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Technology
America's most innovative full-size sedan gets even
smarter with an array of even more class-leading technologies including SYNC
with MyFord Touch, which replaces many traditional buttons, knobs and gauges
with clear, colorful LCD screens and steering wheel-mounted five-way toggles.
These screens can be personalized to display information relevant to each driver
by using voice command, keeping the driver's eyes on the road and hands on the
wheel.
MyFord Touch is powered by a new version of Ford's award-winning
SYNC system, combining voice control for vehicle functions, enabled Bluetooth
devices, MP3 players and a wide variety of external media.
The new Taurus
also adds Ford's intuitive active park assist technology, making life simpler
and more convenient for customers.
Taurus also offers the following
comfort and convenience technologies:
- New heated steering wheel adds to the comfort of the heated and cooled
leather-trimmed seats
- Multicontour seats with Active Motion, a Taurus class-exclusive
offering, help to reduce driver and first-row passenger fatigue with a
subtle rolling massage pattern
- Intelligent Access with push-button start, allowing the driver to enter
the car and start the engine via push button simply by having the key fob in
his or her possession
- Auto high beams employ a sensor to switch headlamps to high beam when no
oncoming traffic is detected
- Rain-sensing wipers use an advanced optical sensor to detect the
intensity of rain and/or snowfall to automatically adjust wiper speed
- Rear view camera activates when reverse gear is selected, projecting via
the center stack-mounted 8-inch screen
- Rear window power sunshade, a luxury-class feature that shades the rear
glass at the touch of a button, helping to keep the cabin cooler
In addition, Taurus is available with a wide variety of audio and navigation
connectivity alternatives.
Improved Driving Dynamics
Taurus
quality begins with design refinement. Building on the completely reinvigorated
2010 model, the new Taurus features a more muscular hood. Larger wheels and
tires fill out the wheel-well openings, giving Taurus an athletic stance. Rear
quarter panels have been raised, enabling larger, full LED taillamps. Without
increasing overall dimensions or vehicle weight, the new Taurus looks more
streamlined, substantial and sporty.
Improved driving dynamics is a
quality the driver will feel. Beyond the across-the-board transition to EPAS,
the hard-mounted steering rack with a faster ratio, springs and dampers have
been optimized to provide improved vehicle handling, combined with improved ride
quality.
The new Taurus dynamics benefit from the addition of torque
vectoring control. This feature uses a slight - virtually imperceptible to the
driver - amount of braking force on the inside front wheel when accelerating
through a corner. This minimal brake force provides an effect similar to a
limited-slip differential. The result is a vehicle that feels smaller and more
maneuverable, with more control when increasing speed through curves.
This innovative feature will please enthusiasts while serving as a confidence
builder for less-seasoned drivers. Torque vectoring control - normally found in
high-ticket sports cars - is a Taurus class-exclusive feature. In addition, this
feature is standard.
The new Taurus adds curve control, a unique Ford
braking control innovation aimed at slowing the vehicle, if it senses that a
driver inadvertently enters a curve too quickly. With application of four-wheel
smart braking, the vehicle can reduce speed swiftly.
Safety
The new Taurus builds on a legacy of safety, as the current model earned an
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Top Safety Pick rating. The stiff Taurus
structure contains much high-strength and ultra-high-strength steels, including
boron.
Taurus features the Trinity front-crash architecture, named for
the three elements that are designed to absorb and redirect crash forces away
from vehicle occupants. These components consist of an ultra-high-strength boron
front beam to absorb initial impact force, boron "shotgun rails" that transfer
impact forces in a diagonal path to the roof panel, and a decoupling engine
cradle within the front subframe to help prevent the powertrain from interfering
with the cabin.
Taurus also features Side Protection And Cabin
Enhancement (SPACE) Architecture, a hydroformed cross-car beam embedded in the
floor between the door frames to help provide additional strength on the sides
of the vehicle. A rigid roof crossmember, side-impact door beams and boron
B-pillar reinforcement also contribute to side-impact protection.
In the
new Taurus, airbag restraints have been enhanced with optimized tethering and
venting to specifically tailor deployment force to occupant size, position and
seat belt status. In addition, Taurus features the Safety Canopy with rollover
sensor.
Ford Taurus: Photo Gallery, Review (1/2) and Specifications