SHO gets no respect

[SHOSuperbeast]

Interesting that the automotive press seems to ignore the SHO. The Gen 4 has more interior room, more HP, better gas mileage than LS 460,E350, 535,A6, but no mentions of the SHO as an alternative. There are some features in the SHO that you cannot get in the LS - even though the LS is $40k more expensive. A six foot rear seat passenger has his head on the ceiling of the LS. Some of the materials are upgrades over the SHO, but not $40k worth.
Service on SHO is much more reasonable compared to my previous G 35X.

 

[roland]

Sit in an LS460 and then sit in a SHO. If someone offered me a SHO and a Mustang GT, or a single LS460 I would still take the LS460. Even the GS460 was wwaaaaayyyy nicer than the 2010 SHO. Not saying it isn't a bad budget alternative, but you could make the same arguement about the 300C and Genesis Sedan.

 

[SHOSuperbeast]

I have gone from the LS to the SHO, and the LS looks old and dated compared to the SHO. There is no doubt that the LS is a much more expensive automobile, but isn't it interesting that you are comparing an $80k car to a $40k car. American alternatives like the 300C and SHO are not seen as being quality alternatives - they should be compared to something in their price class. Compare your beloved LS to an S8, or a CLS AMG and you would claim that to be an unfair comparison - those cars are priced 1.5 times what the LS is.

 

[shobote]

Ummm, the A6 interior is huge in comparison, and a much nicer cockpit, as I sat in them all at the Chi auto show. The interior designers of the Taurus originate from Lilliput; giant console for no knee room, super low overhang on the door sill, plus the aft end on moonroof takes away several more inches of headroom. The Taurus is slow selling and gets no respect because it is nothing special. My 98 Diamante has 027 drag coefficient, while the new Taurus is 0.34 (IIRC), it is in need of a diet as heavy steel rather than aluminum alloys are used, the ride quality is just OK and handling is average This would be expected from the 15 year old Volvo platform.
The SHO is an engine in depserate need of an entirely new chassis. Where have we heard that before ?

 

[roland]

I'm not trying to bash the SHO dude, but it does not compare against the LS, its also an older design vs the SHO but it still has a much nicer ride, is a lot quieter and more comfortable. The 300C and Genesis V8 are much more credible alternatives to an A6 or 5 series. MKS too. Not sure why you're comparing a SHO to an LS and criticizing my comparison of the 300 and genesis to one, those are both more expensive and luxurious cars.

 

[Art5]

All my thank you posts are for a reason. It seems that most of the american car makers come up with something that looks good just to sell and make good buck for it, but then after about 3 years these cars drop value dramatically, service is horrible in almost every way. Things that brake on every car are not being recalled, even if these brakedowns could cause accidents. SOmetimes i think that all these departments , who's in charge of different parts of the car, don't even care about their designs and structure would perfectly work together. I hear a lot of people calling KOrean cars garbage and so on, but didn't they call Japanees cars the same 20-30 years ago? But look what's going on now? Salvage Toyota cost slightly less then a used one. YOu can also read consumer reviews online and compare.
When New SHOs first came out, I was kinda excited , went to check one out. SOme parts of the car were dissappointing though, now, SHO seems like another version of Chrysler 300C to me, that people buy them get warranty out of them, trade them in and then dealers are trying to sell them to us , but who wants to buy a car that will suck all of your money out of your wallet. Didn't we do it with older SHOs already?

 

[thebigjimsho]

Interesting that the automotive press seems to ignore the SHO. The Gen 4 has more interior room, more HP, better gas mileage than LS 460,E350, 535,A6, but no mentions of the SHO as an alternative. There are some features in the SHO that you cannot get in the LS - even though the LS is $40k more expensive. A six foot rear seat passenger has his head on the ceiling of the LS. Some of the materials are upgrades over the SHO, but not $40k worth.
Service on SHO is much more reasonable compared to my previous G 35X.

I will only comment on the space of the Taurus. The LS room is useable. The Taurus and MKS have fatal flaws. While I don't mind the closed in cockpit, it is very tight with the wide transmission tunnel and low dash. BUT, the rear seat room is atrocious. Not that it's cramped, but it should be much more ample for how big a car it is. And you can tell it shares its underpinnings with SUVs since you sit bolt upright in the backseat. You do have a lot of headroom...since the car is as tall as SUVs.

