2004 Ford Taurus Midsize Car Review & Performance

The Ford Taurus is a familiar design that has been with us for eight years now. For 2004, there's a new egg-crate grille, new taillamps, and redesigned front and rear fascia.

Taurus has a muscular, forceful appearance. Its flanks undulate handsomely with crisp character lines, and its rear end bears a resemblance to the sexy stern of the Jaguar S-Type.

The sedan's trunk is of generous size and contains the mini-spare tire. The wagon has a flip-up rear window in its tailgate.

The Taurus cabin is functional and attractive, with controls that are straightforward and easy to use. The materials, switchgear and interior textures have a high-quality look and feel. The dashboard and console were redesigned for 2003.

The cabin is relatively quiet. Significant noise, vibration and harshness controls were added for 2003: improved insulation in the floor, better sealing around the doors, the use of expanding foam in the windshield support pillars and other areas, and the use of new sealing materials in weld access holes.

Order the bench seats and the Taurus can seat six people. Opt for bucket seats and it will accommodate five. We found the bucket seats provided good lateral support for a family sedan, without being too tight for big guys. The cushions and seatbacks are more firm than soft, and firm is usually best on long drives. Available power adjustable pedals make a comfortable driving position possible for even very short-legged drivers.

For 2004, the steering wheel and instrument cluster have been updated and there's a new multi-function switch for the wipers, turn signals, and flash-to-pass. Controls and instrumentation are admirably simple, straightforward and easy to use.

The roomy rear compartment seats three, but is set up well for two as the seat forms two semi-buckets and has a pull-down central armrest containing two cupholders. A ventilation duct at the rear of the center console provides climate control for rear passengers. Dual baby-seat anchors are provided on each side of the rear seat. In the SE wagon and SES and SEL sedans, the rear seatback is split 60/40 and folds down, providing an enormous pass-through luggage capability for skis and other long items.

With its 60/40 split rear seats folded down, the roomy Taurus wagon has space for a maximum of 81.3 cubic feet of cargo; with six passengers aboard, there's still 38.8 cu. ft. behind them.

As mentioned, the Ford Taurus offers a choice of V6 engines. The standard Vulcan V6 is rated at 155 horsepower and 185 pounds-feet of torque. It's a 3.0-liter 12-valve V6 that uses a traditional overhead-valve design. Our past experience with the Vulcan has been generally positive. Although not particularly quick from a standstill, once rolling it delivers more than adequate performance, along with a nicely rorty exhaust note. A flexible fuel version of the Vulcan engine can run on E-85 ethanol, regular unleaded gasoline or any combination of the two in the same 18-gallon fuel tank. The FFV engine is a no-cost option.

The Duratec V6 is a more sophisticated engine with double overhead cams working 24 valves, so it breathes more freely and revs higher. The Duratec produces 201 hp and 207 lbs.-ft. of torque. The Vulcan engine is good, but take one drive with the more responsive Duratec and you may never be satisfied with less. For 2004, a revised exhaust system helps make the Duratec engine LEVII compliant (as a low-emission vehicle). The Duratec is slightly more efficient as well, with an EPA-estimated 20/28 mpg City/Highway for the Duratec and 20/27 for the Vulcan.

Equipped with the Duratec, the Ford Taurus is a genuinely satisfying car to drive. It's as responsive as a finger snap, delivering crisp acceleration from low revs straight through to the glass-smooth full-throttle shift point. This engine not only provides good thrust, it makes an understated, but throaty declaration that it means business. The Taurus SEL reminds us a bit of the lamented high-performance Taurus SHO, only it's much more refined.

The four-speed automatic transmission is smooth and responsive. Its shifts are positive, authoritative, and at the same time, almost impossible to feel. The kickdown response is very good.

If you ever wonder just how important modern electronics have become, the Taurus with its powerful Duratec engine can quickly demonstrate the benefits of traction control: Simply switch off the traction control, nail the throttle, and the front tires will shriek as they claw for traction. Powerful front-wheel-drive cars like the Taurus SEL need traction control to reduce wheel spin and provide better control of the car.

The fully independent suspension provides a smooth, impact-free ride. Gas-pressurized shock absorbers improve its cornering responsive. When pushed in the corners, it remains stable, nimble and ready for more. Cornered hard, its body roll is moderate, and the nicely tuned variable-ratio power rack-and-pinion steering delivers a steady stream of road information. The steering also offers good on-center response when crusing in a straight line.

In an emergency lane-change demonstration set up in a parking lot, the Taurus stopped smoothly, with anti-lock brakes allowing steering control during hard braking.

With its excellent chassis and Duratec power, the Ford Taurus comes close to being a sports sedan for the price of a family mid-size sedan.

Ford Taurus is available as a four-door sedan or a station wagon. The sedan comes in LX, SE, SES, and SEL models. The wagon is available in SE and SEL versions.

Two different V6 engines are available, the old overhead-valve Vulcan V6 and the modern dual overhead-cam all-aluminum Duratec V6. Both are 3.0-liter engines, but the Duratec is more sophisticated and much more powerful. All models come with four-speed automatic transmissions.

LX and SE are powered by Ford's Vulcan V6. LX ($19,660) comes with air conditioning, power windows and mirrors, AM/FM stereo, six-passenger seating, tilt steering, and intermittent wipers. SE ($20,195) adds cruise control, a cassette player, remote keyless entry with perimeter lighting, and aluminum wheels.

SES ($21,380) is equipped with front bucket seats with six-way power and a manual lumbar adjustment on the driver's side, and an in-dash single CD player in place of the cassette. SES comes standard with anti-lock brakes (ABS) and the Vulcan V6. The Duratec V6 ($695) is optional.

SEL ($23,305) comes standard with the Duratec V6 and adds seven-spoke machined aluminum wheels, AM/FM/cassette with a six-CD changer, leather-wrapped steering wheel, dark paledo wood-trimmed interior, automatic electronic temperature control, and keyless keypad entry. Power adjustable pedals and side-impact airbags are optional.

Wagons are better equipped than their sedan counterparts. They are equipped with four-wheel disc brakes (an improvement over the rear drum brakes of the SE sedan). Wagons come standard with ABS and a rear anti-roll bar for better handling. The SE wagon ($21,630) features a six-way power driver's seat, a cleverly adjustable luggage rack, and a unique bumper shape with step pads at the rear. The SEL wagon ($23,455) has seven-spoke machined aluminum wheels, a six-CD changer, keypad entry and automatic climate controls. The Duratec V6 ($1,200) is optional.

Side-impact airbags ($390) are available as an option on the Taurus SEL and we highly recommend them. Taurus continues to earn a double five-star rating from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the highest crash rating NHTSA awards for frontal crash tests. In addition, Taurus is rated a "Best Pick" by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in its offset frontal crash test.