Hi everyone!

I have been putting this off for too long now, and must finish this post.. and I shall not do anything else until I do.

So in early October, I had some personal business in Manhattan and me being me, I thought it would be a great idea to drive there. Yay! 19 hours road trip with a couple of friends sounds great yeah? It isn't. You'll be dead tired by the time you arrive and will definitely experience difficulty on the way back. But I digress.

In short: booked F, assigned a Mustang, couldn't accept as there were 5 of us, NOTHING in the lot except a Corolla and some Malibu/Impala's, asked and was promised a Taurus, waited 1.5 hours, took a 38,000 mile base Mazda 6 instead, still dissatisfied, went back and changed it for the aforementioned Taurus. Happy.

Car was pretty fresh off the lot, with approximately 9500 miles. Sweet!



Performance/Drivetrain:
Lovely, just lovely. The Taurus that I rented was equipped with the standard 3.5 litre V6 and it was a gem. It was smooth, it was powerful, it was torquey and I loved it. I don't know why but before taking possession of the Taurus, I had a held on to the assumption that Ford V6's were underpowered and unrefined. I guess a bad previous experience is to be blamed for the presumption. Now that I have first hand experience with their new V6's, I must say that I am looking forward to driving one again.





Gas mileage was pretty good, with me averaging 28MPG throughout my 2500-ish journey. Do note that I was driving with a VERY light foot, and if you were to push the Taurus even slightly harder, it'll definitely drop to ~25MPG.. which actually isn't that bad (if you're doing triple-digits).



The 6-speed automatic transmission was smooth, but not as smooth as Volkswagen DSG. However, it was noticeably smoother than the auto box that Toyota has on its Camry. The Taurus also has a S (sport) mode as well as a shifter-mounted manual override +/- buttons. however, the manual mode was a bit if a dissapointment as manual gear shifts were not instant. I actually had high hopes that Ford would have actually perfected this system as they had already come such a long way in engine development. That said, the Taurus is touted more as a comfort/luxurious long distance cruiser as compared to a sporty sedan. I can only hope that the SHO version does not experience the same issue as it would be a waste to have that much power bottlenecked by an unresponsive transmission.

One aspect that deserves honorable mention is the ride and handling. For one, it is very very comfortable. I actually took the Taurus from Iowa to New York and back; and all through the 18 hour per way journey, I must say that it has been one of the most comfortable ride that I have experienced. I think this is attributed to the big and comfy, all electric, all leather seats that the car came with. I think it is right to put more weight onto this factor as the car felt fairly tout and poise in the corners. Another aspect that I would definitely want to give highlight to is the brakes. When applied, all four disc brakes bite firmly and strongly without fade nor with too much sensitivity. I certainly felt that they did a stellar job of slowing the 2 ton car down (especially useful for New York traffic/drivers). If I'm not mistaken, they are four piston calipers in front and 2 piston calipers in the rear.
 
Interior:



This is definitely a winning aspect for the Taurus. The particular vehicle I rented was in SEL trim and that meant that it came with the MyFord Sync system as well as the dual zone climate control system. Essentially what that meant was that the car came with a super savvy touch screen infotainment system. The system had a ton of features split into four main groups; phone, media, climate, and information. I shall attempt to briefly explain what each of the component does. Firstly, phone. I guess it is pretty straightforward what this component does - it allows you to sync your smart phones and make and receive calls through the system. Pairing my iPhone to the system was very simple and frustration free unlike other systems (the Camry's infinite level of sub-options). After pairing your phone, you are able to download your entire phonebook and use the voice activated commands to make calls. If I'm not mistaken, there was also an option right after pairing your phone to activative a (911/emergency service) system. I honestly do not know what this feature is for, but I think it is to allow the car to automatically dial 911 in case of emergencies, i.e. car crash.



