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"   ASHEVILLE, N.C.\u2014Not long ago, the Ford Taurus was the best-selling car in the U.S. In the early 1990s, the Taurus was sharp-looking, available in a performance SHO (super-high output) model and stood above the other front-drive domestic offerings as one of the best large sedans in the U.S. In the early part of this decade, however, the nameplate began to slide in popularity. And Ford seemed content to produce a simply mediocre Taurus. No more.   The 2010 Taurus is Ford&amp;#039;s flagship sedan and a major step forward. The design is exciting, the proportions are taut and, most importantly, it rides and handles better than any Taurus since those early &amp;#039;90s cars. Better still, the Taurus SHO is back with a rousing 365 hp and solid fuel economy. We had a chance to spend the day with a fully loaded $37,675 Taurus Limited on some great country roads stretching from Knoxville, Tenn., to Asheville N.C. Here&amp;#039;s what we found. \u2014Ben Stewart  The Specs  One look at the sheet metal on the 2010 Taurus and it&amp;#039;s difficult to imagine that this sedan is based on the same Volvo S80 platform as the previous Taurus and the Ford Five Hundred before that. The platform might be largely the same, but there are some important changes\u2014and these end up transforming the character of this car. This is particularly impressive considering that this Taurus program was initially slated for the 2011 model year. Ford has pulled the program forward by one full year.   The Ford team was able to rework the rear suspension, as they did with the Lincoln MKS, the Taurus&amp;#039;s platform mate. The rear suspension now mounts to a subframe for better isolation, and new geometry allows the springs and shocks to work in a 1:1 ratio. Pete Reyes, chief engineer for the Taurus, says the old design &amp;quot;didn&amp;#039;t have the tuneability in the rear.&amp;quot; Even though the MKS uses a similar setup, Reyes says, &amp;quot;we took 10 pounds out of the MKS system for use in the Taurus.&amp;quot; The front end still uses a Macpherson strut setup but Reyes says the subframe has been stiffened considerably so that the suspension could take the loads of larger stabilizer bars and bigger wheels and tires. And the team used firmer struts, springs and dampers all around to lessen understeer and body roll, along with minimizing front-end lift during hard acceleration.   Under the hood, the new Taurus uses the old 3.5-liter V6 instead of the newer 3.7-liter unit that&amp;#039;s found in the base model of the Lincoln MKS. So the Taurus V6 makes 263 hp (7 fewer than in the Lincoln) and 249 lb-ft of torque. It&amp;#039;s hooked to a six-speed automatic and paired to either front- or all-wheel drive. Our 4015-pound Limited test model also came with paddle shifters that allow for manual shifting.   The Taurus is available with advanced tech like blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control with collision warning and massaging seats. And, of course, ours came with Ford&amp;#039;s Sync system that now offers audible turn-by-turn navigation directions.  The Drive  One year ago, we spent some time driving a 2008 Taurus around the Detroit area. We noticed that as roomy as the car was, it felt cold\u2014and it wasn&amp;#039;t just the November weather. The interior had hard plastic covering nearly every surface. The ride was also rougher than expected, yet the suspension allowed plenty of body roll. The 2008 Taurus was closer to an appliance than just about any car in the segment.   The changes made to the new Taurus are transformative. Over the twisty roads of Tennessee and North Carolina, the Taurus handles and rides smoothly. No, this is not a sport sedan. But the body roll is well controlled and it feels confident when pushed, instead of sloppy and slow to respond as the old car did. And our car&amp;#039;s 19-inch chrome wheels and 255/45VR19 tires provided sufficient grip without a rough ride. The largest potholes are a well damped and muffled from inside the cabin. And thanks to much work with sealing around the doors and minimizing body-panel gaps, the new Taurus is very quiet.   The interior of the 2010 Taurus has little of the old car&amp;#039;s hard plastic. The top of the dash and nearly every surface is made from a soft material. The door panels have an elegant C-shaped grab handle and look much more upscale than in any previous Taurus. Reyes says the new door panel &amp;quot;costs tens of dollars more&amp;quot; than the old one. That&amp;#039;s serious money in an automotive development budget. We spent a few hours in the back seat too and found plenty of comfort for our 6-foot frame. The only major downside to this new interior is that the gauge and center-screen visibility in certain lights carries a fair amount of glare.   The new V6 is reasonably potent and the six-speed fires off precise shifts. Limited models are equipped with a 3.16:1 final drive (2.77:1 for SEL models) so ours snapped off-the-line better than the lesser-grade Taurus sedans. The Taurus is quiet under most throttle applications. However, peg the right pedal wide open and the V6 sounds rather coarse and not quite as sophisticated as some V6 engines from Japanese manufacturers.   We used the Sync turn-by-turn system on one leg of our trip. It required only a few prompts to get the computerized voice to deliver the directions. Though reasonably accurate, the system seemed not quite as precise or clear as a traditional navigation system. Our car had the adaptive cruise control and it worked just as well as systems we&amp;#039;ve tried on luxury cars. However, the collision warning system, which uses a giant rectangular red warning light and buzzer, proved a bit intrusive and alarming when we cut a pass a little too close. But then again, maybe that&amp;#039;s the point.  The Bottom Line  Our nearly $38,000 Limited was equipped with some smart tech and comfortable options. But even base SE models, which start at $25,995, are well-equipped. And the SEL version, which Ford says will be the most popular trim level, begin at a reasonable $27,995 with all-wheel drive costing $1850 more.   The new Taurus is a substantial improvement over the previous model, and, in reality, it&amp;#039;s probably the best Taurus the company has ever produced. But after driving the Taurus SHO with its 365-hp EcoBoost engine, its difficult to imagine not opting for that car if you can afford it.   RELATED STORIES \u2022 EXCLUSIVE: 2010 Ford Taurus SHO vs. 2009 Chrysler 300C  \u2022 EARLIER: 2010 Ford Taurus Has V6 Power and Better Mileage  \u2022 GALLERY: Top 10 Underappreciated All-American Cars  \u2022 FOLLOW US: Popular Mechanics is Now on Twitter!  \u2022 FRIEND US: Find PM on Facebook   2010 Ford Taurus 2010 Ford Taurus 2010 Ford Taurus The 3.5-liter V6 comes paired to a six-speed automatic and generates 263 hp and 249 lb.-ft. of torque. The 2010 Taurus has a cavernous 20.1 cu.-ft. trunk. Our Limited front-drive model came with massaging seats and paddle shifters. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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