Just Drove A New Lincoln Mks

[SW03ES]

Hey gang,

I wound up about an hour early for an appointment this afternoon (unpredictable traffic) and drove by a Lincoln dealership. I figured I would stop by and check out the new MKS, the full size sedan built on the Volvo S80 platform that just came out last month. I played around with one extensively and took it on a short drive.

My thoughts:

VERY impressive. A huge step forward for Lincoln, and they honestly do meet or even exceed the material and build quality levels where carmakers like Lexus & BMW really have beat up on them over the last 20 years. This is not my father's Lincoln Continental.

All of the materials are absolutely first rate, high quality soft touch vinyl everywhere, excellent leather, leather dash top, stunning real wood accents, high qulaity carpeting. Everything put together extremely well. The materials inside are easily significantly higher quality than those found on the ES350. Only downers for me were no electroluminescent gauges, and the message center in the instrument cluster is a standard parts bin Ford item found on all their models. 1995 era dot LCD technology.

Excellent nav system, high res display like in the new Lexus vehicles, backup camera, laser cruise, Bluetooth, the excellent Sync system. Fabulous stereo. Adaptive front lights, power tilt and telescoping wheel, keyless entry and start etc.

The whole interior exudes quality and fit and finish and feels very upscale while at the same time being uniquely and distinctly American. You can tell its a Lincoln and it doesn't pretend to be a Lexus or Mercedes which is a welcome change.

Exterior styling is good, but not stellar. The car looks a little awkward in places but then so does the ES350. It looks upscale with lots of chrome trim.

The car is very quiet, doesn't ride quite as well as the ES mainly I think because the car I drove had 19' wheels (they have a 20' option). I would want the 18's off the base car. The powertrain is strong, but not quite as refined as the ES.

In short, I'd say its a very worthwhile competitor and I gotta say...I think Lexus needs to step up a little when they refresh the ES350 next year. The MKS is an awesome Lincoln, and a great car with a lot more features and interior panache for the money. I would seriously consider one.

The question will be how well it would hold up, but they had some great leases.

[SW03ES]

I forgot to mention some other negatives I noted other than the stiffer ride:

-The steering felt a little light and lacking in the dead center area, classic FWD American luxury car steering, I remember it well from my Dad's Continentals and his Cadillac STS

-The damping of the doors is not quite there. Its hard to put into words, but the doors don't quite have the same heft as the doors on the Lexus, and sound a little tinny when they open and close.

[Lexusfreak]

Nice write up Steve.....one major thing that would bother me buying the new Lincoln new would be the huge resale value hit...being a Ford and all but it's nice to see the blue oval boys step up their luxury game. ;) I don't mind the styling either.

[SW03ES]

Hence the lease...I wouldn't buy one...

[nc211]

I was hoping someone would make comments about that car, as I really like the looks of it! I'm really glad to hear such good reviews about an American made car! Everytime the commercial comes on the TV, I always pay attention. I think Ford is really onto something with incorporating Volvo's frames across the model lines. As I've mentioned before about our little Mazda 3 "Volvo s40 frame", the ride is actually quite nice. The suspension and super low profile tires hurt it a bit on bumps, but otherwise it's quite impressive.

If I could get my wife comfortable with Ford, I would have to take a pretty serious look at their products. I like their new designs of late. My neighbor has the Mercury version of the 500, it's dark blue, awd, and really is quite nice. Sharp looking too.

Chevy better get on the ball...I think Ford is set to be the 1st American automaker to make the rebound/recovery.

[SW03ES]

The new Cadillacs have improved a lot too, most notably the CTS. The MKS is ahead in the quality/fit & finish department though.

My concerns are how it will hold up over miles compared to a Lexus, resale value (less of a concern because of their lease deals), and the long term financial future of the company (Ford).

[Lexusfreak]

Anyone driven the new CTS yet? I'm dying to get behind the wheel of a 3.6 DI AWD to see what she's got. Still got a thing for Caddy's.......but was told several time to only own a Caddy if it's under warranty.

Agreed that Ford is finally (!) starting to get some decent product out......the new Fiesta looks promising as does the euro Focus when it gets stateside.

