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Sedans Mainstream Large Sedans Comparison
6844 messages, Last post on Mar 23, 2009 at 12:32 PM
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I’ve always been the kind of guy who wants to get $1.13 of content for his dollar (sometimes pathologically so). I’ve concluded that in this class, the only entrant that can reasonably give the Azera a run for its money in this department is the new Taurus, or if you prefer, the old 500. So off I went to my local Ford dealer. It should be noted that this is an exceptionally good Ford store: lounge for service customers, slime-free salespeople, everything quite impressive. I enjoyed my salesman, who interestingly had worked the service counter less than a year before at a crooked Hyundai dealership, and was delightfully low-key with me. I drove a front-drive SEL with tan cloth, then a black-leather Limited AWD. Their similarities vastly exceeded their differences, so I may as well report on them in tandem. First, the walkaround. I discount the potshots at the Taurus’s exterior styling. To my eye, it’s clean and purposeful. (You’d maybe rather look at the molten ovoid that was the 2000 Taurus?) The trunk was Mafia-huge, just as advertised. Equally impressive, the huge space was unimpeded by hinges as Ford sprang (pun intended) for the costlier gas struts. The back seat was voluminous as well, the subjective equal in space of the Avalon’s, though toe space was lacking. You apparently can’t get a telescoping steering wheel on any Taurus, and it needs one. The wheel is too far away, and to make matters worse, you can’t lower the tilt mechanism far enough. The adjustable pedals on the Limited helped somewhat to compensate. The power driver’s seats have all the adjustments, yet are so shapeless and unsupportive that you always feel you’re sitting on rather than in them. The Taurus’s feature content is impressive. In this class, only Taurus offers the exterior-pushbuttons form of keyless entry. While some call this obsolete, I view it as the best on the market, because it’s the only system that’s truly keyless -- no key OR fob needed. To put this in practical terms, it’s the only car that lets you use it as a locker for its own key at the beach. Taurus also has a temporary class exclusive on the Sync system. I loathe Microsoft, but even I have to admit this system is impressive. Stash your iPod safely out of sight in the console (there’s even a mini USB jack in there), then run it from the radio head unit or with speech commands -- ditto for your Bluetooth phone and Sirius radio. Nice. And under the skin, Taurus has superb crashworthiness, plus the AWD option the two Asians lack. The maddening thing that confronts you over and over with the Taurus is that all the content, and even the quality, is there, but the visible cheapness of the interior is simply relentless in undermining the quality impression. The gauges look far cheesier than the newly downgraded units in the ’08 Accord, and can’t touch the neon-white showpieces in the Azera or Avalon. The console (which, like the Avalon’s, is inexplicably too damn close to my right knee) flexes embarrassingly under the slightest pressure. While the Azera’s curvy dash and doors surprise and delight, the Nebraska-flat plains throughout the Taurus cabin dismay and depress. Mind you, most of the surfaces are soft-touch, and the abundant fake wood is frankly a far more handsome and attractively reflective material than the Azera’s miserable maroon plastic. Yet there is an utter and inexplicable lack of contouring to virtually any interior element, right down to the seat cushions. It’s hard to tell whether this was a misguided style decision to highlight the vast spaciousness of the interior, or just a full-on cheapout, but there’s no question at all about the result—in this distinguished company, it’s a disaster. I’ve voiced that the Avalon interior contains several peculiar style decisions, but this interior just hasn’t got it. Again, more’s the pity, because the Taurus is more than competitive over the road. The new powertrain certainly can’t be called rough or crude. There’s no idle shake or harsh noises, and it never really puts a foot wrong. The idle is clearly more audible than its two Asian rivals, but this seems to be more a soundproofing issue than a powertrain flaw, and seems to fade away at speed. The best aspect of the Taurus is the suspension. The ride-handling compromise is better than either Avalon or Azera’s. It rides as comfortably as either, yet controls vertical motion better than Azera and body roll better than Avalon. Steering feel is decent, maybe even a tick better than the others. Hyundai in particular would improve its product by ripping off this road behavior. With its vast room, comfy ride, and low highway RPM from its 6-speed (thank God, no longer the old CVT) slushbox, I could see this as a really livable highway car. Problem is, the others are too, and they have better seats to boot. Which about sums up the dilemma that faces this car: What spoiled car buyers we are today! This car is blatantly the best popular-priced huge sedan ever to roll out of