Ford Taurus and Ford Taurus SHO Pricing Details

Ford has yet to release an official press release with the 2010 Ford Taurus and Taurus SHO pricing details but we’ve done some digging and have found the prices on the SE, SEL, Limited and SHO models.

All 2010 Ford Taurus models are powered by a Duratec 3.5L V6 engine that produces 263-hp with a maximum torque of 249 lb-ft. The base level Taurus SE model will come with a standard 6-speed automatic transmission with prices starting at $25,170 (excluding taxes and registration fees). The 2010 Ford Taurus SEL and Limited models offer SelectShiftAutomatic with shift control paddles mounted on the steering wheel. Prices for the Taurus SEL and Limited models start at $27,170 and $31,710 respectively. All-wheel-drive is available as an option.

Ford says that the advanced twin-turbo EcoBoost 3.5L V6 will also be available on the Taurus at a later date.

The 2010 Ford Taurus SHO, powered by a 3.5L twin-turbocharged EcoBoost V6 making 365-hp and a peak torque of 350 lb-ft, starts at $37,170. The engine is mated to 6-speed 6F55 SelectShift transmission (with paddle-shifters) with a sophisticated all-wheel-drive system. The Taurus SHO also takes full advantage of a multi-link SR1 rear suspension design which enhances driver control. EPA-estimated fuel-economy comes in at 17/25 mpg (city/highway).

Well, that’s it for the pricing details. You can check out the full list of options after the jump.

2010 Ford Taurus:

2010 Ford Taurus SHO:

2010 Ford Taurus Standard and Optional Features:

Adaptive Cruise Control allows the driver to set the vehiclecruising speed while using radar technology to monitor traffic travelling up to 600 feet ahead, automatically adjusting Taurus speed to help maintain a safe distance between vehicles.

Collision Warning with Brake Support is a new active safety feature, enabled by Adaptive Cruise Control. This system uses a radar sensor to detect moving vehicles ahead and provides a visual “heads-up” warning signal transmitted across the base of the windshield and an audible warning when slower moving traffic is detected ahead. The system also pre-charges the brakes and engages an electronic brake assist to help the driver stop more quickly.

Intelligent Access with Push-Button Start, a new Taurus feature, allows the driver to enter the car and start the engine by simply carrying the fob as they approach and enter the vehicle.

SecuriCode^TM Keyless Entry Keypad enables vehicle access by unlocking the driver’s door using a five-digit code on the new keypad system flush-mounted in the driver’s side B-pillar.

MyKey^TM allows parents or fleet administrators to activate a restricted driving mode. When enabled, MyKey features a Persistent Belt-Minder® with Audio Mute until safety belts are buckled, an earlier low-fuel warning, and consistently engaged AdvanceTrac® stability control, Blind Spot monitoring, Cross Traffic Alert and Forward Collision Warning. Additional programmability includes restrictions on audio volume, limiting top speed to 80 mph and speed chime warnings at 45, 55, or 65mph.

Auto High Beams/Rain-Sensing Wipers harness sensor technologies to switch headlights to high intensity when no other vehicles are detected, in a range of up to 500 feet for taillight detection, and up to 2,000 feet for oncoming headlight detection. Rain-sensing wipers use an advanced optical sensor to detect the intensity of rain and/or snowfall to adjust wiper speed.

Easy Fuel® Capless Fuel Filler System is an industry-exclusive feature that self-seals without a traditional fuel cap.

Blind Spot Information System (BLIS®) consists of two multiple beam radar modules, one each per rear quarter panel. When an approaching vehicle enters the defined blind spot zone, an indicator alert provides warning to the driver in the corresponding side view mirror.

Cross Traffic Alert uses the existing BLIS radar modules to sense oncoming traffic when slowly backing out of a parking spot. This industry-exclusive system functions only while the vehicle is in reverse and warns when cross-traffic appears within three car widths.

Ford SYNC® is the fully integrated, in-vehicle voice-activated communications and entertainment system, with 911 Assist^TM, Vehicle Health Report and GPS-based features including business search and call completion. SYNC connects to MP3 players, iPods, memory sticks and PDAs. SYNC’s 911 Assist will place a call to a local emergency operator in the event of an air bag deployment incident. The latest version of SYNC adds Traffic, Directions and Information, providing turn-by-turn route guidance, and the ability to access content by personalized favorites such as region, subject matter or sports team.

Voice-Activated Navigation System with SIRIUS® Travel Link^TM uses an 8-inch screen to present a birds-eye-view map with 3D landmarks. The system responds to voice commands for destination programming and route selection. In addition, it provides enhanced route guidance features such as street name announcements and detailed freeway exit, turn and ramp position lane guidance. The screen can be personalized with up to 32 pictures, sized up to 1.5 MB each. The system also incorporates the SIRIUS Travel Link, offering availability of current weather and ski conditions, a five-day forecast, local fuel pricing by cost per gallon and brand, sports scores and movie listings.

