Things have changed a great deal at Taurus recently. For almost the entirety of my shooting life, which isn't nearly as long as time, the above has been the conventional wisdom when it comes to Taurus - generally speaking.I would not buy a Taurus semi-auto for serious purposes. I would be hesitant to buy a Taurus revolver for serious purposes.
For serious purpose guns, I want:
1) Proven track record out of the box. I get every machine can, and does, break. But not all at equal rates.
2) Easy and cheap logisitics. Can I readily get magazines, spare recoil assemblies and other wear parts, holsters suitable for the intended purpose, etc.
3) Ergonomics that don't suck. If there's a control (safety, decocker, slide release, etc), is it large enough, placed in an intuitive position, and having positive engagement in both positions? Is the texture such that it gives a good purchase but doesn't cheese grate my hands or clothing? That sort of thing.
4) A cost and availability that I can readily have an exact duplicate for training and can pick up another copy with little to no notice.
For plinking or playing or just having, whatever strokes your goat/bull/screaming chicken thingy.
Some of the long-standing exceptions have been their Beretta clones and their big frame hunting revolvers. Small step down is their 85-series analog to the J-Frame.
But in the last few years....Especially starting with their G3 guns and now, more importantly, their G4 series guns...and their newer revolvers - things are different. The G4 is a serious contender in the small double stack 9mm CCW world.
If they can take an admitted hater of All Things Taurus like Caleb Giddings and make HIM a believer (granted, he's now an employee) - they've got to be on to something.
Probably still a higher incidence of bad QA/QC though based on volume... Which is why we should vet the guns we intend for serious use.
Will I buy one? Probably not, but I'm not in the market for what they sell right now. Would I take a G4? Absolutely.