Not a SEXY CAR, but good for a family!!!!

I have been a passenger many times in my friend's 1998 Taurus, and even driven the car a couple of times. This car has four doors, and all the models look the same from 96-99 except for the positioning of the ford logo on the grill. The view seems to be good from all areas of the car, with blind spots being easy to see. In the two years that my friend has had this car, it has been nothing but reliable. I don't think it even has been in the shop yet except for oil changes. However, the car was made with inferior brakes which often squeak, but at least they still work. Another problem that my friend has with the car is the electrical system. Often, the door ajar light will go on when all the doors are closed properly, thus, leaving on the lights on the ceiling and the lights the light up the driver's and passenger's feet. But a back up system seems to kick in which will shut off the lights before the battery dies. Another defect that I have noticed in my friend's car and other similar cars is that the left brake light burns out easily. But don't let this stop you from making a decision since they can be replaced for about $1.50.

The interior of the car is very modern and circular. What I don't like about this design is that the stereo and the heat/air conditioning at attached to each other, so it would be impossible to put in a custom stereo without removing the ventilation system. There may be a way around this problem, but I am not a car expert, so I cannot tell you how to solve this problem.

This car give a very quiet and smooth ride, and the handling is excellent. The car, which is made with a six cylinder engine seems to have a lot of power, and a good passing gear. It also has many other excellent features, such as the doors automatically locking when driving, power windows and doors, remote keyless entry with controls for the doors, trunk, and a panic button which makes the horn honk loudly until the button is pressed again. Also, the horn will honk when the button to lock is pressed twice on the remote, which ensures the driver that the car is properly locked. The seats are very comfortable, and the driver's seat has power settings to move the seat up and down, and forward and backward. The car is equipped with and easy to use cruise control with the buttons on the steering wheel. One button will turn it on, there is a button to set it at the speed you are currently going, an acceleration button which increases the speed by about three clicks, and a coast button which decreased the speed by about three clicks. The car has adequate trunk space, but the opening to the trunk is not very wide, making it hard to carry large objects. The trunk can be opened from inside the car, with a button close to the steering wheel. The back seat folds down in three panels giving access to the trunk, which is nice for carrying long objects. Also, what I like about the three panels is that two people can still sit in the back seat with part of it folded down (as opposed to my Cavalier where the whole seat folds down and I sometimes have to have people sit on top of the seat).

The car seats six people, being very spacy in the back, but a little cramped in the front. The console folds down to produce the sixth seat, or can be put up to yield three cup holders, a small compartment, and a small area for papers, sunglasses, cd players, etc. The two sun visors both have vanity mirrors, but are hard to see since there are no lights on the mirrors. In addition to the light that goes on when the doors are open on the ceiling of the car, there are also two lights that can be turned on with a switch right beside them.

As for winter driving, this car seems to be well equipped. The brakes work well on ice and snow, and with the addition of winter tires, this car would be perfect. And of course, it is also good for summer driving. The car has two airbags, one in the steering wheel, and one above the glove compartment. The glove compartment is of good size, and is lit up when opened.

One other thing I don't like about the car is the angle of the windshield. It seems to be positioned in the best possible way to collect dirt. My friend has gone through a whole jug of washer fluid in three days before when it was raining and the roads were slushy. There was another time on a trip in the winter when the windshield was getting dirty so fast and even after cleaning it, it was still almost impossible to see through. Luckily we were able to make it to a gas station to properly clean the windshield, but even after that, it soon got dirty again.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this car. It is perfect for a family with small children, however, if you have three children, you may want to invest in a minivan for road trips.