Despite having risen from the grave in 2007, following its brief stint as the Ford Five Hundred, the Taurus has been reburied. The last example rolled out of Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant a few weeks ago (to make room for SUVs), though the car lives on in China. However, we doubt you’d be interested if the manufacturer suddenly began exporting them.
A seventh generation of the Ford Taurus was introduced there in 2015, looking like a hybrid of the American sixth-gen and Australia’s FG X Falcon. A mid-cycle refresh is right around the corner, and you’ll probably be glad it’s staying in China.
The car’s official debut isn’t until next month’s Shanghai Auto Show, though leaked images of the car have made the rounds online — apparently stemming from the Sohu Internet news site and several leaks from within the company. While the car still resembles the Taurus we’ve put to rest, a few minor changes cropped up. Slimmer headlamps, a new grille and bumper, more LEDs, and some additional chrome detailing help modernize the look. And it’s all very bland… and round.
Worse yet, the Chinese Taurus will only be available with a 1.5-liter EcoBoost or the current 2.0-liter EcoBoost (producing 245 horsepower), mated to a six-speed automatic. The V6 is gone, not that the country has any longstanding affinity for the SHO or large, high-horsepower vehicles in general.
It’s not completely terrible, but Changan-Ford doesn’t appear to offer anything that would light a fire under Americans shopping for a new full-size sedan. Hopefully, that makes the loss of the North American Taurus more palatable to those feeling extra raw about its continued existence in Asia.
As for the possibility of future exports, don’t count on it. Ford isn’t even considering shipping the car to other markets right now, and we don’t expect that to change anytime soon — even if US-Chinese trade tensions suddenly dissipate.
[Images: Sohu Inc]
It’s ok
..for a knock off Audi!
Ford excels at knockoffs
Chromed hanzi characters on the trunk of a Ford. Beam me up.
Fusion lives!
It’s basically an extended Fusion, less distinct than the Continental.
Resembles a Genesis G80.
That’s it, couldn’t put my finger on it
On the bright side, people will be able to use images of this car for “generic sedan.”
After 10 years of flame surfacing, metal origami, floating roofs, kinks and doinks and large mouth bass with snake eyes, I find its studied blandness a blessed relief.
This. It’s almost Volkswagenesque in its clean, unobtrusive, and yes some may call it boring elegance. I like it.
It deserves its appliance white paint: clean, safe and useful.
Save for that depressing droopy generation in 1996, yes….the Taurus is synonymous with car.
Not that bad. At least its not polarizing. Agree there presently is not enough market in the US.
Make it red and put the 2.3 EcoBoost in with a manual and I’d be interested.
If the Taurus was to have continued in the US, it wouldn’t be like that. It’d likely follow with the current Ford trends, if not lead some of them (the latest gen Taurus was a bit ahead of other vehicles). It’d be RWD based, have a 10-speed, and the 2.3L ecoboost would be the base engine. They also (hopefully) would have taken more than four seconds to design the hood. That just doesn’t look right.
Yeah, it looks bland and Generic. I would rather prefer ovaloid one, it was more dramatic and more interesting but with ancient engines from 60s.
I always considered Fusion to be the true Taurus successor.
If you’re calling it the successor of the 4th generation Taurus (pre-500), I agree. It would have been best to carry the name to the Fusion, but they weren’t quite ready to drop the Taurus.
Hi Liang! Looks like you bought a used Fusion, eh? No? It’s a new Taurus?
…Huh.
No worries, heartbroken Ford fans will be able to legally import a low-mileage 2020 CDM Taurus with a speedometer that reads in KMs… in 2045.
John will be ok!!!
I read this ad and thought of John at the end where it says only interested in a trade for a ’98 Taurus
https://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/ottawa/rare-1995-pontiac-grand-am-rare-2300-firm-o-b-o/1420900420?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true
Sadly the time has come to sell my rare pontiac grand am. i wish i didnt have to sell it, but i want to and thats why im selling it.
there wasnt alot of white color models made in 1995 because there was a white paint shortage that year buti went to the dealership and told them make me a white one no matter what it costs because i have lots of money to buy it. one hour later i drove away with it. you will not find a white 1995 model because i special ordered it. the car is amazing
it runs perfect and in excellent shape. 485000kms. you have to see it to believe it. you will love it. turns heads for sure.
only thing it needs is driver side control arm, passenger side bearing, and gas tank. needs small touch ups. full paint job done 9 month ago from a good place. no owership sorry. i am original 4th owner.
i want $2300 firm or best offer. deal will not last long. i will only trade for any mercury cougar or only 1998 ford taurus.
formula m, thanks for sharing. “never seen snow” was just too much. great sense of humor, i hope.
I like the current Fusion, the lines are clean and uncluttered. Much worse things than a boring design (i.e. Aztec). I don’t find this design boring but more minimalist with clean lines. Having owned a 2000 Taurus I always liked that particular generation. If Ford did bring this to the US it would be good to offer the 2.7 Ecoboost with it.
This car nails my longtime theory that New Holland runs Ford and not the other way around.
Looks handsomely different than all the rest of the ‘Joan Crawford head-lighted’ jelly beans today.
Back before SUVs gained the fuel economy and the ride quality that they have now, I thought there was a market for a higher MPG, upright, roomy, taller ride height than usual sedan and wagon with AWD option. (500/Taurus/Taurus-X.) (I.E. Bigger Subarus; more dealers)
In today’s world, apparently this is not the case. Too bad Ford can’t copy the Japanese and have flexible assembly lines, and build 50k of these per year, if for nothing else for me to rent it at the airport.
Curious … What’s the Joan Crawford connection? Strong eyebrows?
The name Taurus has negative value.
I would agree. The last generation Taurus was nothing but a sedan with bloated exterior dimensions and a cramped interior.
Even the guys over the the “Blue Oval” site admit as much.
For the last time, the interior is not cramped. It’s not as big as one would expect for the size of vehicle, but it’s still roomy.
The Taurus is the car that people seem to want to hate, regardless of many redeeming qualities. It’s too bad that killed it.
“The name Taurus has negative value.”
How things change. 25 years ago the Taurus was perennially neck-and-neck with Honda Accord for best-selling midsize sedan. Now it’s dead from metabolic syndrome.
Sedans are like us Boomers and Taurus the equivalent of those who never listened to their doctors.
Wow, stupid headline.
Taurus with standard RWD & optional AWD.
Based on the new 2020 Explorer.
ST version with 400HP engine from ST Explorer.
Yes, we would have wanted this version!
That wouldn’t be a Taurus.
The problem with the outgoing Taurus was the small interior relative to its exterior size. The item doesn’t address that issue. Regardless, I would want a V6. Too much iron to move with a heavily stressed four cylinder.
I’ve seen one of the Chinese market Tauruses, pre-facelift, and it was a nice-looking car. Is anybody in the market for a full-size car looking for something styled like it is out of insert-reference-here? Ok so the facelift hasn’t helped but that is easily fixed.
It is 3.2″ longer in the wheelbase than the outgoing Volvo-origin car.