Knowing that Ford emphasized safety from day one is reassuring when cruising at highway speeds or navigating the battle-zone of congested city streets. The Taurus continues to earn a double five star rating from the U.S. National Traffic Safety Administration, the highest crash rating NHTSA awards for frontal crash tests. Taurus is also rated "best pick" by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in its offset frontal crash. Occupant safety is further enhanced with standard second-generation dual-stage airbags and optional side-airbags. No wonder 'Parents' magazine and the AAA selected the Taurus wagon as one of the best vehicles for families.
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| Safety is priority one with the Taurus, thus it continues to earn a double five star rating from the U.S. National Traffic Safety Administration. It also rated "best pick" by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in its offset frontal crash. (Photo: Ford Motor Company) |
As anyone who has contemplated buying a full-size wagon will know, there isn't much choice. Most manufacturers have bought into the minivan craze, at the expense of the wagon segment. That makes this especially practical Taurus unique, as well as very attractive to families unwilling to cope with the minivan stigma. Practical? Not only do all the rear seats fold flat to accommodate cargo, but the Taurus wagon is capable of carrying up to eight passengers with the use of a folding third row double seat - that's more people volume than the majority of minivans.
And all will benefit in purchasing a vehicle that has been in existence for some time and periodically revised, eliminating many of the kinks that plague new model runs. In the 2002 and 2003 model years only two recall notices were issued. A sizable improvement over the early years when Taurus recalls could wallpaper a small room! For both years the windshield installation integrity failed to meet national standards and in 2003 the adjustable pedal setup may have placed the gas and brake pedals too closely together resulting in possible unintentional acceleration when the brake was depressed.