When I was in San Jose, I saw an MKS with 21" wheels next to a 90s Explorer. It was taller than the Explorer.

 

[SHOSuperbeast]

You claim that the LS has more useable space - have you ever been in the back seat of a new LS? And don't even try to put something into the trunk - it is much smaller.
I thought this was a pro SHO forum. It seems as if some are looking to bash the SHO.
I find it refreshing that FORD has attempted to put together a flagship car that an average person can actually aspire to. There isn't a full size model with the same power,AWD, interior space, features, and fuel mileage on the market for anywhere near the same price. My friend has a 2010 E 350 4 Matic, spent 60k and has vinyl seats. GEN 4 isn't perfect, it is a huge step in the right direction.

 

[roland]

Like I said, I'm not bashing the SHO. You're comparing it to a car twice its price. I understand what you're saying that it's a good value, but the Lexus LS460 isn't a good car because it runs low 14's in the quarter mile or because it has good rear seat leg room. It's a good car because it's insanely quiet, comfortable, and luxurious. People buy luxury cars because they're luxurious not because of the value or specifications. I could argue the LS460 is a great value compared to the Jaguar XJ, but it's still not as good of a car.

I can think of a few cars that would give the SHO a run for its money in terms of value, performance, fuel economy, and interior size.

Dodge Charger R/T AWD (when it gets the 8 speed auto for 2013 it will probably match or beat it in fuel economy, it already does in RWD 5 speed auto)
Volvo S80 T6 AWD
Acura TL SH-AWD.

If you leave out the AWD part,
Charger SRT8 Super Bee, Genesis 5.0 V8 Sedan.

 

[EcoBrick Bob]

Volvos SUX!:woo-hoo::woo-hoo::woo-hoo:

I suppose you don't like my TT YUGO EITHER.....It's the Master of the Faster Disaster!!!!!:thankyou:

 

[thebigjimsho]

You claim that the LS has more useable space - have you ever been in the back seat of a new LS? And don't even try to put something into the trunk - it is much smaller.
I thought this was a pro SHO forum. It seems as if some are looking to bash the SHO.
I find it refreshing that FORD has attempted to put together a flagship car that an average person can actually aspire to. There isn't a full size model with the same power,AWD, interior space, features, and fuel mileage on the market for anywhere near the same price. My friend has a 2010 E 350 4 Matic, spent 60k and has vinyl seats. GEN 4 isn't perfect, it is a huge step in the right direction.

Yeah, I have been in the back seat of an LX. I like it better since I feel like I'm sitting on my living room couch, not a dining room chair.

And this isn't a pro-SHO forum, it's a SHO forum. While it's full of enthusiasts, we don't candy coat flaws...

 

[intimdatr]

build quality also has a lot to do with it. Those Lexus' are some EXTREMELY well built cars. And will most likely way out live the SHO's.

 

[roland]

Volvos SUX!

uh the current SHO is based on a Volvo....and the engineering for the turbo's came from Volvo as well....Pretty much all of Ford's current car lineup is based on a Volvo or shares alot of parts or engineering.

My 99 SHO was a great bargain too, a v8 family sedan with all the luxury features of a BMW for under 30k. My Volvo was the exact same price new and is a way better car IMO. It's just about as fast, has a much more useable powerband, has all the same options and features plus some, but most importantly it's a heck of a lot better built, and while being smaller and actually feeling smaller too, it has alot more useable room (i blame the box). I love SHO's, and the new one is a great car, but if I had the money I wouldn't buy one because their are other really good choices out there.

 

[dohcsable]

The #1 reason the SHO doesn't get respect.....because its still a Taurus.



Please, all I ask is that you gen 4/6(your pick) guys don't give the rest of us the same impression from the automotive world that the SRT4 people gave the neon.

 

[yamahaSHO]

Brake =/= Break




That is all...

