You do get what you pay for
I love my Taurus 689 - Stainless .357 revolver with rosewood grips. Bought it used, tightened down the sights, and started blasting 10 rings. It had been neglected, but not abused.
However there are lots of Taurus haters out there. Some no doubt, date back to Taurus' rather well-known problems of quality control and reliability. But they have modernized, all CNC-machining now, i don't know. They do look great - except for the billboards on the barrel or slide. And yet there are still Taurus haters. Quite likely, they still make a bad gun once in a while and it is well known that a satisfied customer tells one or two people while a dissatisfied customer tells everyone he meets! The most common problem i've heard about on the 24/7 line, OSS line, and compact polymer guns is a tendency to misfeed. I wonder if opening the lips on the magazine a hair might not solve a lot of those problems, but if you send a gun back to Taurus, forget it a while - takes months for the Customer Service to actually service the customer.
It's a cheaper brand, no doubt. So do like you would any gun - handle it. Examine the fit and finish. How well does the slide fit, slide, does it bind? Does the cylinder turn smoothly, no play, no slop? How is the barrel fit? Etc. etc. etc. When it's over, you still have to decide if you're comfortable paying less than for the competitors brand on what might be a bargain, or might be a can of worms.
Take Beretta. Taurus bought their factory, and some would say even improved on the Model 92 design. By most accounts, those Taurus PT92s are some doggone reliable and good looking pistols. But they still aren't a Beretta. For an extra hundred fifty or so, or about 33% premium, you can have a Beretta.
Me, i'm a mossberg, marlin, Traditions, Taurus kind of guy. So why do i also own SW, Savage and Beretta? lol