I'm not normally enthralled with SUVs or crossovers. They are usually too thirsty, too tall and don't carry enough stuff when you put people inside. The 2008 Ford Taurus X has gone a long way toward changing my mind.

It's miles ahead of its Freestyle predecessor, so far ahead, that Ford dropped the previous name to avoid any association. The jury is still out on whether adopting Taurus was a strong marketing move, the name had pretty much been beaten into the ground in Canada.

Names aside, the test vehicle supplied by Ford of Canada, came in full-out Limited all-wheel-drive trim with a package of goodies designed to appeal to every age group.

All that upgrading pushed the price over 48Gs with delivery and federal air conditioning tax tossed in (yes the feds are still dinging us 100... // Brantford Expositor