I always get a kick out of reading other people’s reviews of a car that I’m about to test, so it was cool that Wes Siler from Jalopnik had a similar Taurus X last week. Fortunately, our tester had a more photogenic colour combo than the two tone deal that Wes had.
I suppose the first thing we should discuss is the branding issue. Ford has been trying hard to try to rectify some of the branding nightmares they’ve created recently by resurrecting the Taurus nameplate. The Freestyle moniker hadn’t struck a chord with consumers, so rather than let it continue they renamed it the Taurus X in deference to the available awd. Really, all it seems to have done is confused the brand recognition even more. Most people sort of scratch their heads & say…”so you’re driving a Ford 500 right?” Maybe they should have stuck with Freestyle.
Over the past couple of months, we’ve had a fairly wide range of SUV’s in The Garage, each of which has met the needs of family life to a different extent. The Taurus X crossover brings yet another round of differences into the equation. More station wagon than SUV, our tester is the 6 passenger model with 3 rows of individual buckets. The interior has a Euro sporty look with the leather wrapped seats and faux carbon dash accents. There are a full complement of gadgets that keep Dad happy, while the kids are loving the dvd system.
Over the weekend, we’ve put the Taurus X through the full family of 5 routine and so far, it fulfills our needs much better than I anticipated. Oddly enough, it was able to pass the 3 hockey bag test with all seats in the upright position, a feat that even the Chrysler Aspen was unable to do!
Over the next week, we’ll keep you abreast of how the Taurus X performs in daily life here in The Garage.
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