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Sedans Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable Sedans Pre-2008
3374 messages, Last post on Jul 20, 2009 at 1:51 PM
You are in the Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Actually Sable has highest JDPowers initial quality rating in its class. I think the problem with Mercury is that it doesn't have cool cars. The only one - Cougar was discontinued. Next Cougar will probably be based on Mustang and I hope it will be refined one with independent rear suspension, DOHC engine and so on. I have two Tauruses. One is '94 Taurus and second one is '02 Sable. I know people who had older generation Taurus and bought newer generation because car proved to be reliable and comfortable. If you ask me am I going to buy Taurus or Sable again I will answer - not. Because I want something different next time. Altima, Camry or Accord are not in my list of course. May be Futura or its Mercury cousin if it will be made right, may be Lincoln or Maxima or G35, 300C, I don't know yet, but I want to have a better car. It is reasonable, people want changes, thats why cars has to be updated every 4 year. I agree that previous gen Camry wasn't spectacular. It is basically 1992 design compared to more modern '96 Taurus. New Camry is a very good car but I don't like isolated feel and suspension is too soft for me. Instrument panel reminds me Buick, the whole car is styled like Buick. |
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Toyota, has, with the new Camry, addressed some of the issues you speak of. I HATE the automatic locking doors (although, those are defeatable), and the fact that you can open the front doors without unlocking them (totally lazy American style). For your mom's Camry, the auto on headlights operate in relation to the parking brake, however, and its a 15 second delay once the p-brake is released (auto-on is gone from the new Camry in LE & SE guise though). Keyless now provides a trunk release button - I agree with you- what an insanely dumb oversight. You might want to get used to those "weird" power window switches- they've been deemed "safer" by Consumer Reports and NHTSA, and a lot of auto mfrs. are moving toward this type. You are certainly entitled to your opinion, and I completely respect it. However, you seem to be judging the car on the last generation. Toyotas arent like Fords- they get redesigned. You may want to check a new one. Upsetter- the LE/XLE suspension is on the soft side, but its dyanmic handling capabilities are certainly on par with the Taurus', and the SE will out handle it. You know what really REALLY bothers me about the Taurus, and its the first think I always thought of when I would drive my ex's Duratec Sable- why no rear head restraints? Its very uncomfortable to sit back there without them, and theres the safety issue as well. ~alpha |
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Seems like I am little late to core discussion... I am in the market for a replacement of our second car. There are 2 candidates: Ford Taurus Wagon and Ford Escape. What I drive: 2K SES Taurus. I had driven 91-99 Accord, 94 Civic, 94 Corolla, 97 Mazda 626, bunch of rental Camries... I would never give up my Taurus, eh! may be for new Ford 500... Lets see what is going on with so called "superior" makes and models... CRV - Engine fire (fresh discussion going on) Odyssey/V6 Accords - Transmission problems that Honda never admits. Squeaks and other built qulity issues... Camry - Has Toyota admitted the engine sludge problem yet? Nissan - Sorry, I don't even follow their discussions Well I can pull bunch of problems for bunch of other makes and models. |
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Where do Taurus/Sable, Camry, Accord, Altima, Impala, Intrepid, etc. stand in the overall reliability and resale value? Edmunds and CR don't rate the 2002 Grand Caravan very high but my son loves his. My 1970 Dodge van was the worst vehicle I have ever owned. Many friends got rid of Taurus when the transmissions failed and they claim their Taurus were the worst vehicles they ever owned. Although my Ford F-150 is rock solid (sorry to steal Chevy's thunder)I wouldn't buy a Taurus or Sable. The risk is too high. |
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the 96 taurus had tranny issues and they quickly worked to improve and fixed the issue. and hopefully some learned that flushing your tranny and maintenance is necessary to prolonging your tranny life. facts the taurus is dated and not at the top of class in refinement depreciates rapidly but its reliable and has a well established track record inexpensive to buy and operate is one of the roomiest mid sizers it not cheese like GM OHC is available for cheap SAFETY and, the Taurus is a good looking (if familiar) car. Ford did a tremendous job fixing the 96-99 botches. Even if I think my 99 SHO looks quite good with the deeper fascia and side extensions. The base 96-99 cars were not good. as a number 2 car in the family as the previous poster suggested, its a great alternative. Why buy a Sonata? or something like that. If its as a primary car and you want a higher level of refinement you might want to pay more but you don't have to be ashamed if you don't and get the Taurus. Its inexpensive but doesn't stoop to cheesemobile status. You can show up at a ritzy function in a Taurus and not look out of place at least. Personally, to me I think Ford should consider another noticeable refreshening, interior redo and bump up the hp on the Duratec to about 220 and keep this thing in production even when the 500 and Futura hit market, even if only as a fleet car. |