Dearborn. Depending on how you feel about the 300, maybe the best ever from Detroit. Five years ago, this car would have rocked the world. But Ford’s tarnished reputation, combined with the sheer unnatural excellence of the Avalon and Azera, makes it virtually impossible now for this virtuous but strangely sexless Taurus to stand out in the crowd. When Ford sinks to the point where they start to sell off the furniture, those who score a Taurus for thousands less than it’s worth will be serious winners. This isn’t some Chrysler that’s crap at any price. In the end, it’s like a Camry: the one you’d recommend to your friends, but somehow never quite choose for yourself. That’s not a compliment in a woman, nor in a car. For all its legitimate merits, something’s missing from the Taurus—and whatever it is, it’s probably fatal. |
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Replying to: brucelinc (May 30, 2008 5:37 am) Roland |
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Replying to: tonycd (May 30, 2008 8:43 pm) Hopefully with the redesign in 2010 they correct many of the shortcomings of the current car and can seriously compete. Like you noted though, for the money this car is a great deal. FE is great for a car of its size and I don't think any others in the class offer more trunk or interior space. In this class, only Taurus offers the exterior-pushbuttons form of keyless entry That feature alone makes me want to buy another Ford. I had it on two previous vehicles and cannot understand why other manufacturers won't install it on their cars. There are so many instances where I would just leave my keys in the car. I think the only other make ever to have it was Nissan on the late 80s Maximas. |
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Replying to: tjc78 (May 31, 2008 2:34 am) When it's raining I think the fob is hands down a better idea :=)
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Replying to: hjc1 (May 31, 2008 6:17 am) |
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Replying to: thegraduate (May 30, 2008 12:07 pm) Well let's see. Currently we have a 2007 Azera SE Limited. Also a 2000 Ford Focus Kona model with a 5-speed. It is just barely broken in with less than 40K miles so I guess you might conclude that I haven't driven it far enough yet to know what mileages it might be capable of? On most of the 60 or more vehicles that I have owned over the last 60 years, I have "logged" what the expenses have been, especially concerning fuel economy. So I guess you might give me the benefit of the doubt when I say I do know a thing or two about fuel economy. Most reading this are not old enough to remember Socony-Vacuum and the Mobilgas Economy runs done annually. I am, and back then I was very interested as to what the various vehicles would do fuel economy wise. Now while I will agree that it is indeed possible to beat the EPA estimates, having done so myself, I will not allow as it is possible for anyone to better those figures to the extent that some insist on posting. There is one fellow over on another forum that "claims" he gets 35 mpg highway and 24 mpg city with his Azera. The ratings on his car are 18 highway and 26 city. This fellow resides in the hot Azizona desert, so you know he is running his A/C, right? Do you see what I mean? Now I happen to have an Azera also and while I can get mileages in the low 30s, that is driving it at exactly 60 mph with no A/C. City mileage . . forget it! There are too many varibles to consider. Is your city strictly stop and go, never going out on the expressway or interstates or just driving in town where there are only a couple of stop signs and only one traffic light? For someone to try and tell me that they can drive their 2008 3.5L V6 Taurus and get well over 30 mpg at 75-80 mph just does not fly with me. Hell, I cannot do that with my 2.0L Kona Focus with a manual 5-speed and I have it tuned electronically myself. At those speed, I get below 30 mpg. Carry on and believe everything you read and all claims no matter what the subject.
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Replying to: hjc1 (May 31, 2008 6:17 am)
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Replying to: alexstore (Jun 01, 2008 5:26 am) Thats why you NEVER use the factory code and change your personal code every couple of months. It takes all of 20 seconds to change it right from the keypad. |
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Replying to: tonycd (May 30, 2008 8:43 pm) All in all the car is proving to be a great road tripper. My kid in back was able to pull the seat down to reach the cooler in the trunk, the stereo with Sirius was terrific, and the ride was great. It's still brand new, so I'm hoping fuel economy will improve - only 24mpg with the cruise at 83mph, but much better at 27.5mpg with the cruise at 76mph. It was hot as hell (100+ degrees), so the a/c was blasting, but South Texas could be described as flat.
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Replying to: jontyrees (Jun 01, 2008 9:43 am) All that said, you've bought well. Happy motoring! |
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