What they tell you about Portland, Oregon is that the people there live a stress-free life. Its breweries are only outnumbered by the movie theaters that serve their fine potables. Residents live an active and healthy lifestyle. The town itself is very pedestrian friendly, and the lively culture combined with the lovely natural scenery surrounding it make for a vibrant breeding ground for artists, musicians, authors, and filmmakers.
It seemed like the perfect place to take the Ford Taurus SHO on a laid back tour, from the city to the pacific coast, for some seaside lunch via the windy mountain roads.
What they don’t tell you is that the weather there has a mind of its own.
Did you know that there’s a national club of SHO owners? They have a magazine, active online forums and even a convention. They don’t mess about. So when Ford approached them to try out the new Taurus during its development, they sent it back, presumably with a big post-it that read “needs more balls!” Ford listened, and the 2013 SHO is all that and more. The stealth beast is an AWD powerhouse that runs on a 3.5 liter twin turbocharged ecoboost V6, putting out 365 hp and 350 lb.-ft. of torque. a SHO-specific grill and SHO badges are what make this car visibly stand out from the standard sedan. An optional sport package even adds 20-inch rims to further muscle out the appearance.
I expected the drive through the city to be a slow one, feeling how the Taurus SHO is just as home in day-to-day commuting as it is belting it on the highway. It’s slower than normal because of the weather. Oregon decided to have the worst weather in the country that weekend and it wasn’t getting better. The hope of putting the SHO through a test of nimble back roads looked like it would be a test of how long me and a fellow journalist could go 30 mph without going nuts.
We are at least comfortable, and the adaptive cruise control follows the speed of the leading car, allowing us to poke around the interior. It’s very symmetrical, with all the clutter smoothed out and virtually button-less, save for the directional pads on the steering wheel. Even the Sony sound system interface has inputs that are flush with the console. The rest of the functions are available in the MyFordTouch interface. It has to be said that while MyFordTouch has its detractors, I find the compartmentalized controls to be pretty handy when doing things on the fly.
If only we were flying, we’d be getting somewhere. It looks like everyone, despite the great city behind us, has business elsewhere, and elsewhere happens to be in the same direction we’re going. The next few minutes has us slowly leaving the urban sprawl, climbing up a mountain road that surrounded by more and more of Oregon’s natural beauty. The more we take in, the less we lament our position in traffic and accept our spot in what is now a caravan of a few cars meandering up a woodland mountain. We’re enjoying it so much, we’re completely taken aback that it’s all suddenly covered in snow after two bends.
Today’s weather left a definitive altitude of where rain stopped and snow began. This set the tone for the rest of the drive as we finally pulled away from the pack and took the SHO through curvy back roads that went up and down our mountain surroundings. Bend after bend had us alternating between slush and ice, with no break for the sun. On our way in, me and my driving partner fantasized about taking sports cars on dream drives through these roads. We were thankful now for the Taurus’ AWD system, and more so when we see flashing police lights ahead. Someone has gone off the road.
Traffic has stopped. Just ahead of us is another snowy bend with a slight embankment that favors the incoming lane. As such, the poor hatchback met the ice at the bottom of the corner and slid into the trees. We watch as a Bobcat dozer is conveniently produced and pulls the little car back onto the road. Finally, we climb back inside from our gawking and watch the officer get back into his car, spin the wheels of his heavy Crown Vic, and get it stuck in the very same damn spot. He gets pulled out too and we move on. I’m hoping to avoid the same fate with some momentum, but conditions force me to rely on the AWD system of the SHO and we pass through the icy trap with no incident. Perhaps the local department should get a couple of these.
I think our Ford organizers greatly lamented the weather conditions, but it turned out to be a great challenge to put the SHO against. Carving down dry hill roads would have been great fun, but so too was the ride we here having among the slush. Torque vectoring control gave a feeling of confidence even in the mess we cleaved through. The feedback was just enough to tell us where we were in terms of grip while the ESC didn’t intervene as often as you’d imagine while the torque-sensing AWD constantly adjusted the power through the wheels for the optimum level of traction. The Taurus allowed a little slip to point the sedan in the right direction, grabbing on to the surface, and powering through any hairpins with ease.
In sport mode, it’s even more engaging. In climbing a steep hill, I let the revs climb just as high for a boost of momentum and I wasn’t interrupted at all by any electronic nanny. the subsequent descent was made even easier as the gear swaps came when I asked them to. This may be a mundane thing to point out, but in most sedans (and indeed in some coupes) with this feature, the transmission isn’t there to listen to you. The sport package further mutes the nanny as the ESC then has a “true off” option. I’m happy to have the help on these roads, though.
We’ve made it through to a long stretch of highway that bisects the hills we’re driving through. We’re right at the top and the storm, whose edges have given us loads of hassle thus far, is here in full force. The whiteout is so severe, my driving partner keeps telling me to defrost the windshield, to which I reply that there’s nothing to defrost, and it’s just that bad. At this point we’re almost driving by SYNC alone as we can’t see a foot ahead of us; not the roads or the lanes on this two-way pass.
And suddenly nothing. As if we passed by some barrier holding back the clouds, the road ahead of us opened up and led straight down to the pacific coast. I realized the weather there was fickle, but not that fickle.
Arriving at the Wayfarer Restaurant & Lounge, the sun shines on the coastal town of Cannon Beach and waves break on Haystack Rock, a towering rock formation sitting in the sand. I’m finding it difficult to believe that we were in a whiteout mere moments ago. Me and my companion reflect over lunch that, given the conditions, we were very glad to be in the Taurus SHO. It proved to be a sedan that was not only versatile, but engaging to drive. The SHO had power on demand when strength was necessary, and comfort when it wasn’t. Starting at $38,995, the Taurus SHO is a few pennies more than the standard Taurus, but you’ll see that return in performance.
I had put a lot of my trust in the SHO’s capabilities, and in the end, I was glad that I had done so. I was a little nervous knowing because we soon had to head back the way we came, and we weren’t taking the same car.
Click here to see what we drove for part 2.
Photos and Words by Alex Kalogiannis