Sony® Audio components deliver sound from a variety of sources, with an AM-FM tuner, SIRIUS Satellite radio, CD, DVD audio and an integrated 10 GB hard drive for storage of up to 2,400 songs. This package also includes an available 12-speaker premium audio system.

Multi-Contour Seats with Active Motion^TM are available - on an industry-exclusive basis - for driver and passenger, integrating a six-way lumbar support and subtle rolling pattern massage. The bottom cushion features Active Motion technology, providing minute but continuous movement, stirring a change of muscular activation helping a driver avoid back pain.

Side Protection And Cabin Enhancement (SPACE®) Architecture is comprised of a hydroformed cross-car beam embedded in the floor between the door frames, providing additional strength in the side of the vehicle. In the event of a side impact, the beam helps pert crash forces away from the occupants. A strong roof cross member and side impact door beams work with the floor-mounted tube to further improve side impact protection.

Personal Safety System^TM is designed to reduce the risk of injury to the driver and front seat passenger in the event of a moderate to severe frontal collision. Sensors note right front occupant weight, safety belt usage, outboard seat belt tension and seating position to optimize air bag deployment force for occupant safety.

AdvanceTrac® electronic stability control predicts the vehicle’s intended path, using sensors to detect and measure oversteer and yaw, while continuously monitoring vehicle speed, throttle position and steering wheel angle. When the system senses a loss of wheel traction, engine torque is reduced and braking is applied in conjunction with the standard Anti-lock Braking (ABS) system. The system also incorporates traction control to aid drivers when operating the vehicle on loose or slippery surfaces.

SOS Post-Crash Alert System^TM is an integrated technology that automatically unlocks the doors and activates the emergency flashers in the event of an air bag deployment.

Riding in the Ford Taurus SHO Prototype 2010

A Top-Speed Ride Around the Ford Proving Grounds

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The Taurus SHO delivers super high output for Ford's big, all-wheel-drive sedan. (Photo by Rex Roy)

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With its twin-turbo 365-hp V6 on the boil and a proper amount of enthusiasm, the Taurus SHO gets some air. (Photo by Rex Roy)

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This engineering prototype has the special performance package, a step more serious than the standard SHO specification. (Photo by Rex Roy)

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You can't disguise the sheer size of the Taurus, but the faster you drive the SHO, the smaller it seems. (Photo by Rex Roy)

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Christina Rodriguez is the Ford engineer who signed off on the SHO's suspension calibration. (Photo by Rex Roy)

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The 2010 Ford Taurus SHO was introduced at the 2009 Chicago Auto Show. (Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company)

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The twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6 makes 365 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque. (Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company)

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The SHO engine is the first of a new family of turbocharged direct-inject engines from Ford. (Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company)

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Direct injection delivers good fuel mixing for good fuel economy, while a cooler intake charge permits a high compression ratio for good throttle response. (Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company)

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The SHO's interior adds some useful flair to the Taurus' large cabin. (Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company)

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More refined detailing improves the basic Taurus interior architecture. (Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company)

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It's got fender vents, so it must be serious. (Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company)

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Big wheels and tires help bring proper proportions to the oversize Taurus. (Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company)

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It's got a spoiler the size of a tea tray, so it must be serious. (Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company)

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From now on, super high output means EcoBoost. (Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company)

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The 2010 Ford Taurus SHO is meant to be a performance car for American roads. (Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company)

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2010 Ford Taurus SHO. (Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company)

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2010 Ford Taurus SHO. (Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company)

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So we're riding in the 2010 Ford Taurus SHO at the Dearborn proving ground. Christina Rodriguez, the lead vehicle dynamics development engineer for the Taurus, is at the wheel. This woman can drive. She even looks like Danica Patrick's sister.

Ford's public relations team has been very careful to tell us that this is not a production car. It's a preproduction prototype, they say. Hand-built, not representative of production, an engineering workhorse, no telling if it'll burst into flames or not. They do everything except hand us a parachute.

The tire squealing gets louder. We look out the window at the scenery, which is in a state of serious blur. Then we try to get a glimpse of the speedometer, which unfortunately is protected from glare deep within a shroud on the instrument binnacle so we can't see it.

Rodriguez looks across at us and grins beneath her racing helmet. We hang on tighter. The tires are starting to squeal a little louder again.

We're Not in Chicago Anymore, Toto
We first told you about the 2010 Ford Taurus SHO when it debuted at the 2009 Chicago Auto Show. Ford is hoping to catch the same lightning in a bottle as it did in 1989, when it dropped a Yamaha-built 3.0-liter V6 into its front-wheel-drive sedan. Americans were ready for a muscle car, and the Taurus SHO (super high output) became a phenomenon; 100,000 were sold by the time the car went out of production at the end of 1999.

Just as before, the SHO is meant to give the Taurus a little traction in the imagination of Americans, but the hardware is a little different this time. The centerpiece is a new engine that showcases Ford's new EcoBoost family. The twin-turbo 3,496cc V6 makes 365 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 350 pound-feet of torque at 3,500 rpm. EcoBoost is Ford's trade name for its use of direct injection and turbocharging, a combination that gives you good fuel economy, good throttle response and good power.

