Ohmystinkinheck

Before Thanksgiving I was asked if I’d be interested in driving and reviewing the 2008 Ford Taurus X throughout my family’s Christmas vacation. We had a couple of road trips planned, so I thought about it for 2.5 seconds and asked my one and only question, “Are you sure you’ve contacted the right person?” After that was clarified I said “YES!”

We’ve only had it since Thursday, so I’m holding my full review until we take it to Dallas and back, but I just gotta share with you a few really cool things. AND?! For those of you who have been graced with opportunities like this in the past…please excuse the giddyness and chalk it up to me being a nooby-car-reviewer.

So, I get a phone call the day before the car is to arrive and spoke with a man named Jimmy. Jimmy was very businesslike, but with a fabulous southern drawl that made me feel right at home, and called to clarify his estimated arrival time and my address. The next day he arrived EXACTLY at the time he said he would, which means that Ford is on their game; unlike the phone company, the refrigerator installer, the dishwasher maintenance man, the tile guy, and just about any other company representative that I’ve had to deal with in the last several years. Heck, my mail isn’t even consistent - thank goodness we don’t get a paper.

And? HOW DID THEY KNOW? The Ford Taurus X that pulled up in my driveway was maroon. I bleed maroon people. Not only maroon, but spit-shine maroon. Seriously, this car was bling with a capital “B”.

Do you see Jimmy? He’s on the phone with his pick-up person. I enjoyed chatting with him a bit as he showed me some of the features of the car. Mr. OMSH had already watched a youTube video researched some of the finer points of the car once he knew we were getting it. He told me that it used to be called the Ford Freestyle and that it is a 7-passenger Crossover. In other words, all the finer features of a mini-van without the, “I can’t believe I’m actually driving a mini-van” look.

I would say it has a sort of Mini-Van merges with modern Station Wagon look. Hey! That means I’m totally retro in this car.

Safety First

The first test was Kenny’s car seat. Did it fit well into the 2nd row captain seat? Why yes, yes it did.

After clicking his seat in place I noticed the console between the 2nd row seating. Popping it open I saw the headphones and remote to the Family Entertainment System. “YES!”

First, in my Suburban, my front console stores our DVD player’s accessories and it annoys me b/c it eats up space I need for other things.

Second, the console also has 2 cup holders. Another BIG YES! In my Suburban the cup holders are affixed to the back of the front row’s console. Which is fine, EXCEPT if your child is in a car seat and cannot reach it! In the Ford Taurus X, Kenny’s drink was accessible, which saved me from having to turn around and hand Kenny’s drink to him over and over during our trip to my grandparent’s Saturday.

The Taurus X also has the cup holders behind the driver console too, making 4 cup holders. For a family of 5, this is a nice feature. The more cup holders the better.

Pick-Up

Emelie didn’t even recognize me when I pulled through the pickup line. And there were tons of oooohs and ahhhs - teachers thinking I got a new car for Christmas. Nope, no such luck, but hey, driving one for a couple of weeks isn’t anything to scoff at, eh?

Emelie loves the Sirius Satellite Radio. Jimmy, the car handler, had informed me there was an all-day, everyday Elvis station. As soon as Emelie heard that bit of news, she got fixated on the Seek button.

“Thank you…thankyouverymuch.”

Meredith got in and started looking around. “Oh good, it has a DVD player too!”.

Of course, I had already noticed that. Having one in our Suburban, I knew I wouldn’t want to make a road trip without it. The Ford Taurus X has an 8-inch flip-down LCD monitor along with the wireless headphones and remote control I found in the 2nd row’s console.

BUT! What Jeff and I discovered we LOVED about it was the dual-media function. The kids can watch their movies while those of us in the front seat can listen to our own music. SPEAKING OF MUSIC - I can listen to my iPhone in it. Whoohoo! I know most new cars have this available, but my ‘burb was purchased used and it does NOT have this feature.There is a built-in jack within the front console.

What was Kenny’s input?

“Mom, can we keep it forever?”

I considered for a moment that maybe Jimmy would get lost on his way back - maybe he’d forget to go straight, right, right, left and left again. But then I remembered the GPS. Geez louise.

“Um…no, Kenny…we can’t, but we can keep it until January 4th!”

And then I thought to myself that we’ll just have to drive it everywhere until we know it inside and out. And then? Then, after we’ve fallen deeply in love, the kids and I will hold to each other in the driveway and cry as we wave at Jimmy driving off.

21 Responses to “Some opportunities are golden and some are maroon.”

1. Sarah W.

   So did you get this like the people in the commercials?? SO cool. It seems like a really cool car!! As one who does not want to drive a minivan, this sounds so cool.

2. SmockLady

   I am a FORD woman - I heart FORD! You are soooo lucky. Will we see you on TV soon?

