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The current Ford Taurus is a solid car that has never excited anyone. Safe, fuel-efficient, roomy and boring, it doesn’t have the visceral allure of a Chrysler 300 or the near-luxury feel of the Toyota Avalon – it’s just an unexciting but practical full-size sedan. It shares its name with what was once the world’s best-selling car, but that hasn’t fooled anyone.

The next Taurus, however, is a different story. Automotive journalists got their first official look at the 2010 bull at this week’s Detroit Auto Show, and for the first time in many years, they’re excited about a big Ford.

Edmunds Inside Line calls it “antithesis of the current Taurus, a bloodless chunk of metal that was boring and derivative even in the first sketch we saw of it way back in 2002.” The new car, instead, “undeniably has a compelling look.” Ford designers, when planning the new vehicle, aimed for “athletic and premium,” feeling that the Taurus should represent the best the company could offer as “the flagship for the Ford brand.”

Outside, the look of the Taurus has changed completely. The Los Angeles Times reports, “The new sedan bears many of the styling features — including oversized rims and a characteristic second grill — found on a line of fuel-efficient compact European Fords the company plans to bring to the U.S. starting next year.” The bulbous head and tail lights of the current model have been replaced with thinner, sleeker lamps. Perhaps most significantly, the arching roofline of the outgoing model is gone, replaced by a flattened curve somewhat reminiscent of the Chrysler 300, which gives the car a more aggressive stance.

Inside, Autoblog reports, “One could easily argue that the interior of the 2010 Taurus is even more a departure from the past than the exterior. The biggest difference is the new center stack that flows away from the dash at a very shallow angle, almost like in a low-slung supercar.” The dash itself is an upscale twin-cowl design, “and the remaining interior surfaces vary from soft-touch light and dark plastics to wood grain inserts.” Autoblog was particularly impressed with Ford’s new Multi-Contour Seats, which “have three, six-way adjustable lumbar bladders and a seat cushion featuring a new technology called Active Motion that continually moves the seating surface in a subtle way that wards off back pain on long trips without distracting the driver.”

Under the hood, Jalopnik says, is “a 3.5 liter V6 good for 263 HP and 249 lb-ft of torque… it won’t be burning the strip down, but it will be very competitive at the segments it’s aiming for.” This comes mated to a six-speed transmission available with or without SelectShift, which gives the driver steering wheel-mounted shift paddles – a clear sign that we’re a long way from the old Taurus now. All-Wheel-Drive is optional.

Eventually, Ford will introduce a second engine for the Taurus. It won’t, however, be the big V8 traditionally offered as an upgrade on large sedans. Instead, Ford has developed a V6 that, the company claims, uses fuel injection and turbochargers to replicate the performance of a V8 with the fuel economy of a V6. The “ecoboost” V6 will be offered on the Taurus and other large Ford models sometime in the second half of 2009.

Safety equipment is extensive. The Detroit News notes that the next Taurus will be “the first Ford vehicle to have a forward collision warning system — a feature that alerts drivers to a potential crash and charges the brakes to respond more quickly. The system also engages an electronic brake assist to help the car stop sooner.”

The 2010 Taurus should reach showrooms in the spring. Pricing, according to Automobile Magazine, starts at $25,995, with the top-of-the-line Limited Edition selling for $31,995.

With the auto industry rocked by slow sales in 2008, automakers are heavily discounting many cars. Research the best car deals with U.S. News’ car rankings and reviews.