A beast under the hood
Under the hood is where you’ll find the heart and soul of the SHO. Ford is finally introducing its highly-promising Ecoboost technology, which consists in direct injection and dual turbochargers. The compact yet fearsome unit generates no less than 365 horsepower and -- here's the real kicker -- no turbo lag is felt under acceleration unlike virtually all other turbos.
The torque curve starts with a bang and peaks fairly early to make the engine extremely potent and flexible. Filling this side of the equation are a 6-speed SelectShift autobox delivering quicker shifts than that of the naturally-aspirated sedan as well as a competent all-wheel drive system. In the end, you get a fine-looking four-door machine with deceptive power, speed and aggressiveness… not to mention a loving mom’s smile instead of a tough gangster’s big evil smirk.
Of course, the Taurus is now larger and heavier than it’s ever been, but the combination of beefed-up powertrain components and upgraded suspension makes for amazing feistiness on the open road.
Corners? What corners?
For the test part of the media launch, Ford had planned a drive in a remote area of the State where sharp corners and clean straightaways abound. Through each of the two rounds, the nose-heavy Taurus SHO displayed nice agility (despite a certain amount of understeer) and never showed signs of hesitation.
Even when pushed, body roll was almost inexistent. On the flip side, the power steering felt a bit overly assisted at times, preventing us from fully appreciating every turn of the wheel. In normal driving conditions, that’s no longer a problem, though.
The brakes, which are larger than on previous generations, also proved quite effective and delivered fade-free performance over repeated emergency stops. However, we did notice tiny clouds of smoke coming from the front wheels, suggesting that the brakes were getting seriously hot.
Plenty of amenities
Similar to the regular Taurus, the SHO variant boasts extremely-competitive equipment, including adaptive cruise control, SYNC entertainment, Blind Spot Alert and a rearview camera along with many other accessories and options that enhance the comfort levels of this sports sedan.
Thusly equipped, the 2010 Ford Taurus SHO is most certainly a giant sleeper. It will astound drivers with its sporty dynamics, uncompromised comfort and SHO tradition, and especially outsiders who happen to watch this seemingly-inoffensive sedan coming and get overwhelmed by its bad-ass attitude as it roars past them.
photo:Marc Bouchard
Under the hood is where you’ll find the heart and soul of the SHO. Ford is finally introducing its highly-promising Ecoboost technology, which consists in direct injection and dual turbochargers. The compact yet fearsome unit generates no less than 365 horsepower and -- here's the real kicker -- no turbo lag is felt under acceleration unlike virtually all other turbos.
The torque curve starts with a bang and peaks fairly early to make the engine extremely potent and flexible. Filling this side of the equation are a 6-speed SelectShift autobox delivering quicker shifts than that of the naturally-aspirated sedan as well as a competent all-wheel drive system. In the end, you get a fine-looking four-door machine with deceptive power, speed and aggressiveness… not to mention a loving mom’s smile instead of a tough gangster’s big evil smirk.
Of course, the Taurus is now larger and heavier than it’s ever been, but the combination of beefed-up powertrain components and upgraded suspension makes for amazing feistiness on the open road.
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| The compact yet fearsome unit generates no less than 365 horsepower. |
Corners? What corners?
For the test part of the media launch, Ford had planned a drive in a remote area of the State where sharp corners and clean straightaways abound. Through each of the two rounds, the nose-heavy Taurus SHO displayed nice agility (despite a certain amount of understeer) and never showed signs of hesitation.
Even when pushed, body roll was almost inexistent. On the flip side, the power steering felt a bit overly assisted at times, preventing us from fully appreciating every turn of the wheel. In normal driving conditions, that’s no longer a problem, though.
The brakes, which are larger than on previous generations, also proved quite effective and delivered fade-free performance over repeated emergency stops. However, we did notice tiny clouds of smoke coming from the front wheels, suggesting that the brakes were getting seriously hot.
Plenty of amenities
Similar to the regular Taurus, the SHO variant boasts extremely-competitive equipment, including adaptive cruise control, SYNC entertainment, Blind Spot Alert and a rearview camera along with many other accessories and options that enhance the comfort levels of this sports sedan.
Thusly equipped, the 2010 Ford Taurus SHO is most certainly a giant sleeper. It will astound drivers with its sporty dynamics, uncompromised comfort and SHO tradition, and especially outsiders who happen to watch this seemingly-inoffensive sedan coming and get overwhelmed by its bad-ass attitude as it roars past them.
photo:Marc Bouchard
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