Can Taurus wash away Five Hundred's sins?

Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

The big Ford Taurus gets a 3.5 L V6 and six-speed automatic for 2008.

John LeBlanc

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

According to the book, My Bad: 25 Years of Public Apologies and the Appalling Behavior That Inspired Them, the communal apology has become a cleansing rite of passage for the infamous seeking forgiveness.

Whether it's Janet Jackson (for her wardrobe malfunction), Bill Clinton (for the intern), Hugh Grant (for the hooker) or Arnold Schwarzenegger (for groping women), apparently, saying "I'm sorry" will make everything all okay.

Seemingly taking a page from My Bad, Ford is begging absolution for its most recent public embarrassment: its Five Hundred.

Just introduced three years ago, the five-seat Five Hundred sedan was reminiscent of the iconic Galaxie 500 from the mid-1960s: a truly full-size American car. Trouble was, compared to its main competitor – Chrysler's 300C, packing a brawny V8 and bold styling – the Ford was painstakingly austere.

Critics highlighted the Five Hundred's decrepit 3.0-litre V6, whiney continuously variable transmission and somnambulant styling as reasons to take a pass on the big Ford.

A bigger sin was the potential customers who simply didn't know that the Five Hundred even existed.

So for 2008, Ford is basically saying "our bad," sending the Five Hundred out for a thorough public relations makeover.

It's been to the gym (developing a powerful drivetrain and more safety features), to the cosmetic surgeon (for a nip and tuck of the Fusion kind) and finally to the marketing temple (emerged with the new-yet-familiar name of Taurus).

With more interior space than any vehicle in its class, and the largest trunk in any car you can buy, the Five-, er, new '08 Taurus is still a lot of car for the money.

A base model '08 Taurus SEL FWD starts at $30,899 and comes well-equipped. My tester was a top-of-the-line Taurus Limited AWD, which starts at $39,199. As standard fare, it was loaded with all-wheel drive, heated exterior mirrors and heated front leather seats with eight-way power and memory, reversing sensor and adjustable pedals. It also had $4,505 worth of optional 18-inch chrome rims and in-dash navigation system to total $43,704.

Ditching the CVT and matching a smooth-shifting conventional six-speed automatic to the new 236 hp 3.5 L six-cylinder engine found in the Edge, the Taurus knocks about two seconds off the old Five Hundred's 0-to-100 km/h run of 10 seconds.

More important, the engine and tranny are well matched and very smooth in delivering quick, seamless shifts. This new drivetrain is never caught with its pants down when asking for downshifts, yet still delivers an as-tested 10.5 L/100 km in fuel consumption.

(If you think the Taurus needs a V8, like SHO models from before, check out bringbackthesho.com)

As in the previous Five Hundred, the Taurus's electronically controlled Haldex AWD system is fairly transparent in use. Primarily front-wheel based, count on safe, reliable understeer similar to the more upscale Volvos that the system can also be found in.

With its high roofline and tall-in-the-saddle seating, as per the Five Hundred, the new Taurus is a sedan alternative for SUVor minivan owners. But almost to a fault.

There's no getting around it. The new Ford Taurus's ride and handling can be best described as SUV-like, kind of like an Edge sedan.

It doesn't help that for '08, Ford decided to increase the former Five Hundred's front suspension travel by 10 per cent, and soften up the car's shocks and springs.

That's great for absorbing pockmarked roads, but more subtle undulations generates quite a bit of suspension float. The low-profile 18-inch Pirelli rubber worked better with the Five Hundred's firmer suspension setup. On the Taurus, they tend to clomp over sharper crevices.

Ford never had to apologize for the Five Hundred's commodious interior, or class-leading dynamic and passive safety features. And the new Taurus only improves on these attributes.

Ford says the Taurus is now the safest full-size car in North America, achieving five-star ratings in all four categories for the U.S. government's crash tests and a Top Safety Pick by the U.S. Insurance Institute of Highway Safety.

Also for safety reasons, the Taurus's steering wheel has been pushed away from the driver 15 mm. But there's no telescoping feature, so even with the adjustable foot pedals, it can be a long reach to the helm. And the front seats are wide and sit tall, but the soft cushions force you to sit on top of, instead of being cradled in, them.

The old Five Hundred's biggest faux pas may have been the simple fact that it was a big, American sedan; a type of vehicle that's becoming less and less popular.

Nonetheless, by virtue of its cubic metre per dollar value alone – plus the new drivetrain, safety and styling upgrades – the '08 Taurus Limited AWD is hard to fault.

But is it enough for the buying public to pardon Ford for its previous sins?

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