POWERFUL BUT PRICEY
Lincoln MKZ rebooted
Lincoln has long been a conundrum for Ford. Do they commit, à la Cadillac, to building a separate lineup of cars, distinct not only in styling but in construction, the better to distinguish themselves from their lowly Ford cousins? Or do they simply rebadge Ford engineering, toss in a bit of leather, a smidge of wood and see who shows up to the dealership?
The former suggestion — though costly — would seem to offer the biggest long-term reward, luxury intenders demanding exclusivity. But if you starve your R&D department, the less-distinctive products they produce will just result in fewer sales.
To its credit, after years of indifference, a new Continental is about to hit Lincoln dealerships. This top-end Reserve version of the company’s ubiquitous MKZ represents a little departure from the tarted-up Fusion that previous MKZs have been.
The MKZ now offers an engine unique to Lincoln, namely a 3.0-litre twin turbocharged V-6.
Lincoln’s defining quality is still “quiet luxury,” but there is 400 horsepower — and a similar number of pound-feet of torque — under the hood. The MKZ’s allwheel drive system pretty much prevents burnouts, but there’s more than enough for effortless acceleration. Throw in good ride handling, fairly precise steering and you have a sedan that’s more than just competent.
The leather and interior trim are a cut above Ford; the dashboard, door coverings are especially pleasing to the touch; and the MKZ’s (optional) stereo — a Revel Ultima system — delivers 1,200 watts and puts the MKZ in serious audiophile territory. Throw in an enhanced infotainment system and you have a subtly luxurious interior to match the car’s performance. And thanks to Lincoln’s Active Park Assist, the MKZ parks itself.
The MKZ’s Achilles heel is money. Although the Reserve starts at $46,000, my tester rang in at $66,100. The 3.0T engine I raved about accounts for $4,500 all by itself. That Ultima audio system is $5,500. The panoramic sunroof ? A whopping $3,450!
Let’s just take a moment to determine what else that many loonies buys. First of all, you’d only be $9,000 away from BMW’s M3, perhaps the ultimate driving machine. For $67,000 you can get in a BMW 535iX (with AWD).
A C43 with almost every option Mercedes-Benz Canada offers costs within $200 of the MKZ. 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 that Lincoln had taken in both upgrading its luxury experience and all who shop in this segment, said they might add Lincoln to their shopping list.
But when they heard the price, their advice to Lincoln was concise: We require 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. 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.