Lee Quinones and Tamara Warren played tag team with the 2010 Taurus for the annual holiday round trip trek on Rte 80. What made this bullish journey more interesting: They drove two different Tauruses — a dogged-out press car on the way out of rotation, and a brand spanking Taurus Limit back to NYC in the perils of likely lake effect wintertime. Read on to see how the bull took the horns of the 600-mile journey.

Lee says:

The new Ford 2010 Taurus smashes into the national and international stage with a lot of good news and a speck of nick. First and foremost, it comes with a firm comfortable split bucket 10-way power seat arrangement in what seems to be the new Ford stable comfortable leather interiors. I like the charcoal black leather color on this one.

The second notion for comfort during these times is a relief to the wallet itself when it comes to fuel economy. The 3.5l Duratec V6 coupled to the 6 speed automatic is humble on the highway trails and seems to do the same on the streets with its 263 horses. it still packs a decent punch when the go pedal is abused.

The projector automatic high beam feature is a nice touch during dark highway cruising. It even senses upcoming traffic and gives the courtesy shut off. The trunk is a much awaited treat that has eluded most cars in this platform. It has mad room and then some. Fold down the rear seats and you pretty much have the real estate luggage area of the legendary country squire station wagon.Handling manners on the long trek from Detroit to New York were exceptional.

The one draw back that I discovered had to do with the exterior design. The charcoal gray plastic ground panels that run along the kick sills, doors and quarter panels act as catchers smith for road salt and grime. When we arrived in New York after navigating through a nasty wintery mix, I had enough salt packed in between the plastic panels and the steel doors to spread all over New York itself. Maybe just a little design tweaking on the ground package may fix this potential rust menace. People on the road were seemingly happy to see the Taurus’s return. All in all, The Taurus charged in like a Bull.

Tamara Says:

We attracted admiring looks from our friends when we made a stop at their house in the Taurus on our journey back east. They happen to be highway cops who get to see just about everything, and Taurus stopped both of them in mid-sentence with it’s sophisticated angles- a new phenom for the jazzed-up Taurus exterior.

But the secret weapon of the 2010 Ford Taurus is in what’s not so obvious from the outside — solid confident handling, mad trunk space and a cool minimalist interior in both SL and Limited editions. (Of course, the SHO takes it a few steps further into cool territory.)

En route, our test vehicle was used to cart boxes for storage, while on the return boxes of gifts were packed into the cavernous space. (Spoiled, yes.) This modification is particularly significant for this segment as families and athletes with gear opt to move back into the sedan market.

The driver and passenger seats were quality — and on par with the Corollas and Accords of the segment. We switched in and out of the back seat during the journey, which were not so spacious for tall chics like me. While I missed the additional legroom, at times from previous gen Taurus, I preferred the extra trunk space. As a member of the car seat segment, I found the constructive proportions of the seats ideal for moving car seats in and out with little fuss.

In Car #1 the steering was solid, but the stitching used on the steering wheel was harsh on the hands. This issue was resolved in Car #2 — the Taurus Limited.

Ford touts Environmental Protection Agency’s rating is 18 miles a gallon in town and 27 on highway – and our numbers cleared those readings. Here’s the car for those looking to switch up — it’s a cozy winter sweater car, that seems to work just about anywhere, and goes with anything. It’s worth noting Taurus received the coveted 5-star safety rating earlier this month, and our vehicle handled like a champ on icy stretches of the Ohio turnpike. It was also named Urban Auto of the Year by OnWheels Magazine. It passed our New Yorker/Detroiters test with solid marks.

Next time around the coming additions of heated steering would be a bonus for a December trip in the 2011 model year.
(Ed. Note: * Thank you to the Motor City Solutions team who sent us home with holiday cookies, brownies and pistachio cake from their holiday party — that’s our kind of Holiday car exchange.)

More Ford Taurus on Gotryke:Ford Taurus Designer Earl Lucas on the Tunes

More Taurus:
Mark Elias on Leftlane NewsAuto SpiesFord Taurus SHO and Fusion Hybrid awarded 2010 Urban Autos of the Year (autoblog.com)

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