The sixth generation Ford Taurus is a full-size sedan manufactured and marketed by Ford for the 2010 to 2019 model years with a mild facelift for 2013. While sharing the chassis underpinnings of the previous generation Taurus and the Five Hundred, the exterior and interior of the sixth generation received a complete redesign, replacing New Edge design language with Ford's Kinetic Design design language. The high-performance Ford Taurus SHO made its return, becoming the first turbocharged Taurus. Following the discontinuation of the long-running Crown Victoria Police Interceptor after 2011, Ford introduced a Taurus-based Police Interceptor Sedan for 2013.
The sixth generation became the first version of the Taurus developed without a Mercury Sable counterpart, as Mercury began to pare down its model line. Though never branded as an official successor to the Mercury Grand Marquis, the sixth-generation Taurus superseded it as Ford matched it against the full-size competitors of its predecessors. Ford's Lincoln brand marketed the MKS as a variant of the Taurus, succeeding both the Continental and the Town Car. The Taurus X wagon was replaced by the Ford Flex, adopting a variant of the chassis architecture, also adopted by the Ford Explorer).
As Ford moved its model line away from car-based vehicles to utility-type vehicles and other light trucks at the end of the 2010s, Ford discontinued the Taurus in North America after the 2019 model year, as well its Fiesta, Focus, and Fusion models. The Taurus nameplate remains in use by Changan Ford, marketing a rebranded Ford Mondeo for the Middle East (replacing a namesake model).
Ford assembled the Taurus, Taurus SHO, and the Police Interceptor Sedan alongside the Ford Explorer and Lincoln MKS at its Chicago Assembly facility (Chicago, Illinois). On March 1, 2019, the last Ford Taurus was manufactured in the United States, ending its 34-year American production.
Development and marketing
In late 2006, Ford Motor Company named former Boeing CEO Alan Mulally to replace William Clay Ford Jr. as its own chief executive. In strong favor of the Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable nameplates, Mulally hurriedly renamed the facelifted MY 2008 Ford Five Hundred and Mercury Montego as the fifth-generation Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable — after the models had been presented at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show. The Ford Freestyle was renamed the Ford Taurus X.
Despite the mid-cycle facelift of the Five Hundred for MY 2008, simultaneous with its rebranding as the Taurus and a gained 60 hp increase, the styling of its predecessor largely remained and its handling trailed its competitors.
In January 2008, Alan Mulally said a sixth generation of the Ford Taurus was in development as a planned 2010 model, calling it "the one we should have built originally". In April 2008, a photograph of a full-scale prototype mockup of the 2010 Ford Taurus was leaked on the Internet. After the styling of the prototype was seen worldwide, Ford contemplated legal action against web sites which posted the photo and Ford attorneys asked site owners to remove the photo.
Towards its launch, the Ford website introduced several videos, benchmarking the 2010 Ford Taurus against several production luxury sedans. One test video suggested the paint coat of the Taurus was more resistant to gravel chips than a Lexus LS460 while another highlighted the blind-spot detection sensor system unavailable on an Infiniti M45x. The 2010 Ford Taurus SHO was faster than an Audi A6 4.2 FSI Quattro in straight-line acceleration while the interior of the Ford Taurus was quieter than an Acura RL.Ford Vehicles: 2010 Taurus
In a major contrast from previous generations of the Ford Taurus, once the highest-selling nameplate in the United States, Ford deliberately aimed for lower sales. Instead of the 1990s peak volumes of nearly 400,000 vehicles a year, sales were projected closer to 50,000 to 75,000. As a full-size car, the Taurus competed closer to the Toyota Avalon and Nissan Maxima than the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, and Nissan Altima (competitors of the Ford Fusion). Additionally, Ford sought to preserve the resale value of the Taurus by avoiding fleet sales, though the Taurus would replace the Crown Victoria as the Ford Police Interceptor sedan.
Release The 2010 Ford Taurus was presented at the 2009 North American International Auto Show at Cobo Hall. In May 2009, Ford presented the new Taurus at three dealers in the Buffalo, Tampa, and Houston, to be displayed and build anticipation.
Production of the 2009 Taurus's counterparts, the Ford Taurus X and the Mercury Sable, ended production in February and May 2009 respectively at Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant. The sixth-generation Taurus' production started on June 15, 2009, for the 2010 model year. Unlike previous Taurus generations, the sixth-generation Taurus no longer had a Sable counterpart, as Ford would sunset the Mercury brand by the end of 2010. Lincoln in turn, began marketing a Taurus derivative, the Lincoln MKS which launched for the 2009 model year.
Design overview
Chassis The sixth-generation Ford Taurus used the Volvo-derived Ford D3 platform architecture, sharing the 112.9-inch wheelbase of the Lincoln MKS and the Five Hundred. As with its predecessor, the Ford Taurus featured a front-wheel drive powertrain with optional all-wheel drive (standard on the SHO).
As with all other D3 sedans, the Ford Taurus used four-wheel independent suspension, featuring MacPherson struts and rearward-facing lower L-arms with a stabilizer bar in the front and a multilink coilover shock setup with stamped steel lower control arms and cast upper control arms in the rear — and four-wheel antilock disc brakes. On all models, AdvanceTrac combines traction control and stability control, with Torque Vectoring Control and Curve Control optional on all-wheel drive models.
