When your Mama turns 75, it’s a big deal.
To celebrate our mother’s 75th birthday, my brother and I took our parents to California for a mini road trip. First order of business was to find the best car. Enter the 2016 Lincoln MKX: athletic, capable and comfortable. This good looking mid-sized luxury SUV with a reasonable base price of $47,650 proved to be the ideal vehicle to maneuver those Pacific Coast Highway curves, the scenic 17-mile drive from Monterey to Pebble Beach, the crooked turns of Lombard Street in San Francisco and the vineyards of Napa Valley. And the capable navigation system helped us with one of my mother’s favorite pastimes: locating all the lighthouses along the way.
Safety Technology is a Must on California’s PCH
It goes without saying, the Pacific Coast Highway from Monterey to Big Sur is a beautiful drive. It’s also two lanes, crosses high bridges spanning craggy rocks pounded by powerful ocean waves, has twisting curves and generally could scare the hell out of anyone even slightly afraid of heights. That’s exactly why my parents and brother were thrilled this SUV came with all the latest safety technology. Those that know me best (or have ever taken a road trip with me) know that I love to talk. And, I love to look at the people I’m talking to, even when I’m driving.
Fortunately for my parents and brother, the bells and whistles in the Lincoln MKX kept me in line…literally. The slightest drift across the center line of the highway activates a beep. And, believe me, I heard about it every time there was a beep…I’m certain my brother was keeping a tally because that’s what brothers do. And although I prefer to deny any lane drifting (I couldn’t) I truly did appreciate the blind spot monitors. For those occasions when we had more than two lanes, those blind spot monitors came in very handy.
Mama Deserves a Comfortable Ride
As important as the safety technology is, my main focus was making sure my parents were comfortable. They insisted on sitting in the back seat which obviously doesn’t work in a lot of vehicles. But, in the Lincoln MKX, the back seat was the place to be. I wanted them to feel at home as we traveled along California beautiful highways and byways. And they were. The back seat afforded plenty of head room and leg room. There were USB ports and climate control. And, although my parents aren’t very tall, it would have been the same even if they were six feet tall (seriously, that would have been so much better for me!) The panoramic sunroof brought another level of light into the vehicle as we drove through the Napa Valley vineyards.
My parents weren’t worried about luxury, but my brother and I wanted them to have the best. The 2016 Lincoln MKX had all the right touches: soft leather seats, wood grain accents in the cabin, leather steering wheel and quality stitching throughout (Mama is a seamstress, she KNOWS good stitching!)
Pro koho je toto auto určeno
- Families that want space and luxury
- Anyone that appreciates heated and cooled seats
- Drivers who want to carry on a conversation without outside noise
- Those who value 5 star crash ratings
- Those of us who take multi-generational trips…and want those trips to be comfortable
- Anyone that appreciates big doors, easy access and a spacious rear seat and cargo space
Co jsme milovali
- Capless fuel fill (seriously, I LOVE THIS!)
- Pohodlný interiér
- Sleek style – this SUV makes a statement
- Quiet interior – easy to carry on a conversation
- Big doors make it easier to get in and out of the back seats
- Dual climate control (because none of us can sync our comfortable temperatures!)
- Heated seats in the rear and heating & cooling seats in the front
- Hands free lift gate for the cargo space – which was plentiful
Co byste měli vědět
- Base price is $47, 650, price for model I drove, $57,815
- No typical gear shifts – they’re all on the dashboard
- GPS system works, but isn’t intuitive (you’ll need to study it beforehand.)
- Average MPG is 19, Highway is approximately 24 MPG
- Not as sporty as other comparable models, but offers supreme comfort
Other Similar Vehicles to Consider
I must admit, I had never driven a Lincoln before driving the 2016 Lincoln MKX, but I have to say I was impressed. Even recently when my parents and I were together again in Chicago, they mentioned how much they enjoyed our road trip and the 2016 Lincoln MKX was a major contributor to their pleasant memories of the trip.
The Lincoln MKX was provided for my review, but opinions are all my own.
