Interior

Thanks to firm seating and plenty of room front and rear, nobody will complain that the 2005 Ford Taurus is a penalty box. But neither is it a poster child for sophistication, with large gaps between panels, an odd mix of materials and grains, and somewhat small front door openings.

Our Taurus SEL came with a cloth interior, a power driver’s seat with height adjustment, and fake woodgrain trim that even Ray Charles could have identified as counterfeit. The cloth upholstery feels good and seems durable, but sticks to clothes, making it harder to clamber out. The leather-wrapped steering wheel is thick and nice to hold for hours at a time, and all controls are easy to find and use thanks to clear markings and logical locations.

We particularly liked the front bench seat and its flip-folding center console. With the console folded and stowed, a middle front-seat passenger will fit into the Taurus. But for those times when six aren’t aboard – 99.9 percent of total miles accumulated on the odometer – a handy console with cupholders and a soft center armrest deploys, providing a great space to store a cell phone, toll tickets, a sunglasses case, or whatever.

Pop the trunk, and once you clear the rather tall liftover height a good-sized luggage bay can accommodate 17 cubic feet of cargo. The rear seat also splits and folds to maximize utility when needed.

We spent hours at a time driving the 2005 Ford Taurus, never uncomfortable for a moment, never searching for a place to stow something securely, and never frustrated that we couldn’t find and use a particular function or feature.