Safety innovations included BLIS, Adaptive cruise control, Forward Collision Warning with Brake Support, and Lane keeping assist. As with its predecessor, the Ford Taurus was equipped with dual front airbags, side airbags, and curtain airbags.
Although previewed by the V8-powered Ford Interceptor and is a full-size sedan like the Ford Crown Victoria, the sixth-generation Ford Taurus was not available with a V8 engine. At its 2010 launch, the standard engine was the , 3.5-liter V6 retained from the previous Taurus, which was upgraded to in 2013. The Taurus SHO was powered by a twin-turbocharged version of this engine (EcoBoost V6) shared with the Lincoln MKS and MKT. In 2013, a 3.7L 305 hp non-turbocharged V6 became the available for the Police Interceptor Sedan and was unavailable on the standard Taurus. In 2014, a 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder (EcoBoost 2.0) became optional on the SEL and Limited models, becoming the first four-cylinder Taurus since 1991 (also the smallest engine ever fitted in a Taurus). The 2.0 EcoBoost engine was dropped after the 2017 model year. All versions of the Taurus use variations of the Ford six-speed 6F automatic transmission.Car Advice, Ford Taurus Unveiled in New York.
Body
The design of the sixth-generation Ford Taurus was led by Chief Designer Earl Lucas. Many of the Taurus' design elements were influenced by the music that the design team listened to. According to Earl Lucas, "When you've got good music, it's amazing how many shapes come out". The 2007 Ford Interceptor concept would also lend design influence to the grille, rear fascia and taillamps, as well as the roofline.
The sixth-generation Ford Taurus introduced Ford Sync, push-button start, and heated front and rear seats. Multi-Contour Seats, a first in Ford vehicles when introduced in 2010, featured air cushions that pad the driver and passenger's back (three for lumbar support, four for lateral support and four for the seat pad). The bottom cushion features Active Motion technology, which provides a subtle continuous massage, designed to lessen back pain on long trips.
In 2013, the Ford Taurus saw a mid-cycle refresh, adopting features of the global Kinetic Design language featured on redesigns of the Ford Focus, Ford Fiesta, and Ford Kuga. While the roofline and side panels remained, the Taurus was given a new front fascia with a trapezoidal upper grille (emphasized on the SHO and Police Interceptor) and restyled headlamps. Design features included rear LED taillamps along with dual exhaust (true dual exhaust on the SHO/EcoBoost V6; split exhaust outlets on all other versions). The interior included a revised steering wheel, instrument cluster, center stack, and shifter. A new interactive instrument cluster, the MyFord Touch system (which includes a new head unit with 8-inch touch screen), and heated steering wheel were optional. Other features new to the 2013 Taurus included a new Sony sound system featuring HD Radio and iTunes Tagging, Multicontour seats with Active Motion (massage), push-button start, auto high beams, and a rear view camera. Structural improvements provided improved driver protection small-overlap frontal crashes. For 2013, the Taurus replaced the Crown Victoria/Grand Marquis as the full-size Ford offering in the Middle East, offered in that region for the first time.
For 2014, new wheel designs were introduced, with minor changes to standard and optional equipment.2014 Ford Taurus, Edmunds.com A Lane keeping assist feature was added to the Driver Assist package.
In 2017, MyFordTouch was replaced by the new Sync 3 system. 2016 models could be upgraded to Sync 3 via software update. This was the final update to the Taurus.
Trim The sixth generation Ford Taurus was sold to the public in the base SE, mid-trim SEL, and luxury Limited trims. Alongside the Limited trim, the high-performance Taurus SHO (Super High Output) served as the flagship model. The fleet-only Police Interceptor Sedan (not branded as a Taurus) replaced the previous Crown Victoria Police Interceptor for 2013.Ford Taurus model 2010 ford.com
The base SE model, designed for rental and fleet use, came stock with a 3.5 L 24-valve DOHC Duratec V6 engine, six-speed automatic transmission, manual tilt/telescopic steering wheel with audio and cruise control functions, an AM/FM stereo with a single CD player, clock, MP3 capability, and six speakers, Ford's MyKey system, and AdvanceTrac electronic stability control. All wheel drive was not available on the base SE trim.
The mid-range SEL trim level had the same engine, with a six-speed SelectShift automatic transmission featuring paddle activation, optional all wheel drive, dual-zone electronic automatic temperature control, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, Sirius satellite radio, and a perimeter anti-theft alarm.
The top-of-the-line Limited model featured perforated heated and cooled leather-trim bucket seats, ambient lighting with choices of seven different colors, SYNC voice-activated communication and entertainment system, a premium AM/FM radio with a six-disc in-dash CD changer, chrome-accenting, heated mirrors with memory and security approach lamps, a reverse sensing system and rear view camera.
Annual changes 2012: The Taurus received one new exterior paint color (Ginger Ale metallic) and integrated blind spot mirrors (positioned inside the power-assist sideview mirrors).