The car you’re driving can make or break a road trip and the 2013 Ford Taurus I took on a 2000 mile plus road trip this summer made the journey all the better. I drove it from New Hampshire to Indianapolis and back again and was happy to call it home for a few days.
No matter how much you like to drive and now matter how much you like your car, you’re ready to get out of the damn thing by the time a long drive is over. The question is whether you want to ever get back in it again or if you’d rather see it burn in the fiery pits of hell.
I made the trip with just my husband, no kids in tow, and we had the car packed full of stuff. This is where the 2013 Ford Taurus gained its first points. The trunk is big. It’s huge. One might say cavernous. Its 20.1 cubic feet fit every last bit of luggage and we even had room to stuff in random souvenirs we picked up along the way. And we didn’t even need to use the ample rear seats.
It’s also important on road trips to be able to charge your gadgets and to have a place to put them while they’re charging. An outlet in a too-small storage console, or one without any surface nearby to hold your gadget is useless.
The 2013 Ford Taurus had both ample outlets in both the lower dash and inside the center console. There were USB jacks in the center console and it was big enough to actually hold things so they weren’t balanced on the arm rest and ready to slide at the first sharp corner. We kept two phones and a Wi-Fi hotspot fully charged throughout the trip.
It’s not just tech you need to find a place for, but drinks and packs of gum and whatever else you manage to collect from gas station to gas station. There was ample storage for everything between the glove box, door storage and console.
Speaking of gas stations, the 2013 Ford Taurus SEL AWD is rated 18 city/26 highway for a 21 MPG combined rating. We averaged 25.9 mpg even with stops off the beaten path that has us winding through side roads far off the highway. Not too shabby for a full-size sedan with a fully loaded trunk and two adults.
Last, but possibly most important, was the drive experience. The front seats are comfortable and spacious. After six hours behind the wheel I wasn’t stiff and I was ready to keep driving.
It’s also a powerful ride with a 3.5-liter V6 with 288 hp and 254 lb-ft of torque. You feel that on the highway and it lets you accelerate nicely in tight traffic so the giant truck in you rearview mirror doesn’t end up in your backseat.
The 2013 Ford Taurus is a wonderful road trip car. It’s got plenty of space, seats that won’t have your back in knots after hours on the road, and all the power you need to get where you’re going safe and happy.
Nicole Wakelin fell in love with cars as a teenager when she got to go for a ride in a Ferrari. It was red and it was fast and that was all that mattered. Game over. She considers things a bit more carefully now, but still has a weakness for fast, beautiful cars. Nicole also writes for NerdApproved and GeekMom.
