2011 Ford Taurus SHO Review

2011 Ford Taurus Sho Review

The 2011 Ford Taurus SHO has an unassuming exterior but delivers impressive horsepower under the hood. A small but very vocal contingent of car nuts is inexplicably passionate about classic Ford Taurus SHO. After experiencing the performance and the brilliance of the 2011 Ford Taurus SHO, the only thing one might find a bit odd is that the car is called Taurus. Fortunately, Ford is a company with considerable institutional memory, so when they brought the Taurus back—this time as Ford's top Sean—they resurrected the Ford Taurus SHO iteration of the car as well.

More than just a terrific performer though, our test Ford Taurus SHO came loaded with the latest high-tech safety features. The blind spot indication system illuminates indicators on the appropriate side mirror when another car is in a blind spot. Put the Taurus in reverse, the rear window shade retracts (if deployed) and the car's touch screen displays video from a camera on the trunk. The Taurus has easily paired Bluetooth capability for hands-free calling with Microsoft's SYNC telematics system. The car's 12-speaker Sony audio system features iPod connectivity, a CD/DVD player and a hard drive for storing music.

Ford Taurus SHO

When Ford decided that it would essentially relegate its Taurus to fleet sales beginning with a 2000 refresh, the SHO was an early catastrophe. Clamoring SHO nuts begged Ford for a rewrite, which finally arrived as a 2010 promising a new recipe for success.

We finally took Ford up on the opportunity to spend some quality time in a 2011 Ford Taurus SHO, even though we refuse to pronounce as show. Sorry, Blue Oval. The Ford Taurus SHO might seem like just a jazzed up full-size sedan, but it’s much more than that. Bowing for 2010, the latest Taurus follows in a long line of large Ford family sedans that once totally dominated the automotive landscape in America.

This latest car reprises the somewhat historic SHO nameplate, but instead of the naturally aspirated V6 and V8 front-wheel-drive models that preceded it, the new car boasts a twin-turbo Ecoboost V6 and all-wheel-drive. Undoubtedly, the Ford Taurus SHO is loaded with solid tech for the money. It boasts Ford’s still-advanced second-generation infotainment system with Sirius Travel Link updates, a high-power Sony audio system and, if you tick all the right boxes, heated, ventilated and massaging seats covered in leather and synthetic suede.

Ford aimed to make the Taurus SHO feel like a personal luxury vehicle geared at satisfying the most demanding and hedonistic needs. Ford can do great interiors at this price point – check out the Ford Flex platform mate, for one. Ford’s engineers carefully tuned the intake and exhaust to deliver a mild and refined growl that perfectly suits the vehicle’s mission. The SHO neutral all-wheel-drive system seemed best tuned for outright grip, with each wheel eagerly scrabbling for traction when driven aggressively. Combine the Ford Taurus SHO so-so steering with substantial body lean and we felt compelled to drive at no more than 7/10ths, where the big sedan seemed happiest.