Ford Taurus - any good?

[grasshopperglock]

I love the way it looks, though!!!



Sent from my iPhone using something or other...

There's no doubt Ford designers can make the prettiest cars. It's a beautiful design that screams Ford. You kinda expect to see a Ford blue painted motor after popping the hood.

 

[Shotgun Jeremy]

I don't have a dog in this fight or an opinion on other cars, but I can input this:

My work has a small fleet of these (its mainly F150s, but we have a few Taurus's). They are 2012/13 models, I believe. One is our Campus police chiefs car, and the others are used as check out vehicles that travel all over the state and country. I have had zero issues with these cars. I make sure normal upkeep is performed (about the same that your normal car should get), but other than that I don't really have to deal with them much. The headlights are even easy to replace. Its an overall maintenance friendly car.

 

[sdismukes]

kar98 has pegged it.

I'd be embarrassed to be driving some C-dan Grandpa car.

Yew redy to go da Cracka Barrel hon? The customers there are my kinda people. Old, slow, deaf and toothless, oh yeah...

Grandma Bertha says 'let me adjust my muumuu', darn ole thang's gittin too small for Grandma's ass and varicose veined, tree trunk laigs doncha know an nen we all'll be ready to get to the early bird special in our new c-dan, yum yum, caint wait to hit that trough of mac and cheese, specially since I lost ma store bought teeth, hee, hee, haw! I can honk down a gallon without taking a breath or chewin...hee, hee, buuurrrppppp, ew, I thank I got a little upchuck in ma toothless maw..oh well, git out ma way, I'm hongry..

However, in the above example of provinciality writ large, may I suggest a vehicle that will transport you to new heights of cosmopolitan elan and while providing extraordinary savoir-faire, lessening the perception of you as the cultural equivalent of Ma and Pa Kettle?

Get a pickup.

They're not just for bringing hogs to market anymore.

They're used for romance, especially if they're crew cab models. heh, heh, heh..

They can be used for movie premiers too.

They far outclass Hummer limos and provide a certain je ne sais quoi not found in C-dans.

So, whatcha waitin for, git you a pickup, aint no never whichin, ram, f-150 or bigger, toyoter, or even a gubmint motors, they's all good.

Now git!

Already got a F250 diesel. Don't need no wussy half- ton.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sdismukes]

When I get a car it's until repairs exceed a car payment. Last new car was a '96. Had 3 used ones since then. All have done very well! Still have all 3! One is now pretty tired.

Howsomeever used car prices these days are way too close to new to risk "how" it was used. So willing to pony up for the first 2-3 years use of the car and have the full warranty. Every extended warranty I ever had neither covered every repair nor covered everything in the repair. Never even broke even.

I decided on the Avalon. Tried the Taurus and was very underwhelmed. The list of features was virtually identical. Both looked good and felt solid. But: Banged my head getting in the Taurus but not so in the Avalon. Felt constrained - everything felt close in the Taurus. The central console had 4-5 little bins surrounding the shifter, but none with CAPACITY. Acceleration was very different. The Taurus wasn't bad but paled with the Avalon. The punch from 40-up was very different. Ride was firmer in the Taurus. Very composed but noticeably stiffer than the Avalon. If I wanted a German ride the Taurus was fine, but I wanted a smoother ride like the XJ8 it's replacing. The Avalon had a superb ride.

So why not any of the other suggestions? Lots of really good ones! Mostly: Dealers were too far away. Add that GM was a non- starter. So is Dodge/Chrysler. Both for personal reasons. Anything over $30k was a non- starter. So Toyota and Ford was all that was left. No nearby Honda dealers. Would love a Beemer, or a Lexus, but dealer distance and $$$$$$$$$ got in the way.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[zincwarrior]

The Taurus SHO is essentially the civilian version of the Police Interceptor. It's got a cop motor, a 227 cubic inch plant, it's got cop tires, cop suspensions, cop shocks...

Its also not made in the USA. I'd rather get a reliable American made car.

 

[zincwarrior]

When I get a car it's until repairs exceed a car payment. Last new car was a '96. Had 3 used ones since then. All have done very well! Still have all 3! One is now pretty tired.

Howsomeever used car prices these days are way too close to new to risk "how" it was used. So willing to pony up for the first 2-3 years use of the car and have the full warranty. Every extended warranty I ever had neither covered every repair nor covered everything in the repair. Never even broke even.

I decided on the Avalon. Tried the Taurus and was very underwhelmed. The list of features was virtually identical. Both looked good and felt solid. But: Banged my head getting in the Taurus but not so in the Avalon. Felt constrained - everything felt close in the Taurus. The central console had 4-5 little bins surrounding the shifter, but none with CAPACITY. Acceleration was very different. The Taurus wasn't bad but paled with the Avalon. The punch from 40-up was very different. Ride was firmer in the Taurus. Very composed but noticeably stiffer than the Avalon. If I wanted a German ride the Taurus was fine, but I wanted a smoother ride like the XJ8 it's replacing. The Avalon had a superb ride.

