I personally own a 2000 Mercury Sable LS premium with the duratec v6. It has only 70911 miles on it at the time I am typing this.I got it for free from my great grandmother who doesn’t drive anymore.For the most part it’s been pretty reliable.The only super expensive repair was the air conditioner. Everything works on it with the exception of the rear passenger side door lock and the adjustable pedals. These Taurus’s and sable’s from this generation are decent cars even though they are getting up there in age.
I'll take the robustness of Vulcan cast iron engine block over the aluminum block Duratec any day. Longevity over horsepower and performance. If I wanted performance, I would get the 5.4l Mustang instead.
Never owned one myself but spent a lot of time driving or riding in these cars in high school. Basically the de facto hand me down vehicle for millennials. They were solid vehicles that were very comfortable and handled well. Can't buy a new car like this today. Everything is tuned to handle like a sports car with low profile tires. Nice riding affordable cars don't seem to exist anymore
Omg I used to watch your videos when I was probably 12-13 and I loved your attention to detail and your vibe in general and you stayed your iconic self and maintained your opinions on the cars you’d review despite a lot of annoying commentators. I feel like now that I’m older I wish I could be friends with you. I don’t have many car friends because i feel like it’s a bunch of toxic straight men yelling at each other over whose opinion is correct lol
Taurus actually came out in mid 1985 but was an early 86 model year vehicle. This is still considered a gen 3 body Taurus as its still the same body and powertrains. The 4th gen was that awful renamed Ford 500 which lasted 2 model years 2008/09 before the 5th gen 2010 to 2019 rolled out as a full size replacement for the old Crown Vics. And the Fusions replaced this size car segment for the old mid sized Tauruses. I know my Fords! Yes the Duratec is the one to have in the 3rd gens from 96-2004 as 2005-07 only offered the vulcan in its final years. The Duratec was then only offered in the 2006-2012 first gen Fusions. Ecoboosts were later offered in the 2013-2020 second gen aka (last gen) Fusions.
Personally, I'll take the longevity and robustness of the cast iron Vulcan block over the aluminum Duratec. The Vulcan engines are almost up there with the GM 3800 series in long term reliability.
@morinkhuur4945 no the 3.0 Duratec 96-2012 is the best Duratec to get and it's very reliable long as you keep up basic service on it! Now the Cyclone 3.5/3.7 those I'd be leary about! They are and can be super reliable but yes the waterpumps are internal on that engine. FWD applications are worse to do the job on that but on the RWD applications still a pain but more accessibility to get to it if needed!
@morinkhuur4945 yes the Vulcan came out 40yrs ago in 1985 shows it's long time thus being a total slug far as power and performance goes, it's easy to maintain basically making it bulletproof
@@billyschannel997Highway vs city driving maybe? Driving habits, level of engine maintenance by the owner, etc. Like, if you were to buy a used car, which would you buy from, the lead footed, reckless 18 year old, or the grandma who drives no faster than the posted speed limit and only to and from the grocery store or weekly bingo hall event.
@@morinkhuur4945 Yea I’ve got it up to 16 driving mostly highway. I take care of the car, I think it needs a new coil pack which I guess is a common issue
My brother used to have a 2007 specked out just like that, and it was decent, much better than his 2001 Lincoln LS that literally showed its "Jaguar" side (meaning unreliability) out of nowhere from a long road trip.
So weird, before it was going to shift into second, it pulls hard in mid to top end, but dies in second gear. Sadly the Continental was not mentioned 😔
I much prefer the Duratec over the Vulcan, just not a fan of the Vulcan whatsoever. I always thought these had a pretty great interior compared to the competitors, Ford’s interiors just about always hold up extremely well.
I personally own a 2000 Mercury Sable LS premium with the duratec v6. It has only 70911 miles on it at the time I am typing this.I got it for free from my great grandmother who doesn’t drive anymore.For the most part it’s been pretty reliable.The only super expensive repair was the air conditioner. Everything works on it with the exception of the rear passenger side door lock and the adjustable pedals. These Taurus’s and sable’s from this generation are decent cars even though they are getting up there in age.
