SHO ultimate family sedan?

[Badata]

Hi everybody. Ive been on the prowl for a new family sedan. After tons of research I think The SHO is the best out there. For the price you cant beat the performance and the tech goodies and the luxury feel. nothing even close with awd. Feels as fast as my old trailblazer ss. And with a few easy mods im hoping for 12s. Anyways just found a great deal on a ruby red im currently in process of buying. a few ?

Found this site that will show you small quick sticker of car and you can purchase the full for 5$.
https://beaverdamautos.com/
the free quic sticker shows mine has PP and multi countor seats

1st question I think it should have massaging seats. I see that its listed through the vin. The car has the 4 buttons on the side seat. 2 are l shape like the seat and control forward back up down. The middle has a 4 way button that controls lumber but up and down didnt feel anything. And than there is the smaller 2 way button. that i missed. Also can i turn them on through touch screen?

2nd any info on the nexen n5000 tire? dealer recently replaced original because they were worn. so they are brand new. And plus i was thinking of keeping flower wheels for winter. going to try and find the newer machine/black 5 spoke.

Car has 2 weeks left for ford warranty and im planing on taking to a ford dealer and getting esp.

 

[OmaHahn]

Just play with those buttons - mine on the 2014 SHO has the massage button that runs horizontal - while in your driveway just push one of the buttons and give it a good 3-5 seconds for it to kick on and start the massage rollers. The up & down one is great! I know nothing about those tires. I hate my flowers!! Looking for a all gloss black wheel - also keeping the flowers for winter.

 

[shobote]

Ultimate family sedan has to be the Chevy SS. Aussies at Holden know how to build solid, fast V8's. Great chassis with excellent handling, big Brembo's, smooth riding, LS3, , 6 sp, manual, and magnetorheological susp. and is even a better track car than the new Camero SS.

 

[markathome]

Back in 2010, you couldn't get the same options on premium German luxury makes like Mercedes and Audi, or even Infinity and Lexus.
The very next year, those brands added the missing options to their cars.
(Heated rear seats, massaging cooled/heated fronts, Bluetooth texting & streaming audio, cross traffic alerts, and I don't think anyone but Ford offers 911 support forever with a Bluetooth paired phone)


Sent from my XT1094 using Tapatalk

 

[OmaHahn]

Didn't SS get bad reviews from motor trend and others? Also lacks AWD for the majority of US that gets inclement weather.

 

[SilverSH0]

I haven't seen any way to turn the massaging seats on via touch screen. The only way I've found is using the buttons on the side of the seat.

Didn't SS get bad reviews from motor trend and others? Also lacks AWD for the majority of US that gets inclement weather.

For me the AWD was what kept me from ever seriously looking into the SS or a G8 (and that I find the GM interiors hideous). While there are other 4 door family cars out there with better performance, the SHO was really the best option that met my requirements.

 

[Orguss]

The Cadillac XTS V-Performance is comparable in size and power, but starts at $64k. Ford still manages to **** me off with their underpowered engines compared with GMs similarly-sized twin turbo motors.

 

[Butcher]

I haven't seen any way to turn the massaging seats on via touch screen. The only way I've found is using the buttons on the side of the seat.


For me the AWD was what kept me from ever seriously looking into the SS or a G8 (and that I find the GM interiors hideous). While there are other 4 door family cars out there with better performance, the SHO was really the best option that met my requirements.

I had a G8 GT before my SHO. To me, you really can't compare the two cars. The SHO is a decent, relatively comfortable car. It has all the bells and whistles. The G8 was more of a driver's car. It had much better feedback and felt more connected to the road. It also had way more interior room than the SHO, and was WAY better ergonomically. Not to mention, On Star was much, MUCH better than My Sync. In Winter weather, the G8 was fine with a decent set of tires, but not as confidence inspiring as the SHO in heavy snow. The exhaust note was much better in the G8. Dollar for dollar, I could have made the G8 quicker and faster than my SHO is.

To be honest, I like my SHO but there are days I miss the G8. If I had paid anywhere near sticker price for the SHO, I doubt I would like the car. These cars aren't worth what Ford charges for them.