[raymsixsix]

Great writeup! I'm glad that the American automakers are starting to make some cars that are actually exciting and worth a look, instead of falling short of the imports as in the past years.

[jcrome04]

I really like the new MKS, I think they look great on the outside. I haven't had the chance to get an upclose look at one though. I drive by a pearl white one everyday at the local Ford Dealer. VERY nice!

I like the styling.

[SW03ES]

I like the styling too, but I don't love the styling.

I have sat in the CTS a bunch of times but haven't driven one yet. I've driven the STS and DTS.

[Alexander the o.k.]

Nice review. But I guess I disagree on the styling. If I don't like the looks of it, I ain't buyin' it. To me, this borders on gaudy

It could be any wanna be car on the road. Lexus got it right with the 1st and 2nd gens 18 years ago.

Pure Class.

[SW03ES]

Its American...it looks American. Nothing wrong with having different looks. Thats always been my one problem with Lexus styling, I like a little bit of chrome. I like some chrome on a grille, I like tasteful chrome beltlines.

I think Cadillac and Lincoln have the right idea by deciding that they don't have to pretend to be Japanese cars.

[Lexusfreak]

I like the styling too, but I don't love the styling.

I have sat in the CTS a bunch of times but haven't driven one yet. I've driven the STS and DTS.

Compared to the ES......I found the new CTS to have pretty tight quarters all things considered....and I'm only a tad over 5'6". Still want to drive one though.

The good news is the CTS should suffer from pretty rapid depreciation which is a bonus for the used car market. :)

[SW03ES]

It is much smaller than the ES, all those cars are, the A4, 3 series, IS, C class.

[AmexBlackG5]

Nice write up but, I wasn't pleased with the vehicle what so ever I don't think I would ever buy an American brand again.

[SW03ES]

Did you drive or own one?

[Captain Meeks]

Glad to see this writeup. Personal opinion, I really like the stats and the ride is more than sufficiant. Just cant get past it looks to much like a Pontiac to me in the front.. Glad to see more people are leaning toward liking then dislike though. Just shows they are headed in the right direction for a change. :) ..Having been a Ford/Lincoln person in the past cant help but root for them alil. Especially considering how far behind I felt they had become on certain things.

[blake918]

I've driven the STS and DTS.

What did you think of the DTS? I have to say that I've always loved the styling even though most people don't! Thanks for the write-up on the MKS. I think they are great looking cars, and it's good to hear they are well built too!

[nc211]

MotorWeek reviewed this car "Lincoln Mks" this week and I was able to watch it Sunday morning "huge feat with 3month old around". They "originally" thought the 3.7 V6 was too underpowered to compete in this class. But "now" think it's a great match considering current gas prices. They said it's no rocket ship, but it's no sloutch either. They loved everything about it, except for the cheap dash guages. Said they were "cheap, bland, common across the entire model line". They said the handling was typical Lincoln, understeer-floatiness, but with a few hints of tightness.

Othewise, they loved it!

[SW03ES]

I've driven the STS and DTS.

What did you think of the DTS? I have to say that I've always loved the styling even though most people don't! Thanks for the write-up on the MKS. I think they are great looking cars, and it's good to hear they are well built too!

I like the DTS a lot. Cadillac still stuggles in the interior quality department an thats more evident in the DTS than in the STS or CTS, mainly because its an older model I'm sure. I've always liked the style of the current model too.

[smooth1]

I've driven the STS and DTS.

What did you think of the DTS? I have to say that I've always loved the styling even though most people don't! Thanks for the write-up on the MKS. I think they are great looking cars, and it's good to hear they are well built too!

I like the DTS a lot. Cadillac still stuggles in the interior quality department an thats more evident in the DTS than in the STS or CTS, mainly because its an older model I'm sure. I've always liked the style of the current model too.

The CTS and the CTS-V for 2009 interior has made even more improvements. I agree, Cadillac has come far with this model. I'm not a DTS fan though.

I'm not that surprised about the MKS though. I remember not too long ago the Lincoln LS was Motor Trends Car of the Year, and really did look very nice. And with the huge success the Chrysler 300 had here in the states, it only shows that chrome and big grills still sell.

[Randy&Bonnie]

..