So why not any of the other suggestions? Lots of really good ones! Mostly: Dealers were too far away. Add that GM was a non- starter. So is Dodge/Chrysler. Both for personal reasons. Anything over $30k was a non- starter. So Toyota and Ford was all that was left. No nearby Honda dealers. Would love a Beemer, or a Lexus, but dealer distance and $$$$$$$$$ got in the way.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Good deal!

 

[TheDan]

I decided on the Avalon.

Congrats on the new car!

Would love a Beemer, or a Lexus, but dealer distance and $$$$$$$$$ got in the way.

That's why you buy used and make friends with a good local independent mechanic
You could have gotten a very low mileage 1 year old 320i for a little under $30k. I don't think anyone would be disappointed in just buying the nicest 3-series that fits their budget; be it $5k or $65k.
...or an equivalent Lexus if Teutonic perfection scares you.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

You were able to get a new Avalon for under $30K?

 

[TheDan]

Ok going really left field now but has anyone else seen the Kia Stinger?

Haven't seen that one yet, but the K900 is a good car despite being a Kia. Same can be said of it's sister the Genesis. The best thing about them is that since they are a Kia/Hyundai their resell value is crap so you can get a lot of car for the money.

 

[txinvestigator]

I decided on the Avalon.

Congrats on the Avalon. Toyota makes an extremely solid car. Would love to see pics and get your thoughts later.

 

[Chirpy]

I don't like it. And fix the cigarette lighter.

Yes. Somebody got it!

 

[Chirpy]

The engine in the current Ford Police Interceptor Sedan (a 3.72 L/227 cu. in. aluminum block V6) is taken from the Mustang and not available on the civilian Ford Taurus.

In fact, the Police Interceptor Utility is far more popular among law enforcement agencies...

And what does that have to do with the Blues Brothers?

 

[sdismukes]

You were able to get a new Avalon for under $30K?

Before TTL, yes. Barely.

XLE - low end of their scale, but still leather seats, power everything. Big plus for me is no moonroof. Hate those things. Any model with more features has that moonroof. About the only thing I wish it had was an autodim rear view. But that's available aftermarket. Lots cheaper than the package upgrade. Very nicely appointed car!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Kar98]

LOL the XLE is the top of the line at Toyota. Doesn't get any fancier.

Oh I see what you mean. Base XLE without any additional packages. Auto dimming mirror is available and installable. Check TRDsparks.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

Before TTL, yes. Barely.

XLE - low end of their scale, but still leather seats, power everything. Big plus for me is no moonroof. Hate those things. Any model with more features has that moonroof. About the only thing I wish it had was an autodim rear view. But that's available aftermarket. Lots cheaper than the package upgrade. Very nicely appointed car!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nice!
Sounds like you did your homework and got a good deal.

 

[sdismukes]

LOL the XLE is the top of the line at Toyota. Doesn't get any fancier.

Oh I see what you mean. Base XLE without any additional packages. Auto dimming mirror is available and installable. Check TRDsparks.

Right, beyond the XLE, they had the XLE Plus, the Premium (plus plus), then the Touring and the Limited.All about $2-4K more than the prior level. Could easily have topped out over $40K.

 

[Kar98]

Right, beyond the XLE, they had the XLE Plus, the Premium (plus plus), then the Touring and the Limited.All about $2-4K more than the prior level. Could easily have topped out over $40K.

Now if you had one with the moon roof, it would have been easier to steal the power for the auto-dimming mirror. Without it, you'll have to sneak and hide the wiring all the way around from the top of the windshield, down the pillar, behind the dashboard. You could probably still get a ground up there somewhere, but you'll still need switched power.

 

[sdismukes]

Now if you had one with the moon roof, it would have been easier to steal the power for the auto-dimming mirror. Without it, you'll have to sneak and hide the wiring all the way around from the top of the windshield, down the pillar, behind the dashboard. You could probably still get a ground up there somewhere, but you'll still need switched power.

Point taken! Dome light?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Kar98]

Duh, yes. Didn't think of that. Here's an example of installing a dimming mirror in an older Camry:

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/1...oem-auto-dimming-rearview-mirror-install.html

Which leads me to believe there might be pre-wiring and plugs already in place in yours. Let me know how strongly you feel about getting the feature, and if you would like some assistance finding parts numbers and instructions and shit.

 

[Coiled]

I owned a '99 Avalon XLS and thought it looked pretty danged good, better than today's offering (HATE the grill). The power train was most impressive and the rear seat area was cavernous, even compared to the likes of a Town Car of the time and much larger than a [FONT]‘[/FONT]16s. Biggest complaint I can recall was interior noise.

I've been driving a '16 Avalon XLE for 7 weeks now. Just Joe 6pack talking here but the power train is awesome! 26mpg @ 75mph but romp on that pedal and, damn! I passed 4 cars at once that were doing 60 in a 70mph zone and when I lifted was approaching triple digits. No stop-watch but it didn't take long.

My biggest complaints of the '16 are:[FONT][/FONT]​

1. controls not particularly intuitive
2. can[FONT]’[/FONT]t adjust temp w/o turning the fan on
3. interior noise
4. interior chrome trim reflectivity can be a distraction at best with a high possibility of being a safety hazard
5. that friggin grill !!!