 

[SilverSH0]

I had a G8 GT before my SHO. To me, you really can't compare the two cars. The SHO is a decent, relatively comfortable car. It has all the bells and whistles. The G8 was more of a driver's car. It had much better feedback and felt more connected to the road. It also had way more interior room than the SHO, and was WAY better ergonomically. Not to mention, On Star was much, MUCH better than My Sync. In Winter weather, the G8 was fine with a decent set of tires, but not as confidence inspiring as the SHO in heavy snow. The exhaust note was much better in the G8. Dollar for dollar, I could have made the G8 quicker and faster than my SHO is.

To be honest, I like my SHO but there are days I miss the G8. If I had paid anywhere near sticker price for the SHO, I doubt I would like the car. These cars aren't worth what Ford charges for them.

I agree they are much different cars. But my requirements were a 4 door car, fun to drive with some power, and AWD (but I Was a little flexible on the awd). The fact that the SHO feels like a luxury car wasn't really necessary. But at the same time I wasn't looking for a sports car with 4 doors. Since in 15 miles in the country, rwd even with snow tires doesn't work with the roads or my driveway as a DD. I also couldn't stand the crappy GM dash that feels like it's from the late 90s.

 

[Butcher]

I'll be honest, it seems disingenuous to call the SHO an AWD car. A Porsche is AWD. An Audi is AWD. A BMW is AWD. An SHO is a FWD car that gets a little help from the rear wheels. It drive like a FWD car.

It's funny that you mention the interior. Everybody has their own taste, but I didn't think it was too bad. It was definitely better than most other GM interiors, at that time. However, I owned the car for 4 1/2 years. I've owned my SHO for just over 2 1/2 years. My G8 had fewer squeaks and rattles, after 4 1/2 years, than my SHO has now. If I had paid full price for the SHO, it would be, without a doubt, the worst car I've ever owned. I'm not saying it's a horrible car. I'm saying that, for the money, it would be the least satisfying car I've owned. I paid $8,000 more the SHO than I paid for the G8. Sometimes I have trouble justifying the extra expense.

 

[SilverSH0]

I'll be honest, it seems disingenuous to call the SHO an AWD car. A Porsche is AWD. An Audi is AWD. A BMW is AWD. An SHO is a FWD car that gets a little help from the rear wheels. It drive like a FWD car.

It's funny that you mention the interior. Everybody has their own taste, but I didn't think it was too bad. It was definitely better than most other GM interiors, at that time. However, I owned the car for 4 1/2 years. I've owned my SHO for just over 2 1/2 years. My G8 had fewer squeaks and rattles, after 4 1/2 years, than my SHO has now. If I had paid full price for the SHO, it would be, without a doubt, the worst car I've ever owned. I'm not saying it's a horrible car. I'm saying that, for the money, it would be the least satisfying car I've owned. I paid $8,000 more the SHO than I paid for the G8. Sometimes I have trouble justifying the extra expense.

In the snow it doesn't drive line a fwd vehicle. It's not the same as my 4wd Jeep but far from fwd. No it's not a full time dedicated and vehicle, but calling it fwd is just as off base (especially when talking about driving in bad weather and snow).

Yes, everyone has different tastes in interiors. There's also a reason the Cadillac interior doesn't look the same. I like my interior and 6 years and 75k miles without any squeaks (many of those miles in gravel). Maybe I'm lucky but it's been great to me.

 

[ridered74]

I'm just under 133K miles now and not a single squeak or rattle either. I had a Cadillac STS before this, in addition to having to constantly take it in for repairs, the rear wheel drive just wasn't cutting it when it snowed. The SHO is like a tank in the snow compared to the Caddy. There is an S curve up a hill just to get onto the main road here, and I always wondered if I would make the second turn in the Caddy. No worries in the SHO, plus that trunk space on our annual vacation is a nice plus. For what I paid for mine, there's just no beating it with anything out there.

 

[OmaHahn]

I have to agree about the AWD vs FWD comments - I know it's a fact that like 70% or something like that goes to front wheels and only 30% rear or whatever, but let me tell you - I've had 2 Audi's before (1 was an A4, the other S4) and I can't tell the difference between my SHO and my Audis - in any weather condition.

 

[Butcher]

I've never owned an Audi S4. However, are you really saying that a Taurus SHO handles exactly like an Audi S4? I would find that very hard to believe, simply because they are designed 180 degrees differently from each other. I'm fairly certain that if you were at a race track and driving an SHO, then immediately hopped in an S4, you would notice a difference. I've seen S4's go into power oversteer on dry pavement. I've never seen an SHO do that. And, with the way the SHO is designed, I would almost think that's not possible.