Next up, media. The Taurus comes with a myriad of selections with regards to audio input. there is the usual FM, AM, CD (single) and this car also came with Sirius XM, two USB ports and SD card slot as well as a component input jacks (!!). As expected, this system does work with Apple products and I was able to connect my iPod, iPhone as well as my iPad and the system played everything flawlessly. One thing about the sound though. I don't know if something is wrong with my ears, but the sound coming out of the speakers did not sound too clear nor have a solid bass for a premium vehicle. Even after adjusting the sound equalizer and fading 80% of the sound to the front, it did little to help the sound quality. I honestly wish it came with the optional Sony 10-speaker system! That was equipped in 3/3 of the 2013 Ford Explorer's that I saw in National's lot.





The third main feature is climate control. In addition to the beautifully crafted (and a crazy dust magnet) touch-sensitive climate controls on the center dash, one can also control the climate of the vehicle via the touchscreen and everything that be adjusted on the dash are available on the screen. However, the equipped two front heated seats can only be controlled via the touch screen. Speaking of which, the heated seats on the Taurus heated up much faster than the ones on the Escape.



Lastly, we have the information portion of the entertainment system. On the 'home' screen, this is represented by a live compass which I thought to be quite responsive and cool. Digging a little deeper, it is used to access the MyFord SYNC system which I did not bother to activate/access. However, I noticed that this is used to obtain navigation and traffic services.



However, this is my second Ford rental (the first was a brand new 2013 Escape, which I have yet to type up a ride report for) and it is the first time I ever encountered the system completely crash and reboot. I do not know what went wrong but ~3 minutes later, the system was fully up and running again. In general however, I would have to say that the screen was not as sensitive as I hoped it to be, with each input requiring a solid 'finger/fingernail' press to register. I guess this is to ensure that the system is not too oversensitive and I think that it would be a problem while driving.



The interior in general is very spacious and was superbly comfortable for five adults. Leather seats came standard and both driver and passenger seats are fully electric with multi-way adjustment. From the moment you climb into the car, you get the sense that it is a large car. Either I sat really low in the car, or the dashboard and hood were really high. Either way, you start to get a sense of its size when you are in tight spots (especially in New York). But I digress.

The steering wheel is leather trimmed and meaty, giving it a very nice feel although it is a tad too large for me. There are quite a few buttons on the steering wheel controlling the cruise control, voice/phone control as well as two 4-way directional pads with an 'OK' button in manifested in the middle of both. They are used to control the features on the two LCD screens in the dashboard.



Speaking of which, one aspect which I found to be really cool is the dual LCD screens adorning the speedometer in the instrument cluster. The screen to the left is used to for vehicle monitoring and settings. There, there is the option to scroll between the tachometer w/fuel gage, tachometer w/ fuel gage + oil temperature and distance to empty. And that is only under one of the menu options. You are also able to access and set various vehicle settings, have access to two trip meters, a fuel economy gage (both 'live' and a past-ten-minute histogram) and many more which i do not seem to remember now. Heh. The screen to the right almost mirrors the entertainment system, only that it is in a simplified form (for both convenience as well as for the ability to be controlled by the 4-way pad. I thought this was a really niche feature for a car of this price range.. the only other vehicle on the top of my mind which has a full LCD display for its instrument panel is the Range Rover.





The dashboard has a symmetrical aspect to it, where both the instrument panel as well as the passenger side dash have the same design.



Moving down to the center panel, we have two round control dials (one for volume and another for the fan speed) surrounded by touch-sensitive controls. Again, I found these to be absolutely cool and different from regular buttons - they do not give any feedback other than a beep from the speakers.



The gear selector is nice and stubby, with P,R,N,D,S settings and SelectShift buttons.



Adorning the selector are many, many covered cubby holes and bins where you can place all your stuff. Seriously, there is space for 3 (!!) extra-large cans of pop as well as a specialized 'dock' where you can stand your smartphone around the selector itself.. and that's only two out of three spaces covered.

Likewise, the center console is huge and deep and is also where the auxiliary input connections are to be found. An innovative feature of the center console was that Ford had made it more useful by having clips to hold pens, lip balms and cards!





Exterior/Design:
The Taurus is a beautiful car in my opinion. The way it was designed and the way the lines flow on the car makes it look smaller than it really is. The front fascia is subtly aggressive and is personally my favorite angle of the car. The back, however, takes some time getting used to, at least for me it was.. but as time went by, I simply loved it!