3. Liss

   I have a Freestyle-era…uh, Freestyle, and after over two years I still love love love it. We bought it to replace my 11-year-old dying Explorer when I was pregnant (and could not even comprehend the minivan concept). I love the storage space, I love that I can put two adults and four car seats PLUS a stroller and a load of groceries in the back (uh, not all four car seats belong to my offspring!), and I really do still love driving it.

   I am sad that I do not have an iPhone port and we did not get GPS, though. And since we keep and drive our cars for an average of 10 years, I will pretend that I did not read that sentence about the iPhone port, mkay?

   Have fun!

4. Jill - GlossyVeneer

   Wow… what a fancy schmancy blog perk!

   I wish our cars had the port for the iPod to plug in… as it is now we just use the crummy tape deck adapter in my husband’s car that came with our portable XM radio.

5. Mrs. Wilson

   How the heck did you get to review that car?? That is SO cool and I am SO jealous! I recently rented an SUV when I was in Vancouver and totally wanted to drive off with it never to be seen/heard from again … then I remembered that they had my credit card number …

   Have fun!!

6. Neil

   How cool! I can’t wait to see you and your family on TV when they shoot your commercial. Remember to wear a clean blouse.

7. Nicki

   I likey. We bought a mini-van a couple of years ago and my coolness factor has never been so low. I may have to opt for one of these in the future. Thanks for the review!

8. OMSH

   What in the world are you guys talking about? Commercials? I ain’t gonna be in no stinkin’ commercial!

   RE: I seriously do need some kind of update - you know we don’t have cable for our television.

9. Steph

   OMSH - Ford has a series of commercials about people who’ve traded their non-Fords in for an equivalent Ford for a week. Ford didn’t tell these people they’d be in commercials; Ford simply called it “market research.” (I would assume to avoid biasing the drivers.)

   The commercials are then the drivers’ responses to the differences between the Ford vehicles and the vehicles they traded.

10. Angella

    How fun for you guys!

    We are Toyota/Honda people, but that looks like one sweet ride :)

11. Holley

    Jealous. If I could type in green I would. I’m driving a POS Plymouth G. Voyager that we have had for six years. It is the biggest hunk of junk ever. After the first of the year we were going to shop around for a newr van or Suburban. Now I’m thinking I better look around. Although this Voyager has pretty much turned me off to American made cars.

    Enjoy your new ride this Christmas.

    Merry Christmas to you and your family from Mississippi.

12. Caron

    Bling is great, but what about the gas mileage? It was only a couple posts ago we were all discussing a less materialistic christmas wasn’t it?

13. Kristin

    That does not look Mini-van-like at all to me! That’s HUGE!
    Enjoy your new RIDE!

14. Aileen

    What a great looking vehicle!! Enjoy it for as long as you can. But whatever you do… don’t name it. Once you give it a name, it will be that much harder to let it go. Sniff.

15. Jersey Girl

    That is soooo cool!!!!! I have to give Jimmy my number!

16. She Likes Purple

    I too bleed maroon :)

17. OMSH

    Steph - Thanks for the clarification…I had no idea.

    Angella - Jeff has a Honda Civic - purchased specifically so it could be Em’s first car in another 5 years AND to save on gas mileage to work and back!

    Holley - I drove used cars primarily. I briefly had a stint with a truck, but traded it in when Jeff found the used Suburban at a good price.

    I’m satisfied with used as long as it is running properly. My mini-van I drove for several years was used and literally started falling apart. I KNOW POS. I’ve HAD POS. :)

    Caron - Ah, I’m saving my full review for our drive to Dallas and back. I think we averaged 24mph (partial highway miles and the rest county roads and the like)
    Remember…I didn’t buy the car - I drive/bought a used car. I’m driving this for free to write a review. :)

    Kristin - It isn’t really that huge - not as big as a mini-van. Or maybe not as tall? Hmmm…need to evaluate that a bit further.

    Aileen - It really is purty! I WILL let it go. No new cars for me for a long while. I joke about not wanting to let it go, but truly I’m not the one that regularly has their head turned by new vehicles (turning my head to look at Mr. OMSH).

    Jersey Girl - Well, since he’s the handler…not sure that’ll do you much good. :)

    She Likes Purple - WHOOOP!

18. Lanna

    Wow, how exciting. I was all impressed with the features until I realized/rememebered it was a Ford. My family has *not* had good luck with Fords. At all (oh, say, like a Focus that will stall just as you’re pulling onto the highway that has seatbelts that won’t stay put, etc.). Lookin’ forward to the review - and more photos! :)

19. moosh in indy

    It’s only a fourteen hour drive to Utah.
    That would really give it a good test drive.

20. Gram

    OK, were you really surprised at the color or did some A&M vibe just come through?? What a fun opportunity for you guys during the holidays. I especially loved the photos of the kids, although the shot with Jimmy’s reflection on the bumper is really quite well done!!

21. manda

    I’m so jealous! The second console is a wonderful concept. And the maroon..scrumptious!