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A very good assessment, overall. However, I think the Taurus has fallen behind the times in terms of safety. Yes, it continues with a "Good" from IIHS offset and very impressive frontal results from NHTSA. BUT, you can't get the side curtains (coupled also with side chest airbags in the better models) that are so quickly becoming a focal point in the midsize family sedan saftey issues. Additionally, theres no stability control option, and no rear head restraints is a strange omission, one that I would think easy (and inexpensive) to rectify. Otherwise, for precisely the reasons you speak of, I'd heartily recommend a two or three year old certified used Taurus. I would not, however, endorse a new one over a competiting, and similarly priced, Malibu. ~alpha |
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And I must say that, having spent considerable time in the Odyssey topics from early 2000 until fading away in 2002 (recently checking in for old times sake), the discussion here is amazingly civilized. You should all be very proud of yourselves, I think. As you all have covered well, the Taurus suits my needs well. It will be a only-two-day-per-week commute vehicle, otherwise used only sparingly for those "I vant to be left alone" jaunts to the home improvement center. I am not nearly as interested in appearance as I am in safety. The Accord would satisfy both, but because it does so much better in maintaining its value, it will cost me about $15,000 for a 2001-3 with at least air conditioning (this is North Texas, but Texas nonetheless). (Interestingly, I could probably buy a sufficiently-equipped brand new Accord for around $16,500! Go figure....) I can get a suitable Taurus for nearer $10,000. Frankly, having just started on a $29,000 loan for the Yukon XL SLE we bought in November, I can use the relief that the lower amount would bring in car payments. Even considering the further depreciation, I'm guessing that anything over three years that I keep the car will amount to almost the same total dollars lost in value -- especially when you figure in the extra interest I'd be paying on the larger amount borrowed. Yep, I'll double-check the budget once taxes are calculated, but we'll probably be scouring the lots soon for the best Certified used Taurus deal at or below $10,000 that we can find. For me, it comes down to what fits my budget that will still give me the best odds, or nearly so, of surviving should I become involved in one of those daily traffic-snarling incidents on the Dallas area toll and freeways. Thanks again for the volume of replies and most especially for their general civil tone, well-considered thoughts, and detailed nature. You are as fine a group of web-denizens as I've ever had the pleasure to share a few bytes with! 
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Well, you sparked a lot of response in a board that was very quiet-though I am sure it is quiet mostly because Taurus is currently not the new kid on the block with a recent redesign, and most of us Taurus/Sable don't need a lot of stroking to assure ourselves what a good car we have. We know it already. You will also notice the Taurus maintenance board is quite quiet too, which is a good thing-it likely means Taurus has no glaring maintenance issues that lots of upset owners would be posting about. As far as deficiencies in Taurus such as rear headrests and airbags for every part of your body, true much of the competition has added these if not standard, as options. This still does not take away from the fact that Taurus is a solid buy at very reasonable prices new or used. Ford is introducing 500 this year and Futura perhaps by the end of the year or early next and I am sure we will see most of these improvements available on these new cars, along with other new features such as six speed automatics, a wheel drive and CV transmissions, which neither Toyota, Honda or all the rest have yet adopted on their bread and butter sedans. |
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I agree with badgerfan, I am also member of different Taurus forum. I hardly seee any problem with Generation-4 Taurus. 500 looks very attractive though... |
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| Regarding tapping noise we were talking in prev posts. I had an oil change and asked dealer to diagnose the noise. They told me that there is no tech bulletin for this car and noise rather comes kind of from injectors. | |
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