When the automotive shrinkage, reconfiguration, and consolidation is over, I believe that Ford with still be with us. And after they pick themselves off the garage floor and look around for a bit, one of their priorities should be to decide what to do with Lincoln. Or ask the question: “What is a Lincoln? ”
For the last decade or so, the once proud Lincoln line has consisted of little more than gussied up Mercurys, which in turn are fancier Fords. Throw in a few SUVs and even a truck, and you have the lineup card for the Lincoln division. The exclusive features Lincoln adds are not that big of a jump to justify the up charge. The cars Lincoln starts with are decent enough, but they don’t seem to turn the luxury corner. A good example: the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX.
While it’s true that Lincoln’s chief luxury car rival Cadillac bases some of its cars off of Chevrolet platforms, Cadillac learned their lesson long ago with the Cimarron disaster. So, any cars they “borrow” today end up looking like Cadillacs and not Chevrolets with Cadillac badges. Cadillac also produces exclusive vehicles like the CTS, STS, and SRX siblings with a baby brother CTS coupe on the way.
When the MKX crossover debuted for 2007 as a replacement for the Explorer-based Aviator SUV, I had some high hopes. Here was a fresh design based on a passenger car platform. Then the Ford Edge was introduced and the distinctive look and feel of the new Lincoln became watered down.
Between the two vehicles, I have to admit that I like the styling differences that Ford, I mean Lincoln, came up with for the MKX crossover. The nose contains the most notable styling upgrades with a handsome grille followed by the addition of some chrome trim and optional 20-inch wheels and revised tail lights. You can’t really call the optional adaptive front lighting system a styling difference, but it works by having the low beams follow the curves in the road based on steering-wheel input. The mirror puddle lamps and the full-width tailgate band of light are nice. However, if you removed the badges, the Edge and MKX look identical from their profiles.
Where the MKX distances itself from the Edge is the interior design. At first glance, the classic look of Lincolns from the 1960s comes alive. The dash’s two pod areas flow gracefully into a clean, well-organized center stack. Wood and bright nickel accents are carried to the door panels. Interior controls are bathed in Lincoln's cool, white light for a pleasing nighttime cabin experience. Where the elegant design goes bad is that it is composed of inexpensive components and painted plastic that is supposed to look like aluminum. The front seats are OK, but except for the grade of leather and the addition of the hot/cold feature, they are not a big improvement over the Edge. And the while the second-row seats are heated, you have to pay extra for the bun warmers. The second has more headroom than you would expect, but tall folks will probably want more -- ditto for legroom. The second row seats are 60/40 units, but they don’t fold flat. Plus, the headrest blocks part of your rear view, and when down, it only yields 68.7 cubic-feet of cargo volume.
Ford did do a good job of keeping exterior noise out as the MKX was very quiet. One optional feature I did like was the all-glass Vista Roof with a slide vent panel that spans most of the top and really opens up the MKX.
Under the hood, the MKX features the same 3.5-liter V-6 found in the Edge and Fusion sedan. The engine is smooth, but don’t expect the 265 horses and 250 pound-feet of torque to move the hefty 4,400-pound MKX quickly. The transmission is a six-speed automatic.
Fuel economy on the all-wheel-drive test vehicle was muscle car-like at 15 mpg in the city and 22 mpg on the highway. I barely achieved 19 mpg in my standard 65/35 city/highway drive loop. If you want to dent your fuel economy further, Lincoln indicates you can tow up to 3,500 pounds with the optional trailer tow package.
On the road the “little Linc” crossover displays some decent road manners in AWD test form. The MKX’s independent rear suspension uses stamped steel control blades and monotube shocks. The suspension tuning effectively dampens road irregularities for a nice ride, and during testing I did not note any excessive body lean. The test vehicle came with Ford’s intelligent AWD system, which seamlessly delivers torque to all four wheels. An active on-demand coupler delivers the needed amount of torque to the rear wheels. If you opt for traction control, intelligent AWD can transfer torque front-to-rear and side-to-side.
Adding an additional layer of control is AdvanceTrac with RSC (Roll Stability Control). The system helps to predict a vehicle's path, using a sensor to measure oversteer and yaw by monitoring the vehicle's speed, throttle position and steering wheel angle. If you hit a slippery spot or start to go into slide, the system senses wheel slip or the loss of traction, it then applies braking to help keep the vehicle on the path you intended.
The test MKX crossover arrived optioned to the hilt with the Vista Roof, voice activated navigation system, adaptive headlights, power hatch, heated rear seats, 20-inch chrome wheels, auto dim rearview mirror w/microphone, cargo management system and carpeted mats. At $37,170 that would be a nice package, but that’s where the test vehicle started before the options were added. With all the goodies added and a $675 destination charge applied, the total came to (drum roll please) $45,575. That’s a huge premo over the front-wheel drive Edge that starts in the $27K range. Plus, you can add most of the options on the MKX to the Edge.
The MKX has some tough competition in the compact crossover segment from Acura, Cadillac and Lexus to name a few. Like Lincoln, these competitors borrow platforms used in other lines, but infuse them with exclusive features, higher grade materials and styling that separate them from their more humble origins to better justify their higher price points.
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