When it was introduced in 1985, the Taurus had some big shoes to fill after the mid-size El-Tee-Dee was phased out. Nevertheless, six generations on, the Taurus cut the mustard with flying colors even though it grew to full-size car status.
Whereas the short-lived fifth generation was a bit of a dog's breakfast due to the Ford Five Hundred underpinnings and hardly enticing exterior characteristics, the current sixth-gen Taurus embodies what we like about big, comfortable American sedans.
Especially in SHO guise, the 2015 Ford Taurus is one heck of a machine with a few sleeper credentials under its belt. To boot, even the $27,055 basic SE model is animated by a 3.5-liter 24-valve vee six lump with plenty of oomph on demand.
Despite the 2013 nip and tuck job, the second generation of the Fusion / 2015 Mondeo gave Ford the idea to uprate the Taurus too with an all-new generation, expected to debut in North America sometime next year with a slightly longer and wider variant of the Ford CD4 global platform (CD4.3) or the all-new D6/CD6 architecture acting as its skeleton.
As expected, the Aston Martin-like front grille motif is carried over from the 2015 Ford Mondeo and many other outgoing models, while the front fascia is a little more stiff upper lip than the sharp face of the 2015 model year Ford Taurus. Even the hood and headlights design have a little bit of 2015 Mondeo to them.
As for the interior, it's easy to observe an electronic parking brake button joined by a rotary dial that acts as the shift lever, a similar design to what we've seen on the current crop of Jaguar-Land Rover cars. We're not certain though if that touchscreen infotainment system dominating the dash is the all-new SYNC Gen III.
Especially in SHO guise, the 2015 Ford Taurus is one heck of a machine with a few sleeper credentials under its belt. To boot, even the $27,055 basic SE model is animated by a 3.5-liter 24-valve vee six lump with plenty of oomph on demand.
Despite the 2013 nip and tuck job, the second generation of the Fusion / 2015 Mondeo gave Ford the idea to uprate the Taurus too with an all-new generation, expected to debut in North America sometime next year with a slightly longer and wider variant of the Ford CD4 global platform (CD4.3) or the all-new D6/CD6 architecture acting as its skeleton.
What you can see in the two-pic gallery below is the upcoming Taurus sedan in pre-production format
Spotted by the carparazzi from AutoSohu and AutoHome in China, the 2016 Ford Taurus is a make-or-brake car for the Blue Oval, which just closed its Genk factory in Belgium, shifting Mondeo production to Spain.As expected, the Aston Martin-like front grille motif is carried over from the 2015 Ford Mondeo and many other outgoing models, while the front fascia is a little more stiff upper lip than the sharp face of the 2015 model year Ford Taurus. Even the hood and headlights design have a little bit of 2015 Mondeo to them.
As for the interior, it's easy to observe an electronic parking brake button joined by a rotary dial that acts as the shift lever, a similar design to what we've seen on the current crop of Jaguar-Land Rover cars. We're not certain though if that touchscreen infotainment system dominating the dash is the all-new SYNC Gen III.