2013 Ford Taurus: What's New

Vehicle Overview

The 2013 Taurus is available in SE, SEL and Limited trim levels and is offered with front- or all-wheel drive. The Taurus, which seats up to five people, competes with the Hyundai Azera and Toyota Avalon. It is also offered as the high-performance Taurus SHO, which is powered by a twin-turbo V-6 engine.

(Skip to details on the: Taurus SHO)
New for 2013
The Taurus is available with a new turbocharged four-cylinder engine that makes 240 horsepower while the 3.5-liter V-6 adds variable valve timing, which results in better gas mileage and a 25-hp boost to 288 hp.

Design changes include a sculpted hood and revised front-end styling. New features include Torque Vectoring Control for smoother cornering, Curve Control to automatically reduce speed if a corner is approached too quickly, and active grille shutters for better gas mileage.
Exterior
The Taurus’ sleek sheet metal bestows a sporty look on Ford’s flagship car. The grille and front bumper combination is reminiscent of Ford’s European cars.

The sporty look continues around back with the trunk lid and taillights. The trunk lid’s forward-swept design recalls old wooden speedboats, but the look doesn’t translate particularly well on land. Exterior features include:

• Standard 17-inch wheels
• Standard body-colored door handles, front and rear bumpers
• Standard chrome grille accents and chrome-tipped exhaust
• Optional 18-,19- or 20-inch wheels
• Optional power moonroof

Interior
The Taurus has room for five on front bucket seats and a three-person rear bench. The Taurus’ backseat is big, but it feels like the roof is encroaching more on rear passenger space compared with pre-2010 models. Interior features include:

• Standard air conditioning
• Standard power driver’s seat
• Standard tilt/telescoping steering wheel, cruise control and a CD stereo
• Optional MyFord Touch and Sync multimedia system
• Optional leather seats
• Optional power-adjustable pedals
• Optional heated and cooled front seats, heated rear seats and power rear sunshade

Under the Hood
The Taurus is powered by a standard 3.5-liter V-6 that makes 288 hp or an optional turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder that makes 240 hp but returns better estimated gas mileage. Mechanical features include:

• Standard six-speed automatic transmission
• Maximum towing capacity is 1,000 pounds, when properly equipped

Safety
Safety features include:

• Antilock brakes
• Side-impact airbags for the front seats
• Side curtain airbags
• Electronic stability system
• Optional rear parking sensors
• Optional blind spot warning system and collision warning system

Taurus SHO
Ford revived an old trim with the Taurus SHO — it stands for Super High Output — which effectively caps the Taurus lineup from a performance and luxury standpoint. The SHO swaps the Taurus’ standard drivetrain for a twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6 with direct injection. It’s one of the first engines in Ford’s EcoBoost initiative, which forgoes larger engines for smaller turbocharged ones.

The Taurus SHO’s EcoBoost makes 365 hp and 350 pounds-feet of torque. It works with a six-speed automatic transmission with steering-wheel paddle shifters. All-wheel drive is standard as is a sport suspension.

Other changes are fairly subtle. Among them are a unique grille, various SHO badges, 19- or 20-inch wheels, dual exhaust pipes and a rear spoiler. Beefier brakes, sport-tuned steering, a shorter final drive ratio, 20-inch summer tires and an off mode for the electronic stability system are part of the SHO Performance Package. Back to top