2009 Ford Taurus X Quality Review

Like most crossovers, the 2009 Ford Taurus X boasts comfortable front- and second-row seats, but the third row struggles to accommodate adults.

The 2009 Ford Taurus X offers seating capacity for six or seven, depending on configuration. Cars.com discovers that "two captain's chairs are the standard second row, but a 60/40-split three-seat bench is a no-cost option," which accounts for the difference in seating capacity. Reviewers at the Washington Post praise the "comfortable, ergonomically appealing interior," and Cars.com raves about the "roomy seats in all three rows." USA Today reports that "passenger space is listed as 146.2 cubic feet," which leaves plenty of room for comfortable accommodations. ConsumerGuide says that "headroom and legroom are both six-footer ample" up front, while "available fore and aft sliding 2nd-row buckets allow favoring leg space or cargo room." ConsumerGuide also mentions that their "testers are divided on the 3rd-row accommodations," as some say "it's surprisingly spacious," while others "call it adequate at best."

TheCarConnection.com notes few complaints about interior space in this Ford; 2009's Taurus X, the Washington Post reports, has "rear seats [that] easily can be flipped and folded to make room for lots of cargo," with a capacity of "85.5 cubic feet with second- and third-row seats folded" and "15.8 cubic feet with those seats raised." However, Jalopnik is disappointed to discover that the "seats aren't removable...and even while flat, severely impinge on luggage capacity." On the positive side, Autoblog says the Taurus X's "interior offers a number of configuration options that allow drivers to take advantage of the middle name in CUV." ConsumerGuide points out "all rear seats fold flat," providing a "wide load deck [that] stretches to 9.5-ft with the right-front seatback folded down." Cabin storage is a plus as well, with ConsumerGuide noting that the "useful console and dash top bins swallow lots of small stuff" and Autoblog praising the "plenty of storage space throughout the interior, including deep, wide pockets in all four door panels with Ford's now customary cup holders molded in."

One issue that continues to haunt the 2009 Ford Taurus X is material and build quality. Cars.com laments the "so-so materials and some shoddy build quality," while ConsumerGuide says that "materials disappoint," thanks to the "hard plastics [that] dominate the interiors." MyRide.com claims that some of the plastics "had some rough edges that could have used a few minutes more in the finishing department, [and] the interior pillar covers were loose," along with gap problems that "were minor but numerous."

Despite a few complaints regarding assembly quality, the 2009 Ford Taurus X does a respectable job of minimizing road noises. Automotive.com says that the Ford Taurus X "is very quiet inside at freeway speeds" and the "engine is quiet and smooth at idle." The only time noise gets intrusive, according to ConsumerGuide, is "during acceleration," when the "coarse engine note intrudes" into the otherwise hushed cabin.