The Taurus is still on offer but it is not really a car worth buying anymore. It is Ford’s oldest current offering and it is not as good as the Fusion. In fact, the latter outsold the Taurus by a massive margin which made Ford thing about discontinuing it altogether. However, while the current car will more than likely be discontinued, a new model might take its place. Not that long ago Ford did release a new Taurus for the Chinese market. This is basically a Lincoln Continental with the same amount of features as the Fusion. This model is currently made in China and it may be imported in the US in limited numbers. This would still give Ford an offering for the full-size sedan market without having to spend a dime on further research and development.
2018 Ford Taurus Price and Release Date
The rumored 2018 Ford Taurus would be mostly identical to the Chinese car with the only real expected differences being a few different trim levels. Despite being an import, the price for the new model should not change much. We still expect the base model to cost around $29,000 with the higher end models going for as much as $40,000. The Police Interceptor version will not be based on the Chinese Taurus. Instead, Ford is still expected to continue the production of the older model in the form of the Police vehicle. There is still no word on the release date but it should hit the market by the end of 2017.
Source:forbes.com
Ford Taurus 2018 Design
The current model is a large and aggressive-looking sedan with muscular lines and a muscle-car feel to it. The new 2018 Ford Taurus will be nothing like that. Instead, the car will look a lot more like a stretched version of the Fusion. The front end will get a similar style to that of the pre-facelift Fusion with similar headlights, grille, and bumper. The rear, on the other hand, might make use of the same type of tail lights as the Chinese model which are unusually large for this type of car. The small glasshouse from the previous model will not be used. Instead, the Taurus will get large windows all around which will improve visibility considerably.
2018 Taurus Interior
Source:ford.com
One of the drawbacks of the current design was the limited interior space. Despite its massive size on the outside, the Taurus was average at best. The new model should be nothing like that. Thanks to the new platform and actually longer wheelbase, the 2018 Ford Taurus should offer pretty much the same cabin space as the Fusion while having more room for the rear seats. The features should also be similar with the difference being the design. The Ford Taurus 2018 will feature a more stylish-looking dashboard, better materials, and likely better build quality as well.
The engines
So far it seems that the car will hit the US market with one of two engines. The base model should get a 2-liter turbocharged four with 245 horsepower and 275 lb-ft of torque. The higher end model is expected to receive a 2.7-liter twin-turbo V6 with little over 300 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque. Both of these should be available with either front or all-wheel drive. Unlike the Fusion, which is expected to get a 9 speed automatic, the Taurus may receive the older 6-speed unit which is also used on the Chinese model. This would allow Ford to keep costs down without having to sacrifice much in terms of performance. A SHO model is unlikely, especially when considering its platform. Despite that Ford may still surprise their fans with the engine from the Continental which can make in excess of 400 horsepower.
Source:ford.com
