Likable Lincoln
2017 MKZ is moving luxury brand in the right direction
Lincoln has long been a conundrum for Ford.
Do they commit completely, a la Cadillac, to building a completely separate lineup of cars, distinct not only in their styling but in their construction from their more proletariat peers, the better to distinguish themselves from their lowly Ford cousins?
Or do they simply, like the General Motors of old, rebadge Ford engineering, toss in a bit of leather, a smidgen of wood and see who shows up to the dealership?
The former suggestion would seem to offer the biggest long-term reward. Luxury intenders demand not only exclusivity but a product distinct from the mainstream. That option, however, costs a lot of money, as developing (even semi) separate lineups is extremely costly.
Of course, if you starve your R&D department of development dollars, the less-distinctive products they produce will result in fewer sales, which means even less development dollars, and so on. There’s a reason Lincoln sells 10 times fewer MKZs than BMW does the 3 Series.
To its credit, after years of indifference, FoMoCo is beginning to invest (a little) in Lincoln. To wit, a new Continental is about to hit Lincoln dealerships. To a lesser degree, this top-of-the-line Reserve version of the company’s ubiquitous MKZ represents a little departure from the tarted-up Fusion that previous MKZs have been.
What’s different about the Reserve, you ask? Well, on top of the leather and trim packages that upgrade the interior from the Ford Fusion, the MKZ now offers an engine unique to Lincoln: a 3.0-litre twin turbocharged V-6.
Before you get excited and think Ford is going after Caddy’s “V” brand, know that Lincoln’s defining quality is still “quiet luxury,” so while there’s a whole bunch more urge to the throttle, no one is going to mistake the MKZ for an ATS-V or an M3.
That said, there is 400 horsepower, and a similar number of pound-feet of torque. The MKZ may not scorch the earth — the all-wheel drive system the 3.0T is packaged with pretty much prevents burnouts — but it is more than enough to give the 1,905-kilogram sedan what Lincoln calls “effortless acceleration.”
In these heady days of excess horsepower, 400 horses may no longer be class-defining, but it’s certainly enough to imbue a sense of understated confidence in your right foot. Complain if you must that the MKZ’s styling is still a bit somnolent, but don’t you dare characterize the performance as such.
Perhaps more importantly, the Turbo is unique to the MKZ and won’t be offered in the Fusion. Throw in a ride-handling equation a step improved from the Fusion and fairly precise steering and you have a sedan that’s more than just competent on the open road.
There are other significant upgrades. The leather and interior trim are a cut above what is offered by Ford; the dashboard, door coverings, etc. are especially pleasing to the touch. The MKZ’s (optional) stereo — a Revel Ultima system — is another surprise in this segment. The Revel’s 1,200 watts of booming bass and its 20 speakers that Lincoln swears accompanies it (I couldn’t find them all) have the MKZ in serious audiophile territory.
Throw in an enhanced infotainment system and you have what is basically a subtly luxurious interior to match the car’s performance. The MKZ will also, thanks to Lincoln’s Active Park Assist, find its way into parking spots without the driver steering.
So far so good, right? Indeed, it’s all sounding a little too good to be true, so you’re probably wondering how Lincoln might snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
The MKZ’s Achilles heel is money, specifically the Reserve’s fully optioned MSRP. Although the Reserve starts at $46,000, my tester rang the cashier in at $66,100. No, that’s not a typo. Yes, you can buy a version of a Fusion-based (which starts at about $22,000) luxury car for 66-grand.
The 3.0T engine I raved about accounts for $4,500. That Ultima audio system that I was so impressed by? $5,500. The seemingly common panoramic sunroof? A whopping $3,450! That’s mighty steep pricing.
To put that 66-large in perspective, let’s take a moment to determine what else that many loonies buys. First, you’d only be $9,000 away from an M3, perhaps the ultimate — certainly in this segment — driving machine. It gets even scarier when you compare this fully-loaded price with Munich’s mid-size luxury sedan. For $67,000 you can get in a 5 Series — and not some bargain-basement 528, but the 535iX (with AWD!) that is truly the 5 Series’ best foot forward.
I also priced out a C43 with every option Mercedes-Benz Canada offers — save the carbon-fibre trim bits — and it cost within $200 of the MKZ. Ditto for BMW’s 340iX, which required pretty much every option in the book to get up to $66,000. Does Lincoln really think it’s ready to compete on an equal price footing with BMW and Mercedes?
I let a number of people drive my MKZ. All came away extremely impressed with what they saw as great strides Lincoln has taken in not only upgrading its luxury experience, but separating the brand from Ford. Every one of my neighbours and friends, at least those who shop in this segment, said they might add Lincoln to their shopping list. Then I told them the price. Here are my neighbours’ simple, but concise, words for Lincoln: You can’t build a car (almost) equal to the established players on a Monday and expect people to pay an equal amount of money for it on Tuesday. We require a little wooing, a little time to adjust to the fact that, after decades of foisting inferior machinery upon us, you might actually be ready to play in the big time.
As pretty much everyone in the automotive business knows, there’s a time delay between when you build an acceptable product and when consumers believe you are building an acceptable product. If my fully-loaded MKZ tester had been priced at $56,000 or $57,000, I could have sold a half dozen of them in a week. At $66,100, all I got were guffaws.
The product is willing. The brand, unfortunately, is still weak.