With an added kick from its EcoBoost engine, Ford has revived the Taurus SHO for 2010. Not normally associated with an exciting driving experience, the Taurus SHO takes its best shot at those looking for a sedan with some oomph. Cars.com reviewer Joe Bruzek discovers if the car lives up to its heritage for the performance-minded buyer.
2010|Ford|Taurus SHO
Cars.com senior editor Joe Wiesenfelder once saw potential in a car known as the Ford 500. Now the 500 is again the Taurus, and Wiesenfelder is happy to see some of that potential come to fruition. In this video he takes you through the Taurus to show you what Ford has done to make its full-size sedan a such a promising vehicle.
Ford’s high-performance version of the 2010 Taurus, the SHO, comes with a delightful V-6 EcoBoost engine, but is that enough to vault the $38,000 sedan into your consideration? Where does the SHO succeed and where might it let you down? Cars.com reviewer Joe Bruzek takes you through the high-powered version of the Taurus in this video to help you make the call.
2010|Ford|Taurus
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety awarded the 2010 Ford Taurus its Top Safety Pick rating, a highly sought-after distinction that every automaker wants attached to a new vehicle.
The Taurus has a good track record, earning the nod in 2008 and 2009. The Ford Five Hundred also picked it up in 2007 before it was handed the Taurus name.
To be named a Top Safety Pick, a vehicle must earn the highest rating, Good, in front, side and rear crash tests, and must also be equipped with electronic stability control.
Interestingly, IIHS hasn’t crash-tested a Taurus since 2007, when it was called the Five Hundred. The designation is based on Ford’s internal crash-test data and verified by IIHS researchers.
Today, Ford took the wraps off its 2010 model lineup and made some pretty significant announcements, despite most models not seeing major changes. The biggest news that will grab headlines is the fact that the 2010 Ford lineup is 20% more fuel-efficient than the 2009 lineup. And this is without dropping any large vehicles from the lineup.
Significant chunks of that mileage improvement come from the Ford Fusion family of cars, including the 2010 Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ. The base Fusion and Milan, for example, see their combined mileage increase from 23 mpg to 25 mpg. Even a base 2010 Mustang now gets 21 mpg combined, compared with 20 mpg in 2009. The V-8s also add 1 mpg. The Edge crossover also adds 1 mpg in combined mileage. Even the 2010 F-150’s V-8 adds 1 more mpg to its highway or city rating, depending on transmission.
Big news on the new-product side of things is confirmation from Ford of a new turbo four-cylinder engine.
Ford keeps saying that the new Taurus is the most important new vehicle it’s launching this year. We’d argue the Fusion is probably the real meat and potatoes of the sedan market these days. Still, the full-size Taurus has been completely redesigned and Cars.com senior editor Joe Wiesenfelder takes a crack at it. While he says its looks and performance are two steps forward, the loss of interior room is one step back.
Ford’s new twin-turbo gasoline direct-injection EcoBoost engines pack plenty of punch for their size. The 2010 Ford Flex with the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 is rated at 355 hp and 350 pounds-feet of torque. That’s an increase of 35% horsepower and 41% more torque than the Flex’s standard 3.5-liter V-6, while returning the same 16/22 mpg city/highway gas mileage (all-wheel drive model). It's also available in the new Ford Taurus SHO, Lincoln MKS sedan and upcoming MKT crossover.
Brett Hinds, Ford’s advance engine design and development manager, said it will only get better from here.
“The [Flex’s] EcoBoost [engine] is the foundation for us,” Hinds said. “It’s a six-cylinder engine that performs like an eight-cylinder, but we’re looking at many ways to make EcoBoost even more efficient so it can meet future fuel economy and CO2 standards.”
Here are three improvements to EcoBoost that Hinds said Ford is studying:
As Cars.com’s Kelsey Mays points out, the 2010 Ford Taurus SHO has one of something for every day of the year (except in leap years). To find out what this is, you’ll have to watch the video. To find out if the high-performance version of the Taurus is worth a price tag that puts it in the realm of faster high-performance cars, you’ll have to hear what Mays has to say about the SHO.
Subscribe to our feed
Email us your tips!