Design
Because the 2010 Ford Taurus shares its platform, architecture and powertrains with the Lincoln MKS, the company is comfortable referring to it as “athletic and upscale,” calling its exterior design “more sculpted and powerful.” To help achieve the appearance of substance, Ford worked to tighten exterior panel margins, which it claims are now “comparable to costly German luxury sedans.” Peter Horbury, Ford’s executive director of Design for The Americas, said, “Like the 1986 original, the new 2010 Taurus differentiates by combining style with substance.” Perhaps intending to appeal to more selfish consumers among us, Moray Callum, Ford’s director of Car and Crossover Design, explained, “Taurus is more of a ‘me’ sedan now.”
Whatever Ford thinks it is, the new Taurus and recently introduced 2010 Ford Fusion are clearly members of the same family when viewed from the front. This is a large car, riding on an updated version of the previous Taurus platform, itself derived from the original 1998 Volvo S80 chassis (Ford owns the Swedish automaker). To help fill the wheel wells, the Taurus SE comes with standard 17-inch wheels, and 20-inch wheels are available. New colors for 2010 include: Candy Red Metallic Tint, White Platinum Metallic, Steel Blue Metallic, Golf Leaf Metallic, and Ingot Silver Metallic.
Inside, designers strove to reduce panel joints “to impart seamless quality and craftsmanship” and Ford says it put “huge emphasis” on creating a quiet cabin environment and reducing noise, vibration and harshness. Comfort was a focus, too, and for 2010 the Taurus is available with multi-contour seats for the driver and front passenger, complete with 6-way power lumbar support and a rolling pattern massage feature. The bottom cushion of these industry-exclusive seats included Active Motion, which provides subtle continuous movement to help the driver avoid back pain.
