2012 Ford Taurus SHO Review and Prices

Styling: The 2012 Ford Taurus SHO is visually unchanged, with the exception of a new exterior color choice, Ginger Ale Metallic. This full-size sedan remains a mature-looking, even understated performance car, with a long hood, low roofline, and tall rear deck. As before, it’s distinguished from the rest of the Taurus line by subtle styling cues that include a specific grille treatment, a rear spoiler, twin chrome exhaust tips, and unique aluminum wheels with low-profile performance tires.

The 2012 Taurus SHO’s shares its basic cabin design with other Taurus models but steps out with several exclusive touches, including specific 10-way power adjustable leather-trimmed front seats with suede inserts, a perforated leather-wrapped steering wheel, aluminum accelerator and brake pedals, aluminum dashboard trim, and SHO-logo floormats.

Like every Taurus, the SHO’s generous exterior dimensions are at odd with a somewhat cramped interior. This sedan’s beltline -- the edge of the body that meets the windows -- is rather high and can make shorter drivers feel as if they’re riding too low. And the relatively low roofline can cheat taller riders out of needed headroom. Plus, back-seat legroom isn’t as generous as one might expect in a car of this size. The trunk is huge – at 20.1 cubic feet, it leads the class -- but a narrow cargo opening limits loading taller objects.

Mechanical: The 2012 Taurus SHO is a modern-day muscle car. While automakers once followed a formula that dictated fitting a car of this size with the largest V-8 engine they had available, that paradigm has shifted, at least at Ford. Thus, the SHO comes instead with a twin-turbocharged and direct-injected 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6.

This engine is also available in the 2012 Ford Flex crossover and in assorted Lincoln models. It’s most powerful incarnation is in the Taurus SHO, where it generates 365 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque, some 100 horses and 100 pound-feet more than the conventional 3.5-liter V-6 in other 2012 Ford Taurus models.

The 2012 Taurus SHO delivers V-8-like thrust yet has the same fuel economy ratings as an all-wheel-drive Taurus with the non-turbo 3.5-liter V-6. The 2012 Taurus SHO further includes a specially calibrated six-speed automatic transmission that includes steering wheel mounted paddle shifters for manual gear changes.

Ford offers all-wheel drive (AWD) on mainstream Taurus models as wet-road traction-enhancing alternative to front-wheel drive. On the Taurus SHO, AWD is standard and is specially calibrated to boost both wet-road traction and dry-pavement performance. Plus, it effectively negates torque steer, which is the annoying tendency of a powerful front-wheel-drive car to pull to one side under heavy acceleration. (This is one reason most sports cars and luxury cars come with rear-wheel-drive, which is geometrically immune to torque steer.)

In addition, the 2012 SHO has quicker electric power steering and tauter suspension tuning than other Taurus models. The result is more precise handling, albeit at the expense of a slightly harsher ride. Aggressive SHO drivers can delay intervention from Ford’s standard AdvanceTrak Electronic Stability Control system at the push of a button to allow a degree of wheel slippage through the turns. The system will, however, still help prevent the SHO from fishtailing out of control if necessary.

An optional 2012 Taurus SHO Performance Package includes additional steering, suspension, and transmission tweaks, and replaces the standard 19-inch all-season tires with  20-inch summer performance tires on specific alloy wheels. The package also adds a mode to disable the antiskid system altogether to afford a greater degree of “drift” through the curves. Overall, the 2012 Ford Taurus SHO remains an entertaining ride, with plenty of acceleration on demand and quick and secure handling.

Features: As befits a top-of-the-line ride, the 2012 Ford Taurus SHO is jam-packed with standard comfort and convenience features. These include Ford’s Sync multimedia control system that affords voice-command control of various systems, full connectivity with iPods and mobile phones, and real-time traffic and weather information.

An HD Radio system is optional for receiving higher sound-quality broadcasts (where available). It also allows a user to “tag” songs, which saves artist and title information of tunes on a connected iPod or iPhone for later retrieval and/or purchase via the online iTunes music store.

Assorted top-shelf amenities are optional on the 2012 Ford Taurus SHO, including a voice-activated navigation system, rear backup camera, xenon headlamps, power moonroof, heated and cooled front seats with an added massaging function, and a multicolor ambient interior lighting array.

Also available is Ford’s Collision Warning with Brake Support, which alerts the driver with aural and visual cues if the system feels an impact is inevitable and primes the brakes to full force in anticipation of a panic stop. Ford’s optional Blind Spot Information System with Cross Traffic Alert (BLIS) warns of vehicles sitting outside the driver’s field of vision during lane changes or when backing out of a parking space or garage.