I traded it in at 79k for 2k over blue book and it sold the next day ( I know b/c i never had the chance to get stuff out of it- the dealership did it for me). Not saying that ford, or any car is perfect, just don't see, if they are such unreliable p.o.s.'s, why millions of people CHOOSE to buy them, the government uses them, almost every work truck is a ford, and the majority of cabs and police cars are fords. Are all us just stupid. Do we really "Fix or repair daily our cars"? I know I don't- infact, I have never even opened the hood on my five hundred.
I'm off my soapbox for the night, let the carnage begin, lol.
Nice redesign from the older model. It is a nice car when you need space but you don't want a huge car.
I would love to see a Fusion wagon, even better a Milan in a wagon model.
I agree Sulli. Honestly, that's my biggest complaint with the import lovers. They tend to make baseless accusations against the reliability of domestic cars.
I'm not a domestic lover (review my posts, you won't find import bashing). I like all cars...especially ones that are good solid values.
I wouldn't buy the Xterra because (as I said) I'm interested in fuel economy, not to mention space efficiency and ride quality. You won't get that with a body-on-frame SUV (and it seats only five). I wouldn't buy the Element because I've never cared for the styling (and it seats only five).
I think that the Taurus X is a very functional vehicle. Sort of a bigger Subaru Outback. As a camping vehicle I would be happy with this one. However, I have 2 issues with this vehicle: gas mileage and price. Other than that, I would seriously consider one.
To Sulli, no doubt reliability is in the eye of the owner. I have never owned a Ford because of past mechanical nightmares from former owners. Ford transmission problems come to mind first. That's great you are not only a Ford owner, but a happy one. On the other hand I am not willing to take a chance on a Ford. Cars are expensive, and impossible for me to buy one every few years. Therefore my preference is to buy an import, knowing it will last a long time, maintain it's retail value, and yes, be reliable. All cars break down from time to time, but at least my import more than likely is not going to have a long list of mechanical problems and defects. I'm just not sure the same can be said of Ford, especially when a few years ago "quality" was promoted in Ford's advertising, only to find out this was a lie.
One more thought. Notice how domestic cars are always being compared to foreign cars for quality, reliability, etc. Yet foreign cars never (I far as I can tell) compare themselves to domestic cars. Wonder why?
All I'm saying is, that if you haven't owned a car,your oppinions or second hand tales aren't all that valid. Also, no one is making you buy it, or read about it. If I'm not interested in a car, I don't waste my time reading about it or writing about it in blogs.
It all depends on how people define automobile reliability. Some think that getting repairs (even minor repairs)done after the warranty expires is normal. I would consider a car reliable if it needs no repairs before 100k miles. I can say that of the 10 cars I've owned (5 domestic and 5 foreign) only the foreign cars have met my standard of reliable. Most people buy cars on their experience and anyone over 50 that will only drive a foreign car has probably had a bad experience with a domestic product.
I like the Freestyle, aka Taurus X. Most Fords have been rated high in reliablity by some independent sources (not sure how they define it). The 500, Fusion, Edge and F-Series get good review for the most part. Like Z said most people buy on past experience. I currently own a Toyota but would consider Ford because I had a good experience with my Ranger. I have been burned by some manufacturers before and it would be hard to go back.
KJ,
The answer to your question of why the domestics compare themselves to the import is if you talk to people out there the majority of them will tell you they are shopping Toyota or Honda for new cars. They are not even considering domestics. So if you are domestic seller hoping to actually get some of those customers in you have to make a comparrison that hopefully that audience will notice. It is normal sales tactic for those behind to claim why they are better then the market leader.
Anyway, there are examples of foreign comparing to foreign, the Hyundai commercials compare themselves to Toyota and Honda. They are doing it for same reason the domestic companies are.
This is all off topic anyway. We test drove a Freestyle last year with the old engine/trans combo and found it to be slow accelerating and pricey. Once up to speed it drove nice and for such a large vehicle I thought it handled very well. Friends that have a Freestyle several years old have had no problems with theirs. My brother with the related 500 has over 50K of trouble free miles. The same cannot be said for his Windstar.
my grandfather has the old version - freestyle or whatever - and he says the gas mileage is terrible compared to his beloved windstar.
I'm thinking about the Taurus X. I now drive the original Honda Odessey -- 4 (real doors) and smaller than the van today. Everyone tells me I'll never get the same amt of mileage out of an Amer car (I'm at 200k in the odessey). Don't want a van. What do you think of the quality and any other crossovers you like, where you can actually use the 3rd seat?