The Taurus that I received was 'Green Gem' according to Fod's website but I personally feel it's more towards a darker, duller shade of green.. like olive green. This is what Asians call 'duck .... green'. Yes, you read that right. Hahaha..

Being in SEL trim, it came with the standard 18" aluminum wheels (which looked really really small) and dual exhausts which looks better than the SE model. It also has integrated daytime running lights which I thought were a nice option. Other than that, nothing much to mention here. Oh, did I mention that the front end looks really good?



Features:
My apologies for forgetting to snap pictures of the trunk. Trust me, it's HUGE. It could potentially fit 3 full size luggage bags and then some. The Taurus also came with a sunroof! Pretty good when you are traveling across multiple states and wish to look at the stars at night.

Not forgetting, the Taurus had the SecuriCode keyless entry system which I still have no idea how to operate, even after reading the manual several times. One thing I did not understand was that even though this particular Taurus was well equipped, it did not have the push-start button. Oh well, no big deal there.






Value:
As I originally booked an F, this had to come at a premium. Even being a regular at my Hertz location (DSM airport) couldn't save me from the $20/day extra charge. However, as I were to be driving almost 2500 miles, I thought it would be worth my money to be in something more comfortable. All in all, $230 for 5 days was reasonable to me (considering it was an airport location).


Summary:

Pros
- Smooth and strong 288-hp 3.5l V6
- 28MPG (if driven carefully)
- Spacious and very comfortable!
- HUGE trunk
- Lots of toys

Cons
- I honestly cannot think of one!
- It's a premium? So premium pricing?

Final Verdict:
Get it! ^

That concludes my ride report. I hope I have covered the basics. Feel free to ask me anything about my rental/experience or something that I might have missed out.

Thank you.

Best regards,
Jeremy

Great ride report! Just wait until you rent the new Fusion.

Thanks! I am really liking the new Ford vehicles!

Great report Jeremy I'm a big fan of the new Taurus design and I'm really hoping one day I can get my hands on one of these. I do have a soft spot for them I guess -- the first car I ever really got to drive was a Taurus GL, "built with pride" in Atlanta, Georgia in 1992!

Considering you had a SEL, I was going to ask if there really weren't fog lights, but then I saw them... my gosh And the interior looks great too. I love what they did with the center console and all those other compartments.

I'm glad to know you liked the transmission (although I'm not surprised you had issues with the manual mode; that seems to be an issue, at least in my experience, in other recent models). The 4-speed mine had is what ultimately led to its demise. Had it not blown last year, I'd without a doubt still be driving it today. It could have lasted forever; if you asked me to describe it in one word, it was a tank. Is it still one?

BTW, congrats for writing the first (I think) RR for a 2013 MY Hertz vehicle! Glad to know new stuff is out there

-J.

Thanks!

Hahaha I have sat (not driven) in one before and this is (obviously ) much much better. Ford has really stepped up its game and made its products much more competitive. ^

I think I might have been a little misleading.. those are actually 'supplemental parking lights' according to Ford's website. They don't actually do much once the main lights are switched on. In fact, the only time you can see them work is when you've yet to switch your headlights at night.

As for the transmission, I have also experienced the same thing in the 2013 Escape. To be honest, this is one of the only things Ford should have rectified.. ASAP. And definitely! The doors felt heavy (solid) and closed with a very very very reassuring *thump*.

Thanks! I'm in the process of writing another Ride Report on the 2013 Ford Escape.

Great report! You are correct when you thought the car was more of an olive color because the actual color is named Ginger Ale. Green Gem is a dark emerald green btw:-)

Jeremy: was your Taurus equipped with MyKey?

-J.

Hey Joshua,

Yup it was! However, I was not bound by any speed restrictions at all.. however, I have 2 keys attached to my key fob, so one could potentially be the 'admin' key.. OR, the speed limiter was not engaged.

(I believe this was what you were going to ask? )

Hello
I have TAURUS 2013 SE , how can I connect screen for TAURUS SEL to TAURUS SE is there any cable to connect the screen to TAURUS SE