1987 Ford Taurus LX Wagon review from North America

The Engine:

The 3.0 is a great engine, which is why Ford is still offering it as the base engine in the Taurus today. The only major things that went wrong with mine are the alternator, water pump, and ignition module. All of the above went out at around 100K miles.

The Body:

The doors rusted to heck soon after we bought it. I guess this was before rust prevention was a big deal to Ford, as the fasteners that held the LX style trim on the sides allowed water into the doors, while the trim held it there.

My father was the one who bought the car, and after he was side-swiped by a garbage truck (crinkling up the passenger's side, with no damage to the functioning of the doors) he gave me the car. He had just bought a Focus. I didn't treat it too well. I got it stuck in a ditch twice, got hit by a GELOC crane in the rear driver's side corner, knocking out that window (covered the hole with a piece of shower curtain) and knocked out a fender by hitting the corner of a haywagon while doing backwards donuts in a wet lawn. I replaced the fender myself. It was fun.

The thing that really did the car in was sliding off the road and hitting a tree going backwards at about 30 MPH. That's what I get for driving in a blizzard on Michigan country roads. This accident demolished the tailgate, but since the lights all still worked, I drove the car for another 2,500 miles.

I got laughed at a lot for the horrific body damage. I did the laughing when I drag raced better-looking, but slower cars and won.

You can't kill this car. I still have it around, although since I have a '99 Mystique (I've written a review for it as well) I don't drive the Taurus (a.k.a. The BattleWagon) much.

Since I had the LX trim level, this car had all the goodies. I love the digital dash, and both the driver and the passenger are treated to power seats with lumbar support. Exceedingly comfortable, but so-so performance. It's a station wagon, after all.