The Taurus has always been a lot of car for the money. Unfortunately, many people would not be caught dead in the strangely styled, ovals within ovals 1996-99 models. The magnitude of the 㤄’s styling disaster was immediately apparent to Ford, and they rushed through a redesign. This was, after all, their top-selling car. Hundreds of millions of dollars were at risk. So the Taurus was restyled for 2000, a couple of years earlier than it would have been otherwise.

The Taurus’ basic draw remained the same. You get tons of car for not much money. Even fully loaded, a Taurus can be had for way under $25,000 once the dealing is done. If you can do without leather, sunroof, etc., under $20,000 is easily possible. We’re talking thousands less than a Camry or Accord. Many dealers will let these cars go for very close to invoice, and there are always rebates. Before, many people wouldn’t buy the car at any price. The new styling makes it possible to consider the Taurus again.

I’ve been interested in driving the new car—I really do like the styling now—but hadn’t gotten around to it when one was thrust upon me. I’d rented a compact to get from the airport to my wife's family for Xmas, but none were available when I arrived so I received a free double upgrade to a Taurus. This review is based on about 600 miles of driving through the hills of Missouri and Arkansas. The roads varied greatly in condition, with a number of slick surfaces. So I got a very good feel for the car.

Ford Taurus Reliability

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Styling and Accommodations

Usually redesigns that carry over a lot of hardware, as the 2000 does, look clunky because they have to be compromised to allow the base metal and its proportions to be carried over. Conversely, clean sheet designs usually look the best because there are far fewer constraints. Not here. Though the doors, windshield, and side glass appear identical to those on the 1996 car, the 2000 Taurus is a great looking sedan. The odd rear window, rear pillars, and fish-faced front end are all gone. The new front and rear ends perfectly fit the parts that have been carried over. The proportions are better, not worse. It's as if this design was always there, just waiting to get out.This is what the 1996 should have looked like. Why didn’t it? I haven’t a clue.

The same goes for the Mercury Sable, which I think is an even nicer looking sedan. The Taurus has a sportier look, while the Sable is more elegant. The Sable, in fact, looks much like the upcoming 2002 Infiniti Q45, a $50,000+ car. Just be sure to get the non-chromed alloy wheels with either to get the best appearance.

Like the exterior, the interior was toned down for 2000. The new interior is quite conservatively styled. It won’t excite, but it also won’t offend. The strange oval-shaped stereo and HVAC control panel of the 㥨 is gone. In it’s place are large conventionally-arranged buttons. This, and the rest of the controls, are logically placed and very easy to find and use. Most have a fairly high quality feel. The major exceptions are the power window buttons, which look and feel a touch low rent.

Visibility from the driver’s seat is quite good, especially forward over the hood. The windshield is heavily raked, but the distance to the base of the windshield has been handled well. You don’t feel like you’re gazing over acres of dash, as you do in some Chrysler sedans. Only the view rearward is slightly compromised by a very high trunk lid. At least the new lid doesn’t drop off towards the rear, so you can more precisely parallel park the 2000 design.

I also had a bit of a problem with the cloth seats. The cloth could both look and feel better. It just doesn’t have to look this cheap. I recommend the leather for this reason. Other than the cloth, the seats are moderately comfortable. My lower back got slightly sore on long drives. I’m not a large person, but the seat cushions felt a bit small to me as well. The seats in my wife’s Olds Intrigue are better.

The rear seat is not as roomy as the large exterior suggests, but two adults fit back there easily, with very good thigh support. Actually, it’s very similar in size and comfort to that in the Intrigue. Three will fit front and rear in a pinch.

A word about the front bench. The center portion converts easily into a spacious center console, complete with two cupholders. This was one innovation that worked with the 㥨, and it remains in the new design. More family sedans could use this feature, since it allows you to switch back and forth between having a bench and having a center console. This of course requires a column shift, but with an automatic that’s not too big of a negative. If you must have buckets with a console shift, that is available as a no-cost option.

The trunk is roomy and nicely shaped. I fit a double stroller, one large suitcase, and two medium-sized bags with just a touch of coercion.

On the Road

Now for how the car drives. “Competent, but uninspiring” describes most aspects of the Taurus’ performance. The 155 HP base engine moves the car adequately, but sounds very rough when pushed. The optional 200 HP DOHC six is a bit pricey at $695, but recommended if only for the better (if still overly present) noises it makes. (My mother just purchased a Sable wagon with this engine.) The extra power for passing on the highway is an added bonus. Even the optional engine doesn’t provide a thrilling amount of power. Shorter, more closely spaced gears, more low-end torque, or both are necessary to aggressively propel this much car.

But then this car isn’t really about aggressive acceleration. That sort of Taurus, the SHO, died with the redesign. A shame, because the new sheetmetal could have saved it.

Handling and ride are much like acceleration. Competent, but unexceptional. Even on slick surfaces, the Taurus handles easily and confidently. The exterior dimensions are fairly large, but like most cars this size these days it never feels unwieldy. The suspension is taut. The float that used to haunt domestic sedans is absent. If anything, the suspension is a touch too stiff for American tastes, but about where I personally like it. It absorbs large road imperfections well, but chatters a bit over some minor ones.

Unfortunately, the steering could use some work. It is moderately high in effort, about right in my opinion. Strangely, the conservative level of power assist does not lead to enhanced steering feel. The steering feels rubbery and numb. Stress the rubbery. Ford knows how to design great steering systems. I love the steering feel in my Contour. The steering in the Focus and Lincoln LS has also been praised by the media. So Ford should know exactly how to fix the steering in the Taurus. Just do it.

The redesigned front end includes larger headlights. These light the road very well, with one qualification. The light drops off very abruptly at the edges, much like it does on many European cars (European laws require this to avoid blinding other drivers). What I mean by this is the transition from maximum brightness to nothing at all occurs very quickly. When driving through hills at night, this sometimes limits forward vision and can be disconcerting. I sometimes felt I was driving through a tunnel. It made me wonder whether the smoked area of the windshield extended halfway down it.

Last Words

As I’ve said a number of times now, I really like how the new Taurus and Sable look. More than that, I’m impressed that so much could be done while retaining the doors and glass. On the other hand, I’m just barely satisfied with how they drive. Still, I give the Taurus three stars because it offers so much for the money. Where else can you get a six passenger car with a V6, anti-lock brakes, 16” alloy wheels, side airbags, in-dash 6 disc CD player, and power windows, locks, and seats for under $20,000? I’ll make it easy for you. The Chevrolet Impala and Dodge Intrepid come close in terms of price, and do offer more room in the rear seat. But if you’re looking for the most car for $20,000, this is it. And with the 2000 redesign, you no longer have to stomach an odd design to get this value.

If anything, the styling is now let down by the rest of the car rather than the other way around. It begs for more power, more communicative steering, and more supportive seats. In short, it begs for a new SHO. I’m convinced the goofy styling made even more goofy by an overly short, strangely wavy spoiler did more than anything else to kill the SHO. They can forget the spoiler this time. Just upgrade the engine (will the 3.9 V8 from the LS fit?), steering, and seat and fit a conservative body kit, such as that on the Maxima SE. With the new styling, a new SHO should be a great success that would draw attention to the entire line.

To learn more about my reliability research and sign up to participate in it, or to perform thorough, up-to-date new car price comparisons, visit www.truedelta.com. A link to this website and alphabetized links to my other vehicle reviews can be found on my profile page.