[timeshifter]

You may have seen my thread Help Sell A Long-time Accord Owner On A Taurus. After all the discussion I figured I ought to drive one again, it's been a while, years since I drove a Taurus.

First up was a 2000 SES with about 50,000 miles. Pretty boring overall, looks, colors, features (cloth interior, column mounted gear shift, etc.). It had the Duratec engine and pretty good pep.

But the car that really caught my eye was an 03 SES wagon they had on the lot with 9,000 miles. It was a light gold color with all leather interior. Very attractive. But I found out something quite amazing -- I couldn't see out the front windshield very well.

If I wanted to look just to my right out the front I'm looking right at the rear-view mirror. I'm about 6' tall. Tried all the seat height adjustments, but nothing made much of a difference. It created a huge blind spot and seemed very dangerous to me. I could duck down and look under or stretch up and look over. Otherwise the big mirror is right there at eye level. This car had some kind of compass and other fancy features in the mirror. I went back to the plain 2000 sedan I drove earlier. The problem was similar there, but not quite as bad.

I always thought that a rear-view mirror was supposed to be up above your head. To look back you have to look up.

Anyone else experience this? Any comments?

 

[firespirit]

just one comment - maybe the wagon isn't for you.

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[sfblacksel]

Did you try moving the mirror or is it fixed? I know on my mirror I can move the little stick thing up more to move the mirror up out of the way. If it has a compass and thermometor in it, it may be fixed. If it is, just try another dealer as there are tons of these cars out there. By the way, leather is usually only optional on the SEL models, but Ford does break its own rules. When I was buying my first Taurus, I saw a 2000 SES with leather and climate control. Anyways, just make sure you get the Duratec if you want more power. Some claim the 12 valve vulcan more dependable though.

 

[timeshifter]

I believe it was an SEL model, put SES in my original post by mistake. Yeah, I looked at it, but could see now way to move it. Had some wires coming down from above leading to the mirror. It seemed pretty well fixed in place.

 

[Hammy211]

YES!! My wife and I both noticed this almost immediately. I would imagine that it would be the same problem in all Taurus with the fancy mirror unless they mount it lower in the wagon for some reason. I would still like to find a way to lower it but I haven't messed with it. At 5'8" we can get away with just lowering the seat all the way.