CTC Review: 2009 Lincoln MKS

[Cord]

Noble? A Chrysler 300?

I've got no problem with that car but I would use words like Brash, Obvious, Tough, and Trendy.

[Turbo Bob]

I generally love tan-and-wood

I knew you were a wood man!

  

[Loudpedal]

I also find that Ford/Linclon have the worst and cheapest looking  gauges in the industry. Especially if you compare Lincolns' gauges to other luxury car manufacturers.

I agree wholeheartedly.  I simply can't get past them. 

It wouldn't be so bad if they  weren't so homely.  I love the looks of this car on the exterior, but the dash would be a dealbreaker.   Looking at the dash instruments, one could be in a 500 (Taurus), MKS, Fusion, F-150....totally rental car grade.   

[wing]

You guys are harsh, I think it works well and it does it's job. 

[Cortina]

Noble? A Chrysler 300

I think Rover P5 wanna-be.   

[Erik]

The MKS is just a poser.  All reputable reviews tell it the way it is.  It's a bloated Taurus in a pretty dress.  This car cannot compete with Acura, BMW or even Cadillac in handling and performance.  You'd be a fool to pay $57k for a pretty Taurus with extra sound insulation and new sheet metal. 
Like someone said, the 2010 Taurus will be $20k less, looks better than the MKS and practically the same car. 

Which reviews are those?

Just like Toyota/Lexus, Nissan/Infinity, VW/Audi, VW/ Bentley, etc.

Everyone does that!

It is not TRYING to compare to Acura, BMW or Cadillac in handling and performance. Just because it isn't what you are looking for (Sports sedan) doesn't mean it is a bad car in it's class (luxury sedan).

To be honest, when I saw the interior in the flesh, I thought It was one of the nicest I had seen at the autoshow. Just a feel of quality all around. Much nicer interior than the aforementioned Acura, for instance, or the Lexus ES350.

Good job, Ford. Not a car that I would be wanting, but there are a lot of people for whom this car will be everything they need.

Not a care I would be buying, but

[Erik]

You guys are harsh, I think it works well and it does it's job. 

It is a domestic.
That is to be expected round these parts....

[Mitlov]

I don't understand the big deal about the gauges.  Sure, they're not eye-catchingly beautiful, like a first-gen TSX, nor brightly-multi-colored, like a second-gen G35, but they're classy and timeless.  I like them.



But then of course, I like the simple Teutonic approach to gauges too.  Would people here say that the speedo and tach on the new 7-Series are rental-car-esque?

[Erik]

But then of course, I like the simple Teutonic approach to gauges too.  Would people here say that the speedo and tach on the new 7-Series are rental-car-esque?

Again, they would if it were on a domestic...

[rrocket]

I think the gauges in the Linc look fine. 

[Loudpedal]

I don't understand the big deal about the gauges.  Sure, they're not eye-catchingly beautiful, like a first-gen TSX, nor brightly-multi-colored, like a second-gen G35, but they're classy and timeless.  I like them.



But then of course, I like the simple Teutonic approach to gauges too.  Would people here say that the speedo and tach on the new 7-Series are rental-car-esque?

It's obviously personal preference, however in this price class I would expect something more upscale. 

 To me the guages look too much like the rest of the lineup, be it a 20K Fusion, or pickup.   I'm not against corporate parts bin sharing, or having a consistent look or feel, however if simple non-flashy needles indicating info on white-on-black guage appearance is what one is after, there are others who execute it better.   

Maybe I'm a nit pick, but of all things in a car one looks at, the guage cluster is probably the single biggest thing that gets eyeball time.   I have to like even the font of the numeral of auto guages before I buy.   

The rest of the car is gorgeous. 

[Erik]

I guess I still don't see an issue. They are clean and easy to read, white on black gauges, just like the good Lord intended all cars to have. If it is just a personal preference thing, like you don't like the font, for instance, than I can get that. I just don't see anything really "cheap" looking here...

[Thinking Out Loud]

I think the issue could be the advent of the Optitron  (sp?) gauges Lexus introduced.  Blacked out and luminecent, floating in the dash.

Headlights are headlights, but people are all ga-ga over the BMW halo and Audi eyeliner effects....

At this angle/closeup, I would think I'm driving a $14,000 cash deal Fusion with a Canadian Tire steering wheel wrapper, tbough.....

[Erik]

I think the issue could be the advent of the Optitron  (sp?) gauges Lexus introduced.  Blacked out and luminecent, floating in the dash.

