Road Test: New Taurus a delight to drive

If reaction on the street is any indication, Ford scored a slam dunk with the styling of the newest Taurus; rarely has any family sedan I have driven garnered so much praise.

But the Taurus is more than just a pretty face. What is, for now at least, Ford's flagship to replace the discontinued Crown Victoria is a car that surprises, delights and rarely disappoints.

The biggest surprise to this driver was the handling, thanks to some changes made for 2011 to the suspension and steering. The Taurus corners like a much lighter vehicle and remains stable on the worst of roads. Loyal Crown Vic owners might, however, find the ride too firm and the steering requiring more effort than they prefer.

Delights include the quiet cabin, a huge trunk with a pass-through to the rear seat, a $26,000 starting price and brisk acceleration from a very smooth 263-hp., 3.5-liter, V-6 engine. The government's fuel economy estimates are impressive for so large and powerful a car: 18 miles per gallon in city driving and 28 mpg on the highway with front-wheel drive, 17 and 25 with all-wheel as I sampled it. I averaged 21.6 mpg.

A few gripes: While the Taurus' dashboard controls are self-explanatory, some are difficult to locate at night because they're small and not distinctively shaped to facilitate finding them by touch. And the automatic high-beams control feature is easily fooled by a bright green traffic signal and too slow to switch off when the Taurus catches up to another car and its brights blind the other's car driver in the rearview mirrors.

The six-speed automatic transmission can be manually shifted only by pulling the shift lever back into manual, then using steering paddles. Most carmakers permit manual shifting with the shift lever - the accustomed way for those of us who are used to real manual transmissions.

Back on the upside, the Taurus comes "recommended" by Consumer Reports, with reliability reported to be average by magazine readers who drive Tauruses. Lincoln sells a version of this car called the MKS. An SHO version of the Taurus has a twin turbocharged 365- hp. version of the V-6 and comes only with all-wheel drive - for a list price of $38,595 with freight.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety calls the Taurus a "top safety pick." Under its new, tougher criteria, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gives the Taurus four out of a possible five stars for its frontal-impact protection and five out of five for side impacts. 

2011 Ford Taurus

Vehicle tested:

Engine: 3.5-liter V-6, 263 hp.

Fuel: Regular

Transmission: Six-speed automatic, all-wheel drive

Safety: Six air bags; 4-wheel disc brakes w/anti-lock and stability control; reverse- obstacle detection with cross-traffic warning; collision warning with pre-braking boost; blind-spot warning; tire pressure monitoring, automatic crash notification of 911.

Place of assembly: Chicago

Trunk: 20.1 cubic feet

EPA fuel economy estimates: 17 mpg, city; 25 ,highway

Price as driven: $41,085, including freight

Bottom line: Mostly surprises and delights.