 2008 Ford Taurus Limited AWD; photo by Chris Chase. Click image to enlarge |
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The Ford Five Hundred and Freestyle were introduced for the 2005 model year, ostensibly to replace the aging Taurus (a task these two full-sizers shared with the smaller Fusion) as well as to provide a more modern alternative to the old-school Grand Marquis (nee Crown Victoria). While the original Taurus of the 1980s was a hit for its sleek Euro-wannabe styling, the Five Hundred and Freestyle proved to be relative duds for Ford at least in terms of sales.
Two things that I think hurt these big Fords were their looks – attractive but very plain – and the fact that they were available with only one underpowered engine: a 3.0-litre V6 with 203 horsepower. The fact is that while about 200 horsepower is enough to provide adequate performance in a car of this size for most driving situations, many buyers like big horsepower numbers, even if they rarely use all of it.
 2008 Ford Taurus Limited AWD; photo by Chris Chase. Click image to enlarge |
Ford tried to turn the poor sales situation around for these cars in 2008 by renaming them the Taurus (nee Five Hundred) and Taurus X (nee Freestyle), making small styling changes and dropping a new, 3.5-litre V6 with upwards of 260 horsepower into the engine compartment.
The only transmission available in the Freestyle was a continuously variable transmission (CVT); basic Five Hundreds got the CVT as standard kit, but uplevel models came with a six-speed automatic while the CVT was an option. The CVT was dropped for 2008, and a new six-speed was made standard.
All Five Hundreds, Freestyles and both Taurus models were front-drivers in standard form, with all-wheel drive being an option on all models and trim levels.