Granted, I don't have the performance package and I know that makes a difference. However, that's another shortcoming with this car. Why would you need a "performance package" to drive a performance car the way it was designed to be driven? I could understand offering a "track package" with tires, brakes, gearing and cooling upgrades. But every SHO should come with the traction control button. The main reason to buy this car is its performance. Yet you need a performance package (and give up other options) to access all of the cars performance. That's kinda foolish.

The car drives like it was designed. Only 40% of the power can get to the rear wheels (at stock power level). As you raise the amount of power, that percentage drops. The rear wheel drive on this car is almost like an afterthought. This car cannot handle like a car that can send 70%-80% of its power to the rear wheels, in EVERY condition. Sure, they might feel similar in some conditions, but not all. For the record, I'm not talking about everyday driving, I'm talking about "spirited" driving.

 

[OmaHahn]

Wow what a reply! So you never seen Carl Edwards track the PP SHO? He drifts the SHO all over the track!

But in all seriousness my post said nothing at all about comparing my S4 to the SHO on the TRACK or racing!!! I thought this thread was about Daily Driving!!!???

 

[SilverSH0]

For the record, I'm not talking about everyday driving, I'm talking about "spirited" driving.

As was stated earlier, the SHO is not a drivers car like the G8. Talking about handling on the track is less about being a family sedan and instead being a 4 door sports car. So yes you are correct that the SHO is not a 4 door sports car and is simply a peppy AWD family sedan. But on the same not I have taken my SHO to several AutoX events and been plenty competitive and faster than cars I imagined would be quicker. But as a family sedan (as this thread was about) it's great and still no slouch if wanted to take to the track occasionally.

 

[SilverSH0]

Wow what a reply! So you never seen Carl Edwards track the PP SHO? He drifts the SHO all over the track!

I just watched those on youtube. While I'm not surprised you can drift it, one thing I really noticed was probably my biggest complaint about the car. The seats do an absolute crap job of holding you in place while going around a corner. It's really easy to get thrown around inside the car while taking corners on country roads.

 

[Butcher]

Wow what a reply! So you never seen Carl Edwards track the PP SHO? He drifts the SHO all over the track!

But in all seriousness my post said nothing at all about comparing my S4 to the SHO on the TRACK or racing!!! I thought this thread was about Daily Driving!!!???

I've seen the Carl Edwards video. That is a momentum oversteer, not power oversteer. There is a difference.

I was making a point and using an extreme example. I'll assume you've never driven faster than the speed limit or hit an off ramp at 55-60 mph. You said the SHO and S4 felt the same in all conditions. I know that couldn't be true. There is no way the Audi is as numb feeling as the SHO. But, as was pointed out, it's not a sports car. However, it is the "sporty" version of this model. I guess my expectation for a performance version of a car, which would cost well over $50,000 if you paid sticker price, is a little higher than yours.

 

[Butcher]

As was stated earlier, the SHO is not a drivers car like the G8. Talking about handling on the track is less about being a family sedan and instead being a 4 door sports car. So yes you are correct that the SHO is not a 4 door sports car and is simply a peppy AWD family sedan. But on the same not I have taken my SHO to several AutoX events and been plenty competitive and faster than cars I imagined would be quicker. But as a family sedan (as this thread was about) it's great and still no slouch if wanted to take to the track occasionally.

That might be true with the performance package, but not without it. If this car is faster around an auto cross track or road course than any "sporty" car (without PP), than you're probably surrounded by a bunch of people who don't know how to drive.

 

[SilverSH0]

I guess my expectation for a performance version of a car, which would cost well over $50,000 if you paid sticker price, is a little higher than yours.

I can see why your expectations have been let down. You bought this car thinking it was a 4 door sports car like your G8 and it's not. I would also be disappointed if I bought a car thinking it was something it wasn't designed for.

The G8 is like a 4 door muscle car. It's raw and unrefined but that not what it's designed purpose. The SHO is designed more around being a more refined and comfort car with some pep. It's pretty obvious it's not a 4 door sports car when you look at the mods and money you have to sink into it and still only reach mid 11s. So I can see your disappointment as you thought this was a Ford version if the G8 and it's not.