 

[Art5]

I remember when first Gen4 SHOs came out, i was working part-time valet parking at one of the local restaurants and this guy with 2010Mustang GT came. When he was leaving, he saw me getting out of my Gen 2 SHO and started talking to me about Gen4. At the end he called it "untouchable" and explained to me that the price is a bit too high, car is fast and huge, but in comparison, there are a lot of cars out there, that would be a good competition to Gen4. In my point of view, when you're asking over 30000 for a car, you're targeting different class of people. I am not bashing SHO, I just hate FORD service and the whole crap about " let me sell you this thing and claim that it has good first reviews and warranty, but we'll back out of everything, if things start going wrong".
If I'd be bashing SHOs, I wouldn't be driving one and spending a fortune on it everytime I had it.
And as For size, power and luxury and price, I would look at Hyundai Genesis Sedan as an alternative. Sure it doesn't have twin turbo engine, but for 30hp less, I would get better warranty and service(for sure).
All of you with Gen 4, good luck with you cars, they are trully great and hopefully with your support, new SHOs will be even better.

 

[sixtn39]

I am qualified to speak on this subject because I own a 2011 SHO and am a driver for a shuttle/limo service with a 2009 LS460 AWD in our fleet.

The 460 is a nice car and has all the bells and whistles, but the front seating in the SHO is much better, I feel. With all the elctrical adjustments available on the 460 I just can't get that secure-this-is-it feeling in it like I can in the SHO.

Trunk space in the SHO is much larger. Believe me I know (without knowing the cubic feet) because I stuff luggage in the 460 all the time.

The mpg figures for the two are very close. The 460 gets 24.1 all the time, because it is 4 lane/interstate from our home base to O'Hare - Chicago. My SHO never is all 4 lane/interstate, but manages 18.5 - 22 in every day traveling.

The back seat in the 460 is more comfortable and more spacious (you can even power recline a few inches in it), but no one ever has ridden in the back seat of my SHO and I'm sure only a few will ever.

The performance feels about equal. The published 0-60 time for the SHO is 5.2 secs (Car and Driver) while the 460's is 5.4 (Lexus).

The closest Lexus dealer charges $150(!) for a oil/filter, multi-point inspection, tire rotation service, whereas my Ford dealer charges $30 for the same for my SHO.

 

[typhoon5000]

The closest Lexus dealer charges $150(!) for a oil/filter, multi-point inspection, tire rotation service, whereas my Ford dealer charges $30 for the same for my SHO.

That's insane! My diesel F-350 takes 15 qts of oil and a $40 oil filter, yet my oil change and tire rotation is typically $90 at a Ford dealer. Lexus oil must be made of refined unicorn blood or something

uh the current SHO is based on a Volvo....and the engineering for the turbo's came from Volvo as well....Pretty much all of Ford's current car lineup is based on a Volvo or shares alot of parts or engineering

Was gonna mention the same thing. Know that blind spot monitoring and adaptive cruise control you all enjoy? guess who did the leg work developing it and putting it into production first? Yep, Volvo, along with most of the other fancy tech that's available on new Fords. Ford's just "borrowing" it

 

[yamahaSHO]

Which one of these sig pictures is not like the others?

 

[Art5]

About Lexus maintainance: It is always expensive at your dealer. My uncle had ES350 and few of my other realtives had GS and LS. Lexus dealer wants to make sure there would be less problems with this car in the future and almost no problems and expenses out of their pocket, when you trade your old Lexus in for a new one. I also work in LIvery business and I have Town Car, and Chrysler 300, and finally got rid of my Caddy Deville, which had intermidiate shaft gone while being driven to its new home(New Owner almost crushed into a wall). I think Town Car is the biggest and most comfortable car for passengers in the back, but driving it and working on it is the worst. Parts are available and cheap, but amount of them to be changed constantly is a mission.Chrysler, i would say, about the same class as Taurus, but previous owner spent a lot of money at his local dealership doing everything they would say the car need. It is in a very good mechanical condition comparing to other 300s that I've seen. My neighbour has LS430, I would pick that car over above mentioned anytime.
I would probably take Taurus for couple of days for a test drive to see how would that feel , and maybe I would like it, I hope i will.
I just remember few times in the past i had some problems with local Ford Dealers and called headquaters, I was explained that there is no way to make dealer do what they suppose to do.