2016 Ford Taurus shows in Shanghai but won’t come to the U.S.

Created as a "premium business sedan" specifically for the Chinese market, a new Ford Taurus made its debut in Shanghai. Although a number of pertinent details remain under wraps for the moment, this upscale 4-door introduces the Taurus nameplate to the country that’s become the world’s largest consumer of automotive products and it’s powered by the automaker’s new 2.7-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V6. "The Ford Taurus we’re introducing today shows the amazing strength and flexibility of our One Ford plan," noted John Lawler, chairman and CEO, Ford China at the reveal. "It combines the best of our global product development and large-car expertise with a clear understanding of what Chinese customers in this segment want." 

A longer wheelbase and power-reclining rear seats 

Visually, this new Chinese-spec Taurus has an evolutionary but more contemporary appearance than our decidedly veteran version. Its cleaner, crisper character lines are set off by a tasteful recasting of its grille, lighting and fascia treatments as well as the fitment polished 19-inch 10-spoke alloy wheels. In keeping with its stated mission, the car also boasts 3.2 inches of additional wheelbase. Virtually all of that extra stretch is dedicated to making life for rear-seat passengers far better on this Taurus than it is for those in the aft quarters of its current American cousin. 

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The cabin trimout of this new Ford offering reinforces that premium persona, matching supple leather with real wood and bright chrome accenting. Ford also took great pains to engineer plenty of noise attenuation materials into the mix to keep things suitably quiet along with a full-length glass panoramic roof. As a fitting flourish, the new Taurus introduces the automaker’s first power-reclining rear seat in a Chinese model. This upscale creature feature also contains a drop-down center element in its 40/20/40 split-folding back that holds controls for the climate and audio systems. 

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As for potential U.S. implications, our sources at Ford emphatically indicate the new Taurus is China-only exercise and nothing more. Despite all of the speculation that’s been generated prior to its grand unveiling, we won’t be seeing this recast Taurus in showrooms here for the 2016 — or any other foreseeable — model year.  

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