After 250,000 miles they're a worthless money pit though. At least in my experience
@@kylechellino2579Thats everything
I'll take the robustness of Vulcan cast iron engine block over the aluminum block Duratec any day. Longevity over horsepower and performance. If I wanted performance, I would get the 5.4l Mustang instead.
I miss my 2008 Taurus SEL, such a nice car in terms of comfort and handling.
When I think go "generic 2000s sedan" this is exactly what I think of. The one in this video is in fantastic condition, wow.
in my eyes, still a beautiful car.
Never owned one myself but spent a lot of time driving or riding in these cars in high school. Basically the de facto hand me down vehicle for millennials. They were solid vehicles that were very comfortable and handled well. Can't buy a new car like this today. Everything is tuned to handle like a sports car with low profile tires. Nice riding affordable cars don't seem to exist anymore
Omg I used to watch your videos when I was probably 12-13 and I loved your attention to detail and your vibe in general and you stayed your iconic self and maintained your opinions on the cars you’d review despite a lot of annoying commentators. I feel like now that I’m older I wish I could be friends with you. I don’t have many car friends because i feel like it’s a bunch of toxic straight men yelling at each other over whose opinion is correct lol
Circa 2011-2012
Thanks for this video!) Please keep making such an informative videos!
finally a sedan
Taurus actually came out in mid 1985 but was an early 86 model year vehicle. This is still considered a gen 3 body Taurus as its still the same body and powertrains. The 4th gen was that awful renamed Ford 500 which lasted 2 model years 2008/09 before the 5th gen 2010 to 2019 rolled out as a full size replacement for the old Crown Vics. And the Fusions replaced this size car segment for the old mid sized Tauruses. I know my Fords! Yes the Duratec is the one to have in the 3rd gens from 96-2004 as 2005-07 only offered the vulcan in its final years. The Duratec was then only offered in the 2006-2012 first gen Fusions. Ecoboosts were later offered in the 2013-2020 second gen aka (last gen) Fusions.
Did the Duratec engines have the same design as the Ecoboost where the water pump was placed, literally, inside the engine block?
Personally, I'll take the longevity and robustness of the cast iron Vulcan block over the aluminum Duratec. The Vulcan engines are almost up there with the GM 3800 series in long term reliability.
@morinkhuur4945 no the 3.0 Duratec 96-2012 is the best Duratec to get and it's very reliable long as you keep up basic service on it! Now the Cyclone 3.5/3.7 those I'd be leary about! They are and can be super reliable but yes the waterpumps are internal on that engine. FWD applications are worse to do the job on that but on the RWD applications still a pain but more accessibility to get to it if needed!
@morinkhuur4945 yes the Vulcan came out 40yrs ago in 1985 shows it's long time thus being a total slug far as power and performance goes, it's easy to maintain basically making it bulletproof
Mine has 200k miles on it and still a daily driver for me. Averaging 21.9 mpg too.
Mine does 13 mpg how is everyone getting 20+????😫
Any issues or problems with the transmission or torque converter?
@@billyschannel997Highway vs city driving maybe? Driving habits, level of engine maintenance by the owner, etc.
Like, if you were to buy a used car, which would you buy from, the lead footed, reckless 18 year old, or the grandma who drives no faster than the posted speed limit and only to and from the grocery store or weekly bingo hall event.
@@morinkhuur4945 Yea I’ve got it up to 16 driving mostly highway. I take care of the car, I think it needs a new coil pack which I guess is a common issue
Remember 96 to 99 they did have the 3.4 liter v8
My brother used to have a 2007 specked out just like that, and it was decent, much better than his 2001 Lincoln LS that literally showed its "Jaguar" side (meaning unreliability) out of nowhere from a long road trip.
I found a 2003 Ford Taurus in the junkyard with only 49k miles on it, sadly they wouldn't sell it to me off the yard
I have a 2002 ses with little under 320k miles on it.
So weird, before it was going to shift into second, it pulls hard in mid to top end, but dies in second gear.
Sadly the Continental was not mentioned 😔
I've found me a two thousand and four with thirty five thousand miles.
Nice car
that’s the same thing i got i just bought one
I much prefer the Duratec over the Vulcan, just not a fan of the Vulcan whatsoever. I always thought these had a pretty great interior compared to the competitors, Ford’s interiors just about always hold up extremely well.