Review: 2011 Ford Taurus Limited

Family Friendliness: 7.8

Recommended: Yes

Specifications apply to test vehicle only.

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By Keith Buglewicz

The Taurus is one of the more venerable nameplates in the Ford lineup, and over its 25-year history, it's had its share of ups and downs. These days, it's definitely on an "up." Ford completely revamped its full-size Taurus sedan for the 2010 model year, giving it a new lease on life with sophisticated styling, advanced safety features, and a comfortable and roomy interior.

The question is whether big, four-door sedans still make sense for a family in these days of crossovers and minivans. I figured it was time to get behind the wheel and see how the Taurus stacks up against modern family hauler competition.

Model & Pricing

The front-wheel drive 2011 Ford Taurus Limited that Ford provided has a base price of $32,595, including an $825 destination charge. Standard is leather upholstery, a 10-way power driver's seat, dual-zone climate control, premium sound system, Ford's Sync voice-activated music and phone integration, and backup sensors. To that was added a $2,500 "Rapid Spec" package that bundled floor mats, heated and cooled front seats, a power rear window sunshade, heated rear seats, adjustable pedals, rain sensing wipers and automatic high beams, push button start, an audio upgrade and blind spot detection. The options list also included a $1,850 navigation system, a $595 built-in massager for the driver's seat, and the $1,195 active cruise and collision warning system. The grand total came to $38,735.

That's a lot of money considering that some options, such as a sunroof, weren't included. However, it's on par with competitors like the Toyota Avalon or Hyundai Genesis 3.6, neither of which is available with an active cruise system.

Safety

The 2011 Ford Taurus is a rolling example of modern safety equipment, with standard front, side and curtain airbags, stability and traction control, and anti-lock brakes with brake assist. However, Ford offers two safety systems that are upping the ante in the safety game: Blind spot detection and active cruise control.

Blind spot detection is increasingly common, and it flashes a small light next to the outside mirror when there's a car in the Taurus's blind spot. Active cruise maintains a set distance between you and the car in front of you when you've set the cruise control; if the car in front slows down, you automatically slow down, too. This system also includes collision warning, sounding an alarm and flashing a row of red lights if it determines you're approaching the car in front of you too quickly. While it doesn't actually try to stop the Taurus, it prepares the brakes for maximum power for when you do hit the pedal.

Behind the Wheel

The 2011 Ford Taurus puts a premium on comfort, with a comfortably controlled ride and an interior quiet enough to enjoy the excellent audio system or hear your rear seat passengers without straining. The standard 263-horsepower 3.5-liter V-6 engine is strong enough that you won't feel shortchanged, and with the help of the six-speed automatic transmission, this big front-wheel drive sedan returned 18.8 mpg in mixed driving.

There are two main drawbacks to the 2011 Ford Taurus. The first is its sheer size. It's the same length as a 2011 Honda Odyssey minivan, and only a couple of inches narrower. If you're considering a sedan because you want more parking lot maneuverability, then skip this big Ford. The size is compounded by the poor outward visibility. With small side and rear windows and thick pillars, the blind-spot indicator, backup sensors and reverse camera aren't luxuries; they're safe driving necessities.

Utility & Comfort

The 2011 Ford Taurus has one of the biggest trunks of any sedan, and this 20.1 cu.-ft. portable cavern is a key advantage. It easily swallows a stroller, groceries, an industrial-sized pack of toilet paper, and still have room left over for a lottery-winner shopping spree. It opens wide to accommodate large items, and in a pinch the rear seats fold down to expand cargo capacity.

Luckily, there are a lot of other things to like about the Taurus. The front seats are extremely comfortable, making the optional massage feature superfluous. The soft-touch dash and upper door panels, contrast seat stitching, and expensive heft to the controls show Ford's emphasis on high-quality materials. Unfortunately, it also highlights places where Ford skimped, such as the lower door panels and the middle and rearmost window pillar covers. While the dash design is stylish, there are too many buttons, including an oddly placed trunk release button.

Despite its sizable exterior dimensions, the Taurus feels paradoxically claustrophobic inside. There's actually plenty of room, especially in front, and the front view is great. But the narrow side and rear windows -- not to mention the dark upholstery -- create the illusion of it being cramped. It's worse in the rear. While it's plenty wide and there's good legroom, there's more headroom in a Honda Accord, and the poor outward view leaves a lot to be desired.

Also disappointing was the interior storage. There are a lot of compartments, yet all but the glove box are on the small side. For example, under the laptop-computer sized center console lid is a relatively tiny storage area. The door pockets are small, even with the molded-in bottle holders, and the cupholders hidden under doors on the center console are also shallow and small. Rear passengers get seatback pockets, even smaller door bins, and a fold-down center armrest with two cupholders.

Family Friendliness

It's a given that a sedan won't be quite as family friendly as a wagon, crossover or minivan. However, its giant trunk makes the Taurus a stronger competitor than you might think. In addition, you can fit three small non-LATCH boosters across the rear bench without a problem, and there's plenty of room for lanky teens, who will appreciate the rear seat heaters. On warm days though, they'll probably wish for a more powerful fan for rear seat air conditioning vents. The blind spot monitor was very handy, and the active cruise kept a steady distance between me and other traffic, but the collision warning system was hypersensitive, flashing and beeping in what I consider normal traffic. The Taurus' navigation system is first rate, but Ford's Sync voice-control system for phones and iPods had a hard time understanding me, a rare glitch in a system that's been praised for its effectiveness.

One thing that drew my attention was the location of the lower LATCH anchors. While easy to reach, they're located in such a way that you're forced to put your child seat off center, toward the middle of the rear bench. It puts more space between the child seat and the door panel in the event of a collision, but it also cuts down on overall passenger space if you have a pint-sized passenger.

Conclusion

Overall, I like the 2011 Ford Taurus. It offers up some definite pluses, such as advanced safety systems, a comfortable and quiet ride, and the ginormous trunk. On the other hand, as equipped this is an expensive car. That near-$40,000 price tag is enough to get into a number of leather-clad vehicles that simply do a better job of family hauling, such as a Honda Odyssey EX-L or Toyota Sienna XLE minivans. However, you'll pay a lot more for a Sienna with active cruise, and it's not available on the Odyssey.

The good news is that most of what I like about the Taurus is available for a lot less money, especially if you're willing to forgo active cruise control. The big trunk, comfortable interior and strong engine are all standard on the $25,995 SE models, and the $28,195 SEL adds Sync and other luxury items. If you can control yourself with the option list, you can even get into the leather-clad Limited with active cruise for less than $35,000. Regardless, the Taurus gets a Recommendation from Family Car Review, just be careful with those options.

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