The Taurus X Is A Really Cool Idea Now That Porsche's Copied It

Jack Baruth
by Jack Baruth

When TTAC’s reliability scribe Michael Karesh bought a used Taurus X a few years ago, he was able to get it as a nearly-new car for about half of the original retail price. It’s not hard to understand why; the Taurus X, which combined the high “hip point” from the vaguely-Volvo-based Ford Five Hundred with a rather humpbacked wagon profile, was showroom poison and widely derided by automotive journalists who were in the full flush of an industry-loved love affair with “crossovers”.

Those same journos are now competing to pile the greatest number of accolades on the “Panamera Sport Turismo” concept, presumably because there are going to be some awesome European press trips involved for the writers who can generate the most suction, er, traction on the topic.

As Porsche struggles mightily to fill up every possible market niche except that of “affordable sports car”, it’s putting the Cayenne/Panamera platform to the test. While the “Sport Turismo” is certainly a visual improvement on the hopelessly dumpy PanArabia Sportisch Sedan, it’s probably an answer to a question nobody in particular has asked. The brand’s apologists will cite Ferry Porsche’s one-off 928 Shooting Brake as “heritage”, but

  • that was directly based on a 928, not a vague evolution of the Touareg
  • it wasn’t a monstrous sedan which was developed at the same time as the company was claiming it couldn’t develop a proper small Porsche

Some sort of lip service is being paid to the Greens in Europe by the announcement that this new wagon is also a plug-in hybrid. This is important for that under-served market of German plutocrats who can drop $125K on a maintenance-intensive bauble-sedan but can’t afford to put gasoline in it. Look for Chris Harris, whose journalistic integrity regarding Ferrari and other supercar makers seems to have a Stuttgart-shaped blind spot, to pronounce it the “most mega plug-in hybrid luxury sedan in history” or something similar.

Jack Baruth
Jack Baruth

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  • Akitadog Akitadog on Sep 27, 2012

    This is what the Panamera should have looked like ALL ALONG. Who wants to bet that this was a Panamera design direction that lost out to the "purist" 911 butt, but which was picked up off the cutting-room floor for this thing?

  • Zammy Zammy on Sep 28, 2012

    Oh, yay, a Porsche Pacifica!

  • ToolGuy This might be a good option for my spouse when it becomes available -- thought about reserving one but the $500 deposit is a little too serious. Oh sorry, that was the Volvo EX30, not the Mustang. Is Volvo part of Ford? Is the Mustang an EV? I'm so confused.
  • Mikey My late wife loved Mustangs ..We alway rented one while travelling . GM blood vetoed me purchasing one . 3 years after retirement bought an 08 rag top, followed by a 15 EB Hard top, In 18 i bought a low low mileage 05 GT rag with a stick.. The car had not been properly stored. That led to rodent issues !! Electrical nightmare. Lots of bucks !! The stick wasn't kind to my aging knees.. The 05 went to a long term dedicated Mustang guy. He loves it .. Today my garage tenant is a sweet 19 Camaro RS rag 6yl Auto. I just might take it out of hibernation this weekend. The Mustang will always hold a place in my heart.. Kudos to Ford for keeping it alive . I refuse to refer to the fake one by that storied name .
  • Ajla On the Mach-E, I still don't like it but my understanding is that it helps allow Ford to continue offering a V8 in the Mustang and F-150. Considering Dodge and Ram jumped off a cliff into 6-cylinder land there's probably some credibility to that story.
  • Ajla If I was Ford I would just troll Stellantis at all times.
  • Ronin It's one thing to stay tried and true to loyal past customers; you'll ensure a stream of revenue from your installed base- maybe every several years or so.It's another to attract net-new customers, who are dazzled by so many other attractive offerings that have more cargo capacity than that high-floored 4-Runner bed, and are not so scrunched in scrunchy front seats.Like with the FJ Cruiser: don't bother to update it, thereby saving money while explaining customers like it that way, all the way into oblivion. Not recognizing some customers like to actually have right rear visibility in their SUVs.
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