Ford Five Hundred / Taurus

You might remember, in the past few years I criticized Ford’s product planning in the USA many times. They concentrated all their development resources into trucks and Sport Utilities, simply gave up developing new cars, handed the car market to the Japanese. Poor old Taurus soldiered on for 8 years without a replacement. How can it strike back Toyota Camry and Honda Accord? moreover, there is a big gap between Focus and Taurus, so is between Taurus and the outdated Crown Victoria. Ford seemed to be committing suicide. 

When Bill Ford Junior took over Jac Nasser to head the company bearing his family name, he decided to concentrate back to cars. Unfortunately, time and money was in scarce. Ford therefore decided to adopt the platforms donated by its Japanese subsidiary (Mazda) and Swedish arm (Volvo). While the Taurus will soldier on for another couple of years to fulfil fleet sales, Ford splits the segment into 2 cars - the smaller car called "Fusion" (don’t confuse with the European Ford Fusion) is to be derived from Mazda 6 platform, the larger car called "Five Hundred" is based on Volvo’s P2 platform, the one that gave birth to S80, V70, S60 and XC90. This allows Ford to have 2 important new cars out of relatively little cost and development time. 

Unsurprisingly, the 500 is positioned half a segment higher than Taurus. Being larger and more expensive, it competes with the high-end Camry / Accord / Altima, VW Passat, Nissan Maxima and even Acura TL and Lexus ES300. Measuring in excess of 5 meters long, weighing in excess of 1700 kg, it is easily the heavyweight member of the P2 platform. This platform uses MacPherson struts front and multi-link rear suspensions. Front-wheel-drive is the norm, but like the Volvo applications, 4-wheel-drive is available as option. The 4WD system is a sophisticated one, using Haldex electromagnetic clutch to distribute up to 50% torque to the rear axle in case of need. That means in normal driving it is pure front-drive. Unlike Volvo S80, Ford 500 is unusually tall, standing at a MPV-rivaling 1527mm. This is because Ford wants its occupants to sit as high as in a SUV to give them a commanding view and a sense of security. Such sense is usually deceiving, because the sitting position has nothing to do with the crash-worthiness of the chassis. What we are sure is that the resulting higher center of gravity must deteriorate handling.  

The exterior look of Five Hundred is disgusting - not ugly, but because it is clearly a copycat to Volkswagen Passat. I used to think only Japanese like to copy European cars, now I know I was wrong. Someday Ford must fire the guy sitting on the top level of its design studio. His name is J. Mays. Despite of the carbon copy, the 500 looks nothing near the perfection of Passat, because the details are poorly executed, lacking a high-quality feel. Its over-pronounced bumpers, dull grille and headlamps are at odds to the smooth Passat profile. 

The interior is better. Neat design combines with decent leather and plastics delivers a quality feel never found in Ford's sedans in the USA. It is not as well built as Japanese or German rivals, but by American standard it is only second to Chrysler Pacifica (which borrows parts from Mercedes). The cabin can sit five adults in comfort, although the amount of space is not as abundance as the exterior dimensions suggest. In contrast, the boot is surprisingly huge, measuring a class-leading 600 litres ! furthermore, the rear seat is 60/40-slit while the front passenger seat can fold flat, therefore allows to place items up to 9 feet long.  

Engine is perhaps its biggest weakness. It employs the same 3.0 Duratec V6 as Taurus. Back in 1996 this engine might be fine, but by nowadays’ standard it is seen as unrefined, underpowered and inflexible. With an output of 203 horsepower and 207 lbft of torque, how can it cope with the 1700-plus kilogram body? obviously, a bigger V6 is desperately needed. 

Five-Hundred has 2 choices of transmission - one from ZF and one from Aisin; one is 6-speed automatic and one is CVT. Surprisingly, the one ZF supplies is not the 6-speed auto, but the new CVT; the one made by Japanese is not the CVT, but the 6-speed auto. The Aisin gearbox is the world’s only 6-speed automatic designed for transverse engine and front-drive applications. It is miles better than the 4-speed automatic of Taurus, although downshift is slow. The CVT is even smoother, and when it is made by ZF you won’t doubt its reliability and durability. However, neither transmissions could be called as world-class. 

