Ford Shelves The Ovals In The New 2000 Taurus

By Ben Miller
Contributing Editor

Sidney NE - Oh boy, Ford's gotten away from the ovoid. In the last redesign of the Ford Taurus a few years ago, if you didn't like ovals, you probably didn't like the car. The radio was shaped like an oval, the rear window was shaped like an oval, the headlights were - you get the overall picture.

Designers of the new 2000 Ford Taurus didn't go out on a styling limb with the latest incarnation of the popular nameplate (more than 4 million Taurus models have been sold since the car's introduction 15 years ago). The car's new lines are crisp and clean, but most of the important changes have been made inside and under the hood.

Ford considers one improvement groundbreaking - and for those families where one spouse is significantly taller than the other, it might create some marital harmony. The brake and accelerator pedals for the new Taurus are adjustable. If you're vertically-challenged (short, in non-politically correct parlance), you can push a button on the side of the driver's seat and move the pedals closer to your feet. If the spouses are about the same height, the $120 option probably won't be utilized too much.

Another new feature that Ford is ballyhooing is the emergency trunk release feature. Ford apparently responded to the reports of youngsters locking themselves in the trunk of a car and suffering from heatstroke inside. Now, from inside the trunk, a trunk occupant can simply pull on a cable (that glows in the dark) and open the trunk. Both available V6 engines have been improved. The tested, more powerful 3.0-liter, four-valve engine now produces 200 horsepower; that's up 15 horsepower over last year's model. Gas mileage is rated at 28 miles per gallon on the highway and 20 mpg in the city.

Ford engineers apparently responded to generations of Taurus owners' suggestions in the new 2000 model and created a smooth-riding sedan that provides a lot of value for the money. About the only thing to complain about the car is the hardness of the plastic front center console and the driver's side door, where some drivers like to place their elbows when driving.

One big allure of the new 2000 Taurus will be its affordable pricing. The base price of the SE model is $20,895. The test model came with traction control, side air bags, adjustable pedals, leather bucket seats ($895) and a few other options that raised the price to only $23,185. That's not bad at all for a well-equipped, smooth-riding, quick-accelerating sedan with nearly all the goodies attached. But if you love ovals, you will be disappointed.