Have I mentioned how much I like the Taurus?
No, not the Judge.
One of my co-workers owns an SHO taurus. I got to drive it to lunch yesterday because they were going to be having a few beerce, and I gotta tellya, if I could haul the shit in that that I haul in the Sploder, I would have one in an instant.
No, it’s not “fast” in the conventional use of the word- yes, it scoots around, but it’s not a rocketship. What it is is an all wheel drive checker cab with it’s center of gravity about four feet underground.
If you’ve never been in one of these, it’s huge inside. It can easily and comfortably fit four full size adults- and I don’t mean Bruce Willis full size, I mean Michael Clarke Duncan full size. And it drives like it’s on rails. If I was in the market for a car, this is the car.
13 comments Og | Uncategorized
They don’t look to bad either.
Have you considered a minivan? Back when I had a 95 windstar, the drive train and frame were supposed to be based on the taurus.
You could still get the taurus features you like + the added room of an explorer. Take out the back row seats and have even more room.
SHO is something ford had on mustangs and Taurus’s The SHO taurus was billed as a euro fighter so it goes good and has a suspension to match. Much like euro cars it ia a bitch to maintain. Tranny is weak and motor is all aluminum. Had a few when I was a dealer and they are nice, just can be a litle expensive to keep.
That was the case with Gen 1 and Gen 2, right? the Yamaha motor? I thought the Duratec in the current version reduced the issues. Still, very nice cars.
I’m a hard guy to impress, but I admit, I was impressed with the SHO.
What I wasn’t impressed with was the price. I can buy an Audi, with more power, better looking, with a better interior, for the same money.
Wow, really? the SHO starts in the high 30’s. THe first 6 cylinder Audi with all wheel drive is over 50. What are you comparing?
My biggest beef is the lack of an available manual transmission.
Yes. the Yamaha engines. Needed to have more air around them. Not sure about the newer ones. Ford had a good motor then, it was the 4.6 v8. At least I think it was 4.6. Definitely a V-8. It was a good motor. Only in cougars. Maybe lincolns as well. I know they made a fairly sharp lincoln that was euro designed. Never had one of those though.
There are so many cars it is sometimes hard to keep them straight.
Base price on the SHO is $38.2
The good options (performance package, good interior, remote start, nav system), not all the options just the ones that make it comparable to other sports sedans in the class… Bring it up to $46k. You could take another $5k on that if you wanted.
The A4 is slightly smaller, but has the same front hip, shoulder, head, and leg room, and the same rear hip shoulder and head room (but 2″ less legroom) than the Taurus.
Base price on the A4 is $32k. Fully optioned with a six speed manual it’s $42k. It has less power, but it’s also 400lbs lighter, so it’s only 1/2 second slower to 60; and handles better.
The S4, same car bigger motor, better interior, $47k with the six speed, at the same option level as the SHO. 20hp less, but 400lbs lighter so considerably quicker.
Higher insurance rates though.
The Audi A6 is a larger, nicer car. More room in every dimension, but still lighter than the Ford.
It’s base price is $45. Optioning out to $49k gets you with the same feature level that the $48k optioned SHO does; though not as much power.
I can option up to much higher levels than the SHO if I want to spend the money of course.
To get comparable power, you do have to spend $4k more than the SHO (same engine as the S4 actually. 20hp less than the Ford); but again, the A6 is a larger and nicer car, and it actually weighs 300lbs less than the SHO (the A6 has a lot of aluminum in it) so it’s only .2 secodns slower 0-60. Plus it handles better.
Oh and of course, these are all all wheel drive.
I could also go to the VW CC, which is actually an A6 with a downmarket badge (they even have the exact same curb weight).
$40.4k in top trim with every option. Less hp, but 300lbs lighter, and only .3 seconds slower 0-60. Also all wheel drive. Nicer interior than the Ford.
The BMW 335ix, 3.5 liter all wheel drive, base price $44k. A little less power, but you get a six speed manual, it’s 300lbs lighter, and it’s only .2 seconds slower 0-60. Plus it handles a lot better. That is at a lower option level though, and it has 2″ less rear head and leg room.
Optioned up to the same level as the optioned up SHO, it is $6k more.
The 535ix is a larger, nicer car. It has more head and leg room, both front and rear. It does weigh 200lbs more and has less power than the SHO so it’s 1.5 second slower 0-60. With the same equipment level as the SHO, it’s $7k more.
The mercedes e350 is a fair bit less powerful, and about a second slower 0-60, but larger inside, and nicer. At the same equipment level, it’s about $2k more than the SHO.
The Mercedes e350 bluetec AWD gives you a diesel with FAR more torque than the SHO, so real world performance is as good or better, thouhg 0-60 is .6 seconds slower. Base price is $51k, and it includes the same equipment level as the optioned up SHO, but it gets 32mpg.
If I want to drop the AWD feature and go to RWD, I can save $2k on each of the Audis or the BMW (though not the VW. You can only get the big motor with 4wd).
The m3 loses AWD and is $8k more than the SHO, but if you can afford $48k you can afford $56k. It’s got 60 more horsepower, and weighs 400lbs less, so it’s over a second quicker 0-60 than the SHO, and of course, it handles a lot better.
Oh and all of this is msrp, not including incentives and negotiated price. The SHO is a special order vehicle, limited production and limited allocation. They are actually getting over list for it. The rest typically sell for $2-5k under list.
I’m not saying the SHO isn’t a great car, it’s just that Ford has priced themselves into a higher end market than they are used to. They aren’t competing with Chevy and Dodge here, they’re competing with BMW, Mercedes, and Audi; and are actually significantly more expensive than the top end VW.
I guess I’ve never looked at MSRP, I only look at what the cars are priced at at the dealer. The dealers by me are selling the SHO pretty well optioned out in the high 30’s, and frankly, the only options I’d be interested in are the “performance package” whish mosty consists of wheels, struts, and gear ratio changes. All SHO’s are awd, it’s the only way they come. Don’t know what the deal is there, but here, the dealers deal on SHO’s, where if you want the cachet of an Audi or a Benz, you pay the premium for it. If you made the suggestion to an A6 level exec here, that his car cost less than a Taurus, you’d have a fistfight on your hands.
I’ve never paid attention to the interior features on a car, if it has seats, pedals and a steering wheel it’s fine by me. So “styling” is lost on me, always has been; until you get to the body lines of a Maserati Granturismo or a Jag XKR, I’m not impressed. And I’ll never make the money to own one of those beasts.
Looking at the MSRP has been an eye opener, I wonder what the hell Ford was thinking. Still, MSRP vs what they actually sell for here, vast difference. And I’ll never be able to afford either of those anyway, so it’s a moot point.
If you really want to see how far the American manufacturers have strayed from anything approaching sanity, just check out what well equipped big motor 4×4 SUV lists out at these days.
Try $56k and that’s without a diesel.
I wouldn’t buy something like that new anyway.
Oh lord no.
My diesel crew cab Dodge sold for $54k ($57k list) . I bought it less than 2 years later for $28k.
The costs there must be insane. I just used the ford online builder to assemble the SHO taurus I wanted for $43,500. (all of the performance options, but few of the trim options. Other than leather, that shit all leaves me cold) I then built the comparable A6, and it was over 60k. If I ever want to buy an Audi, I’m taking you shopping with me.
But then I’ll never buy another new car or truck anyway, and I’d never buy an Audi in the first place.