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2010 Ford Taurus SHO: Finessing a muscle car makeover - L.A.Times
Dan Neil
September 10, 2009 | 9:57 p.m.

photo credit: flickr.com-FordMotorCompany, Summer of Taurus Tour, Osprey Field, Missoula, MT

It's plain big, but hides it well with its sheer speed.

At the moment, my brain aches. Actually, I think I might have strained something, pulled a mental muscle as I attempted to heft the idea of a $45,165, 4,368-pound, 365-hp, six-speed, twin-turbo, all-wheel-drive Ford Taurus.

The former sad sack of the rental car universe has gotten a muscle car makeover. It's fast. It's well-built. It looks great.

Uh-oh. My cerebellum just ripped its pants...

...This is a handsome car, with muscular, roped-over shoulders and flanks, tasteful blood vents along the doors, a short, kicked-up deck (under which there is a trunk in which you could cool three deceased wiseguys, maybe four) and powerfully stern visage. The styling is the best thing about this car...

...Under the power-dome hood is Ford's new wonder-mill: a 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 (with direct injection and twin turbos, one for each bank of cylinders) spooling out 365 hp and 350 pound-feet of silky, syrupy, sugary torque...

...The SHO has gear-selector paddles on the steering wheel, and for those in a mood to cavort, these come in really handy...

...Driven at saner speeds, the Taurus SHO feels tremendous. Heavy and stiff and durable, like a new catcher's mitt. The interior is quiet -- maybe, as they say in Westerns, too quiet. I would have liked a little more snarl inside the cabin. The SHO's interior aesthetics -- cross-hatched alloy; suede-leather inserts; black console fascia; thick, soft-touch polyurethane -- reads as sporty, tough and cool-looking...

...Ford has thrown (in) the kitchen sink and, indeed, every other porcelain fixture. Among the many standard and optional tech features: adaptive cruise control; blind-spot detection with "cross-traffic alert" (helping drivers pull out of spaces with limited rear visibility); multi-contour sport seats; voice-activated nav with Ford's Sync travel service; Sony surround-sound stereo; automatic high beams; rain-sensing wipers; power sunshade...

 

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SHO: stylish, powerful, and comfortable - Examiner.com

Review: 2010 Ford Taurus SHO -- stylish, powerful, and comfortable, but massive and expensive - Examiner.com
September 14, 12:26
Car Examiner - Brady Holt

This sedan has 365 horsepower from a turbocharged V6. It has all-wheel-drive. It’s 203 inches long. It’s $43,000. This combination of characteristics can be considered highly irregular even before you reach the fact that it’s a Ford Taurus...

...newly redesigned for the 2010 model year, it’s even bigger but less spacious, with a mix of European and all-American design cue and with luxury car pricing on this top-of-the-line SHO version, and it’s ready to face off against…well, that’s not so clear...

...This size makes it difficult to compare the Taurus to the cars that make up most of the price range surrounding this SHO: the luxury-branded Japanese and European compact and midsize sports sedans.

For what it is, the Taurus SHO is an excellent performance vehicle. Power is effortless from the turbocharged V6, and the suspension is set up for the best blend of a smooth, comfortable ride and agile handling of any car this size short of the priciest BMWs or Mercedeses. The steering is well-weighted, accurate, and appropriately responsive, and the car goes where it’s pointed without fuss...

...Of course, while the massive Taurus SHO may not be as light on its feet as a much smaller Infiniti G37 or Cadillac CTS, those cars won’t carry rear seat passengers as well as this Ford. Based on a cursory look, the Taurus should be able to walk away with customers who seek both performance and space for the family...


more... including 10 original photos

 

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SHO vs SHO - Autoblog

Review: 2010 Ford Taurus SHO gets measured against the original - Autoblog
by John Neff
Sep 14th 2009 at 11:55AM

...the new SHO is a seriously fun-to-drive large sedan thanks to its uniquely powerful engine. It's a totally different answer to the same question that many of its competitors have answered with big V8 engines and rear-wheel drive. Yes, you can buy a Chrysler 300C with all-wheel-drive and an almost equally powerful V8 for a similar price, but it won't handle like this. You can also buy a Pontiac G8 GT with rear-wheel drive and another almost equally powerful V8, but it won't be as comfortable or offer the latest infotainment tech. You can also buy your choice of Germany's finest large sport sedans, but you'll just be spending a lot more money for a name. And in all cases, you'll get slightly less power and worse fuel economy. Much like the original, the new SHO is selling a unique powertrain in a familiar package that has no problem running with a more expensive pack...