The transmission is a heavy-duty version of the Lincoln MKS's six-speed automatic that'll give you rev-matched downshifts. The Haldex all-wheel-drive system has also been altered to send more of the torque to the rear wheels. The SHO's regular final-drive ratio is 2.77:1 and the suspension calibration is about 10 percent stiffer than the standard Taurus.

Of course, this prototype has the SHO Performance package, which includes an even more aggressive suspension setup with rear springs that are 9 percent stiffer, dampers that are 20 percent stiffer, plus a stiffer rear antiroll bar. The electrically boosted power steering gets a more responsive calibration, and a Sport mode for the stability control is more tolerant of enthusiastic driving. And finally the package has a shorter 3.16:1 final-drive ratio that gets you quicker acceleration, high-performance brake pads to resist fade and summer-compound 20-inch tires to make it all work.

The Engineer Speaks
Christina Rodriguez has been working on the 2010 Taurus since 2001 when the development of the original Five Hundred began. She's the only woman at Ford to have achieved status as a vehicle dynamics development engineer, a job she describes as equal parts engineer, race driver and vehicle psychologist.

Rodriguez explains, "As an engineer, I need to make sure the car is safe, because you don't want any unpleasant surprises. As a race driver, I have to make sure the car handles well. And then I have to tune the car to have the right personality for being the latest Ford."

Speaking like a good corporate citizen, she explains how cars exhibit personality: "Some cars have a more relaxed personality, so everything about the way they drive is soft and slower to react. New Fords have a DNA that is sportier, more fun to drive, more responsive and more alive, so they need to feel that way."

Now It's SHO-Time
We're in what Rodriguez refers to as TT prototype, a car quite a few steps away from production. There's a big yellow sticker on the windshield to identify the car's status, and someone has used a Sharpie to write engineering code on each of the cast-aluminum 20-inch wheels. The tires are the summer-compound Goodyear Eagle F1s from the SHO Performance package, but various bits of body and interior trim won't make it to production. This car is a work in progress.

Rodriguez says, "The only thing that's production intent on this car is the suspension. I know the motor calculations are close, but I'm not totally sure." She lights the engine and slides the SHO's shifter past Drive directly to Sport.

At idle, the twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 turbo sounds quiet and feels smooth. As we accelerate onto the proving ground, the part-throttle shifts from the six-speed 6F55 SelectShift transmission are silky. Swinging onto a high-speed section of the proving grounds, Rodriguez goes WOT. She uses the shift paddles on the steering wheel. You pull either paddle for an upshift and push forward for a rev-matched downshift.

The big Taurus surges forward effortlessly, delivering what you'd expect given the V6's power curves and the 4,368 pounds that have to be motivated. Under boost, the V6 emits a nice growl, but most of the noise comes from under the hood, not the dual exhaust. There's a commendable lack of wind noise.

Watching Rodriguez at the wheel, we notice how her hands are relaxed, showing her confidence in the SHO's suspension. And the SHO itself seems unfazed by the speed at which she's driving.

When Bulls Fly
Heavy on the brakes, Rodriguez arcs into a banked corner that spins us around for another blast en route to the handling course. The tight Dearborn track features abrupt elevation changes and sinister off-camber corners. At first, Rodriguez takes it easy — not for her sake, but for mine. Even at a modest pace, the SHO's ease in these transitions speaks volumes about the competency of its chassis tuning.

Rodriguez increases the pace, talking casually as she fluidly guides the SHO from apex to apex. The faster she drives, the smaller the SHO seems to get. "After doing this for 12 years, I know what a car should feel like, and I don't get questioned anymore," she says. "We start with models generated by computer-aided engineering. It gives us starting points for spring rates, dampers, antiroll bar thicknesses, etc. After that, everything we do is by the seat of the pants."

One section of the course includes a rise that fully compresses the suspension. Cresting the hill at speed, the suspension uncorks to full rebound. Later as we watch from the grassy infield, the SHO looks just as impressive as it feels from the passenger seat. Even as the Taurus flies over the big crest and returns to Earth, it settles easily with no drama.

Rodriguez says, "In this job, your body has to become a precisely calibrated instrument. It's got to measure what can't be measured and can understand what the car's mechanicals are doing. It takes awhile to tune your body, but I've been working on this particular chassis for eight years, so I really know what it's capable of and how to make it respond."

Back to Earth
After the handling course, Rodriguez drives to a test area with roads that look like the cratered surface streets of southeast Michigan, where frost heaves do their work every year. And even though this SHO is a well-used prototype, its body seems tight and rattle-free.

This ride isn't the same as a drive of the real car out in the real world, but we have to admit that we're impressed. We'll see what happens once we're able to exchange this pre-production prototype for a real production car and get the steering wheel in our own hands.

Rodriguez says, "This car is really my pride and joy." And as she stops the engine with the button on the dash of the 2010 Ford Taurus SHO, she says more to herself than to us, "I think I've got the best job at Ford."