Review: Lincoln’s MKZ would be at home in, well, Lincoln
Lincoln’s 2017 MKZ competes in a crowded field.
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The Lincoln name always has had cachet in American history, starting with Honest Abe and continuing into the automotive realm, which has included a series of Presidential limos and luxury Continentals.
When Ford eliminated its upscale Mercury brand in 2011, we wondered whether the top-of-the-line Lincoln would be next to go, given the intense luxury market competition at the time from Cadillac, Acura, BMW, Cadillac, Infiniti, Jaguar, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo.
It was a question that we revisit with today’s test car, the refreshed 2017 Lincoln MKZ, an interesting all-wheel-drive, near-luxury, midsize sedan. The freshening includes a new front grille and significantly more user-friendly controls.
We think it’s a nice package. And that’s a good thing, because other manufacturers, such as Hyundai (Genesis) and Kia (K900), now compete in the same segment, looking for the same marketing demographic.
Meanwhile, an impressively long list of other brands are only a step behind, including the Toyota Avalon, Hyundai Azera, Kia Cadenza, Chevrolet Impala, Buick LaCrosse, Nissan Maxima, and Chrysler 300.
INTERIOR DESIGN: The MKZ has a different look with two rows of vertical buttons alongside the main information screen.
It becomes a fair question to ask: When you can buy an everyday sedan and order it with leather, a turbo, and a full suite of safety systems, what sets a true luxury car apart? Is it the prestige—or the price tag?
It’s a question my middle-class mentality often asks, even as I sit in a Florida traffic jam filled with luxury sedans and, increasingly, luxury SUVs.
The good news—for Lincoln—is that the MKZ fits well into any upscale neighborhood.
The MKZ comes in three basic trim levels—Premiere, Select, and Reserve—with an over-the-top Black Label version that arrives with individualized services, including remote vehicle delivery and pick-up and return delivery for servicing. It’s all one step down in size and price from Lincoln’s flagship Continental.
Our test car was an interesting amalgam of the available trims and features. We had the Reserve AWD Trim Level, albeit with the base 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine. It’s turbocharged and puts out 245 horsepower and 275 lb.-ft. of torque. That output goes to all four wheels via a 6-speed automatic transmission.
This combo works fine and is smooth and refined. However, there’s not a lot of extra “there” when you put your foot to the floor. The payback is that we averaged 26.2 miles per gallon in 500 miles of driving. The EPA fuel economy projections are 20 mpg in city driving, 28 on the highway, and 23 combined.
Old-line luxury drivers, those who still yearn for a V-8, might prefer the optional 3.0-liter V-6 that’s programmed for 350 horsepower in front-wheel-drive versions and 400 hp in AWD setups.
Lincoln is marketing the MKZ as a combination of quality, performance, and style.
“Our customers are looking for three attributes in a luxury midsize sedan: technologies that ease their everyday experience, a beautiful design that is crafted with attention to detail, and a vehicle with impressive power that makes it a pleasure to drive,” says Kumar Galhotra, president of Lincoln.
Our version checked all the boxes except impressive power. More than adequate power, yes. Impressive? No. For that, see the V-6.
As you’d expect, our MKZ’s interior was plush with terra cotta leather, comfortable seats, plenty of front legroom, and user-friendly technology.
We almost cheered when we found available buttons to control the audio system. While the climate control system didn’t have knobs, there were simple up-and-down lever switches to change the temperature settings for driver and passenger.
Lincoln has an interesting and unique button array with a row of vertical pushbuttons on each side of the video display on the center stack. The left side (from the top down) has the start-stop button, followed by park, then R-N-D. It takes some getting used to, but then becomes second nature. The right side is for park assists, stability control, auto hill hold, and hazard lights.
We gave the navigation system a couple of good tests, and it aced them both, taking us 50 miles to an out-of-the-way restaurant on Sanibel Island on one trip, and finding the quickest way through traffic-clogged Sarasota on another.
Now, it might be love on the rebound to say that the seats were ultra-comfortable because we’d just gotten out of the no-frills Alfa Romeo 4C sports car.
As a result, any normal vehicle would have been comfy, but the MKZ really did it right. We enjoyed the heated-or-cooled seats, the funky storage areas under the center console, and the massive panoramic roof that retracts back down over the rear window.
Not only did the sound system have buttons to make adjustments, but it also easily picked up the feed off an iPhone, enabling us to listen to Boston channels via satellite radio. And music was about as good as it gets with the premium sound system that’s part of the luxury package.
Our test vehicle had an MSRP of $42,325 (including destination), but the panoramic roof ($2,995), technology package ($2,395), luxury package ($4,400), climate package ($695), inflatable rear seatbelts ($195), and floor mats ($175) ran the bottom line to $53,180.
Outside, the MKZ hasn’t changed all that much in the past few years except for one notable redesign. Gone is the butt-ugly split wing grille (my subjective opinion), replaced by a new Lincoln signature style that’s seems similar to top-level GMCs and Bentley grilles.
That’s pretty good company, both style- and prestige-wise.
On the road, the Lincoln hardly handles like a sports car (see above reference to the Alfa), but it’s capable of emergency avoidance maneuvers.
The Florida Panthers are a Miami-area National Hockey League team, but the panther is an endangered local species that’s on the rebound. As such, panther deaths on the highways are newsworthy, and there are Panther-Crossing signs in the area.
One night, coming back in the dark from an evening meeting, I was alone on a stretch of road. That’s when the MKZ’s LED headlights picked up a dark form on the road that looked like a large, dead animal. A panther, perhaps?
The Lincoln did just fine on my panic reaction—hit the brakes, swerve right, then swerve back to a straight line.
Instead of a panther, the mass blocking our lane turned out to be a long, folded palm frond.
File it under: Relieved.
And file the MKZ under “a pleasure to drive.”
Bill Griffith can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @MrAutoWriter.
2017 Lincoln MKZ AWD Sedan
THE BASICS
Price, base/as tested (with destination): $42,325/$53,180. Fuel economy, EPA estimated: 20 city/28 highway/23 combined. Fuel economy, Globe observed: 26.2. Drivetrain: 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine, 6-speed automatic, all-wheel-drive. Body: 5-passenger midsize sedan.
THE SPECIFICS
Horsepower: 245. Torque: 275 lb.-ft. Overall length: 193.9 in. Wheelbase: 112.2 in. Height: 58.8 in. Width: 73.4 in./83.3 in. (mirrors out). Curb weight: 3,900 lbs.
THE GOOD
Interior quality and comfort, good value, user-friendly controls, easy entry and exit.
THE BAD
Base engine was just adequate for those who prefer extra power; back seat a bit snug for legroom and for tall passengers.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Well worth considering if you’re shopping in this competitive segment.
ALSO CONSIDER
Acura TLX, Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, Jaguar XE, Infiniti Q50, Kia Cadenza, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Volvo S60.