Headlights are headlights, but people are all ga-ga over the BMW halo and Audi eyeliner effects....

At this angle/closeup, I would think I'm driving a $14,000 cash deal Fusion with a Canadian Tire steering wheel wrapper, tbough.....

Must be just a picture thing then, because when I saw it in the flesh, everything in the interior said quality.

As an aside, I came upon this picture on a VW enthusiast site as an example of a better way to do the IP....

[Erik]

For example, I think this is much more cheap and busy looking. Distracting too.

[Wastegate]

I had the unfortunate experience of driving an MKS as a loaner vehicle. I'm afraid that I have to disagree concerning it's highway comfort. The ride is poorly sorted and though plush 95% of the time it exhibits a hard edge at times which sends a shudder through the car. Rough surfaces generate plenty of cabin noise and vibration and overall the car just feels hollow and cheap.

Other gripes? Almost useless rear seat that is positioned WAY too high. This is the result of the rear bench having to clear a side impact structure that was designed for a truck. That's right...the MKS is on the P9 platform which is the same as the Volvo XC90.

Need more? Coarse engine sound and mediocre performance regardless of the power rating and how "award winning" the engine might be.

This car is a piece of junk produced by a cynical company that thinks you can still gussy-up a miss-fit platform and compete with thoroughly engineered products like the Infiniti G37...never mind the insulting price tag. FAIL!

[Mitlov]

I think the issue could be the advent of the Optitron  (sp?) gauges Lexus introduced.  Blacked out and luminecent, floating in the dash.

Yeah, I was betting that people complaining about the gauges were thinking that electroluminescent gauges = luxury, otherwise = budget.  But in a world where the Honda Fit and Mazda CX-7 have electroluminescent gauges, and the BMW 7-Series and Rolls-Royce Phantom don't, I question the accuracy of that test for luxury.  Some people may prefer electroluminescence, that's fine, but that doesn't mean that cars without it aren't luxurious.  It's like me preferring light interiors over dark.

[Erik]

Other gripes? Almost useless rear seat that is positioned WAY too high. This is the result of the rear bench having to clear a side impact structure that was designed for a truck. That's right...the MKS is on the P9 platform which is the same as the Volvo XC90.

Actually, it is built on the Ford D3 platform, which is a development of the Volvo P2 CAR platform designed for the S80. The XC90 is another car based SUV built on a CAR platform.

The "useless" back seat, as you refer to it, was in my opinion, one of the highlights of the car, as it makes it one of the few vehicles in the category that I can actually, comfortably, fit my 6'4" frame into.

[Erik]

I think the issue could be the advent of the Optitron  (sp?) gauges Lexus introduced.  Blacked out and luminecent, floating in the dash.

Yeah, I was betting that people complaining about the gauges were thinking that electroluminescent gauges = luxury, otherwise = budget.  But in a world where the Honda Fit and Mazda CX-7 have electroluminescent gauges, and the BMW 7-Series and Rolls-Royce Phantom don't, I question the accuracy of that test for luxury.  Some people may prefer electroluminescence, that's fine, but that doesn't mean that cars without it aren't luxurious.  It's like me preferring light interiors over dark.

Yeah, Lincoln did that about 15 years ago. Had it on the mid 90's Continental, amongst other things.

[aquadorhj]

The "useless" back seat, as you refer to it, was in my opinion, one of the highlights of the car, as it makes it one of the few vehicles in the category that I can actually, comfortably, fit my 6'4" frame into.

I agree, the back seat on this thing exudes comfy-ness.  more of an "American" comfy-ness, though, as opposed to "hug you tight" comfy-ness of, say, VW Passat CC or BMW's hard but weirdly comfy seats...    very..  old "lazy-boy-comfort"..

Personally, though, I found Genesis Sedan rear seat to be more comfortable.  ..sort of medium between german and american comfort.


Oh, and regarding Instrument pod of this lincoln..  Honestly, it looks good, but not $47K good.  I think that is the problem.  Steering wheel with weird wood trim tacked on doesn't help either.

Granted, pod you(Erik) posted for comparison does look not very expensive.. but it has some pizzazz, what with warning lamps in the middle of needle spindle...

The ONLY thing that looks right in the lincoln IP is the needle(and light colour)...  everything else comes short of being "right" for $47k and up car.

Understand that I'm not bashing domestic..  I'm bashing Lincoln for not trying hard enough, because as someone said up there, it resembles Ford's other product too much. (it looks EXACTLY like the IP in Flex, for example..)
I bashed Acura pretty hard in my auto-show thread..