...So there's no arguing that the 2010 Ford Taurus SHO is a good performance bargain, but does it deserve those three all-important letters at the end of its name? The tough answer – especially for this self-described SHO fanatic – is no. The problem is that the superlative EcoBoost V6 is also offered in the Lincoln MKS EcoBoost, MKT EcoBoost and Ford Flex EcoBoost (though all three are down 10 hp compared to the SHO), so what we really have here is the 2010 Ford Taurus EcoBoost. It seems to us that someone in Ford's marketing department believed a few extra sales could be had by tugging at the heart strings of enthusiasts, and any SHO fan meeting the new car for the first time will surely admit to having his heart strings played like a fiddle. But the new SHO needs a few of its performance pitfalls corrected and an extra ingredient that makes it much more than just a Taurus EcoBoost. What that is, we don't know, but a manual transmission, "slicer" inspired wheels and Brembo brake package would be a start.

At the end of our time with the new SHO, my answer to this one question best sums up how we feel about the car. Would I replace my vintage 1991 Ford Taurus SHO Plus for a 2010 model? No, but I'd be happily park them next to each other in my garage.

 

[ausrutherford]

Muscle car? I wouldnt go that far.



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[Volvo_S70]

Muscle car? I wouldnt go that far.

with ecoboost, this car almost runs with the mustang

 

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SHO: Car of the Month - MotorWeek

MotorWeek

September 2009

2010 Ford Taurus
The Bull is Back
By John Davis

...Styling of the 2010 Taurus is much more aggressive then the 500 it replaces. This is a big car and it looks it. Underneath its bulging hood lies a carryover 263-horsepower 3.5-liter V6, or for the Taurus SHO, a whopping 365 horsepower with Ford's new Ecoboost twin-turbo V6. A six speed automatic sends power to the front, or all four wheels.

While the full-size interior offers plenty of room both front and rear, the twin cockpit dash arrangement reinforces the new sporty image. Seating is now lower, and even the backseat is comfortable for those 6-foot and over. Plus, there are plenty of luxury touches like push button start and adaptive cruise control. This is indeed a car fit for a growing family since the trunk is the largest of any four-door sedan on the market.

When it was our first time to get behind the wheel, our choice was obvious, the new twin-turbo SHO. After an 11 year absence, the new SHO's Ecoboost V6 effortlessly delivers all the power of a V8, but, according to Ford, with the twenty-something highway fuel economy of a V6. We'll find out if that's true after a full test.
Styling of the 2010 Taurus is much more aggressive then the 500 it replaces. This is a big car and it looks it. Underneath its bulging hood lies a carryover 263-horsepower 3.5-liter V6, or for the Taurus SHO, a whopping 365 horsepower with Ford's new Ecoboost twin-turbo V6. A six speed automatic sends power to the front, or all four wheels.

While the full-size interior offers plenty of room both front and rear, the twin cockpit dash arrangement reinforces the new sporty image. Seating is now lower, and even the backseat is comfortable for those 6-foot and over. Plus, there are plenty of luxury touches like push button start and adaptive cruise control. This is indeed a car fit for a growing family since the trunk is the largest of any four-door sedan on the market.

When it was our first time to get behind the wheel, our choice was obvious, the new twin-turbo SHO. After an 11 year absence, the new SHO's Ecoboost V6 effortlessly delivers all the power of a V8, but, according to Ford, with the twenty-something highway fuel economy of a V6. We'll find out if that's true after a full test...

&
a youtube video < plenty of other SHO related clips Linked too (thanks to Arcangel @ GMI)