On the road, the 500 is slow, safe and uninspiring to drive. Its soft suspensions and higher center of gravity tend to produce more understeer than Volvos. In return, you get a smoother ride. What a pity this is not matched by the engine (which lacks smoothness and quietness) and tires (which produces a lot of road noise). It is therefore not as refined as its Japanese rivals. On the plus side, the handling is predictable, braking is confidence-inspiring and the steering delivers decent feel and weight.  

More power, more mechanical refinement and more driving fun are what Ford Five Hundred needs. Without these things it cannot compete with the well-established Japanese rivals and even the rising Chryslers - 300 and Pacifica. To Ford, recovery is still a long way to go. 
 

The above report was last updated on 14 Oct 2004. All Rights Reserved.
 

Mercury Montego

Mercury always sells revamped Fords, usually with more elegant grilles and higher-spec interior to justify their higher prices. Mercury Montego also follows this formula. Only cosmetic details differ these cars. To those who don't like the face of Ford 500, Mercury Montego is probably the better choice. 
 
The above report was last updated on 14 Oct 2004. All Rights Reserved.

Reborn Ford Taurus



Ford had just killed the Taurus nameplate in last October, but in February this year it suddenly changed its mind and rebadged the newly facelifted Five-Hundred as "Taurus". Why ? Because it believes the long-serving nameplate is far more recognizable in the USA and just might bring more sales than "Five-Hundred" managed. Frankly, I don't believe this. Consumers nowadays are cleverer. If the product is not good, no matter what name it bears it won't attract many buyers. So what we care is not the name but the content of the facelift.

Outside, the biggest change is undoubtedly the new chromed 3-bar grille which has been adopted by many other Fords. It does smarten the car a little, while the revised headlamps and smoother bumper are more comfortable to the eyes. Under the bonnet lies a 3.5-liter DOHC 24-valve V6 with 263 horsepower, replacing the gutless 3.0 V6 of the old car. It brings desperately needed torque, some 42 lbft more than before, to cope with the hefty kerb weight better. Moreover, a 6-speed automatic gearbox built by the joint venture of GM and Ford replaces the annoying CVT of the old car. Both the new engine and gearbox work in harmony to improve performance a lot. Now 0-60 mph takes about 1.5 second less. Mind you, it will never match the lighter yet more powerful Asian competitors such as Toyota Avalon and Hyundai Azera, but the performance deficit is no longer an issue to stop people from considering it.

Ford also used this opportunity to upgrade the sound insulation of the cabin, to strengthen its crash protection structure (it achieves 5 stars crash rating), to add an hydraulic engine mount and to soften the suspensions. The result is a quiet running on highway and a supple ride. Unfortunately, the comfort-biased suspensions turn it farther away from driver's delight. The new Five-Hundred… excuse me… new Taurus is not designed to be a driver's car, unquestionably. What it wants to lure are the traditional American customers who would otherwise buy a Buick or (the dead) Oldsmobile. It offers plenty of space, boot and comfort, and the price is very low after heavy price cut and discounts. All these factors should appeal to older customers.

 
The above report was last updated on 21 Jun 2007. All Rights Reserved.

Specifications

Model
Five Hundred 3.0
Five Hundred 3.0 AWD
Taurus 3.5SEL
Layout
Front-engined, Fwd
Front-engined, 4wd
Front-engined, Fwd
L / W / H / WB (mm)
5098 / 1872 / 1527 / 2868
5098 / 1872 / 1527 / 2868
5125 / 1892 / 1562 / 2868
Engine
V6, dohc, 4v/cyl,
var intake.
V6, dohc, 4v/cyl,
var intake.
V6, dohc, 4v/cyl, VVT,
var intake.
Capacity
2967 cc
2967 cc
3496 cc
Power
203 hp
203 hp
263 hp
Torque
207 lbft
207 lbft
249 lbft
Transmission
CVT
6A
6A
Suspension (F/R)
strut / multi-link
strut / multi-link
strut / multi-link
Tyres (F/R)
All: 215/60 R17
All: 225/55 R18
All: 215/60 R17
Weight
1662 kg
1730 kg
1652 kg
Top speed
N/A
N/A
N/A
0-60 mph
7.9 sec*
8.7 sec (est)
6.8 sec*
0-100 mph
22.4 sec*
N/A
18.8 sec*
 
Figures tested by: * C&D
 

Copyright© 1997-2009 by Mark Wan @ AutoZine