I was given this car as a company vehicle when I first arrived in the US 2 months ago. My first thought on seeing it was "what an ugly heap!". I was more impressed by the luggage space as it fairly easily swallowed all of the stuff a family of 4 carry when travelling to a new land.

Driving from the airport to the hotel I was immediately struck by how soft the seats were. Almost sofa like in comfort if you only travel for a few miles. Problem is that for longer journeys they are completely lacking in support and I was in agony after only 50 miles or so.

Next nuisance item was the multifunction stalk for controlling lights, wipers etc. Really, these functions should be seperated but the use of a column gear change prevents that. These column mounted gear stalks are very quaint, but personally if I never see one again it will be too soon.

Performance was, well how could I put this without cussing, absolutely useless. That thing couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding. It is flatter than roadkill and only slightly more attractive. I don't know its top speed as I never felt sufficiently in control to test it. It felt like it would have trouble outrunning a moped but I never had the courage to try it.

Brakes are adequate without being startling. I did find that parking brake to be hopeless. Anybody living in a hilly area is going to become rapidly hacked off with not having a normal handbrake rather than the stupid foot operated system. It is impossible to gradually release a foot system so making fully controllable getaways a distant dream.

Handling. Handling? Nope, not on this thing! This is the sort of softly suspended barge on wheels American cars used to be like. This might have been acceptable in 1975, but things have moved on a long way since then. My last 3 cars were 2 SAABs and an Audi A4 so perhaps criticising the handling is a little unfair. Problem is that Ford's offering in this category in Europe is the Mondeo and it kicks bottom! Now that is a car they should be offering to the American public, rather than the shoddy heap of garbage that is the Taurus.
Amount Paid (US$): 12345
Condition: Used
Model Year: 2001