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I'm considering buying one of the following Ford cars:
-Ford Crown Victoria - any late 1990's to 2000's and 2010's model years
-Ford Taurus - 2007 to 2020 version
-Ford 500 - 2005 to 2007
1) How does the Ford 500 compare with the Ford Taurus of the same or similar years? They both look identical. I'm confused. Are they basically the same car or not?
2) How well does the Ford Crown Victoria of the same or similar years to the Taurus and 500 compare? I already know the Crown Vic is rear wheel drive and the darling of cops and taxi services. Not so with the Taurus or 500. I already know those kinds of basics.
3) When were the last model years of Crown Victoria sold to the general public versus when they were last sold to the police, taxi services and other fleet buyers?
1.) They are the same car from 2005 through 2009. When sales fell flat during the initial release of the 2005-2007 Ford 500, Ford changed the name to the Taurus for 2008 and 2009. The Ford 500/Taurus from 2005 through 2019 are all built on the Ford D3 platform.
2.) They are similar that they are full sized cars, but that's about it. The Vic is a full frame sedan with V8 and RWD, the Taurus is a unibody platform that shares it's chassis with the Explorer and features a transverse engine with FWD or AWD. The both have big ass trunks
3.) 2007 was the last civilian offering. fleet sales continued through 2011
1997-2001 Crown Victorias had a problematic plastic intake crossover that is prone to cracking and flooding the engine with coolant. 2003 and later have a stiffer frame and suspension, and rack and pinion steering versus recirculating ball on 2002 and earlier. 2005 and later have electronic throttle control.
1.) They are the same car from 2005 through 2009. When sales fell flat during the initial release of the 2005-2007 Ford 500, Ford changed the name to the Taurus for 2008 and 2009.
They also gave it a minor styling update. The grille, headlights, and taillights are all different between the 500 and Taurus of the same generation. I believe they might have done some small updates to the interior as well.
I would much rather have one of the Panther Platform cars, ideally a Grand Marquis or Town Car from an elderly owner, over either the Taurus or 500.
That is, unless you're considering a current generation Taurus SHO, in which case, I would take that hands down.
It's almost hard to imagine anyone actually buying a late model Taurus for "civilian" use. Here in the northeast they are nearly extinct on the roads, unless it's a police vehicle, and even those have been replaced by Explorers for the most part, or cheaper Dodge stuff for departments on a budget. IIRC, when the latest body style came out Consumer Reports said it didn't really matter how good the car was, since the lack of rear seat and trunk room made it too stupid to even consider, given all the competition. Pretty sad actually, since we had a Taurus as a family car, that we loved, before they devolved into the jelly bean, then the fake VW Passat (500) and finally the current unsellable mess.
It's almost hard to imagine anyone actually buying a late model Taurus for "civilian" use.
I bought one. I'd never buy a NEW one though, but on the used market they are highly affordable
Shopping for a 2nd one now and looked at a fully loaded '18 FWD limited with every option available, the 288HP 3.5Lv6 and 22K miles on it for under $20K. Hard to find any other car so affordable and not have a wheezy underpowered engine under the hood.
I've got a '14 Limited right now. Bought it 1 year old for 50% off the sticker price.
As much as I wanted a SHO model, I've already got a few Mustangs keeping me busy and don't need the 365 HP for my commuting.
... "plastic intake crossover"? Is that the same thing as an "intake manifold"?
Yes.
On the early models it was 100% plastic including the coolant crossover tube. There were issues with it cracking so ford redesigned the manifold with an aluminum crossover tube. Here's a Mustang version for example
I had a 500, and the wife currently dd's a '17 SHO. The Taurus/500 on the old Volvo platform were simply a name change. It was a great car with the 3.0L. Monstrous back seat, reliable. No awards for exciting driving, but affordable, solid transportation.
The SHO with the EcoBoost is great. The interior feels small, but it's mostly because of the large center console. Trunk on the new Taurus is probably the largest since sedans of the 70's. Definitely could haul three golf bags/bodies as required. Plus with the SHO you get AWD, and in black it automatically creates a bubble of the world's safest drivers around you, as you look like the cops.
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