What became of the ninth-generation Lincoln Mark series? Somewhere in the Lincoln brand’s twisted nomenclature there is a missing link: a connection between the rip-snorting Mark VIII and Lincoln’s cute-ute Mark X. I mean MKX. While no one at Lincoln’s brand-awareness roadshow bought this Houstonian’s sly attempt to realign the disjointed Mark series, they still handed me a set of keys to their latest crossover vehicle and told me to go play. Well fair enough.
I came, I saw and I found the irony: the MKX’ waffle-iron grille harkens back to the much-loved suicide door Continentals; cars that transported Presidents with three-letter titles of their own. Just in case you missed the history lesson, Lincoln’s placed a gigantic star front and center. It reminds all and sundry that this luxo-crossover isn’t a wannabe Lexus– it’s a rebadged Ford. Other than the tasteful front schnoz and LED lamps out back, there’s little to differentiate the Lincoln MKX from its stable mate, the Ford Edge.
If the Edge didn’t exist, the MKX’s sheetmetal would portend a strong future for the Lincoln brand. But there is a Ford Edge, and it’s ready to overpopulate a dealership near you. Which leaves the newborn MKX wishing Toyota was more like Ford: give the mundane Highlander a nose job, slap on some «RX» badges and call it a day. And Lincolnians wishing Ford was more like Toyota: give me some new, distinctive sheetmetal, please.
If there is an upside to badge engineering, the MKX’s interior is it. Lincoln’s added megadoses of near-luxury spizzarkle to the Edge’s elegant, capable and comfortable living space. Door panels blend soft vinyl, lustrous wood and chrome. An armrest crafted with genuine triple-stitched decadence encourages limb relaxation. The somewhat supportive seats are well padded for touring duty, aided by a posterior cooling system that’s strong enough to give you the impression you’ve wet your pants.
The MKX’ dash gets the Lincoln brand’s trademark combination of satin-nickel bling, blonde wood and delightful chrome accents. Aside from the less-than-Lexian leather on the steering wheel, the cabin looks and feels suitably posh. In true crossover style, the MKX’ mad quick D-pillar reduces storage space to traditional car standards (genuine SUV’s breathe easy). You could fold down the rear seats or… get someone else to drive, hop in back, open the panoramic sunroof shades, plug in the iPod, crank up the fourteen-speaker THX audio, and bliss out on soaring highs and full-bodied bass, as inclement weather passes you by.
Combining a high and mighty stance, 18″ wheels, adaptive headlight aimers, all-wheel drive and a 265hp V6, the MKX boldly goes wherever the Hell quasi-SUV’s are supposed to go– or not go. Although building a Lincoln without a proper V8 underhood remains an indictable offense in many southern states, Ford’s latest Duratec dynamo makes respectable torque from idle to 4000rpm. Lashed to a six-cog automatic, the MKX is quick enough for government work (you can file your taxes in the time it takes to get from zero to sixty). While the MKX’ “luxury tuned” chassis and suspension err on safety’s side, the CUV’s unitary construction allows a surprising measure of poise through the turns– you know, for a vehicle that weighs 4420 pounds with 60% of its weight over its nose.
Even better, the more-than-merely adequate driving dynamics don’t degrade the Lincoln’s luxury ride quality. The MKX is no Town Car, but its McPherson struts (front) and new four-link independent suspension (rear) murder most road imperfections with silent ease. The stoppers are equally impressive: willing disc brakes attached to a linear pedal pull the cute Lincoln down from speed with ample reserves of whoa Nellie. Aside from a smattering of road noise from the cargo area, the MKX does indeed feel like a proper luxury car. I mean, SUV. Er, CUV.
And you pay a proper price for the privilege. Lincoln’s MKX is roughly $4500 harder on your wallet than a comparable Ford Edge, which has the same powertrain, chassis and moonroof, and can be ordered with the same navigation system, up-rated audio and a fine leather interior of its own. So what’s to love about the MKX? A retro grille, better warranty, woodgrain accents, A/C seats and luxury tuned (i.e. less sporting) dynamics. Yup, it’s the Lincoln Zephyr all over again.
Overlook the neglected Town Car (since it’s still the top breadwinner even without promotion) and there isn’t a single Lincoln that wears unique sheetmetal. After a few months’ fleet sales, profit-killing rebates and sweetheart lease terms, corporate spinmeisters will proclaim MKX’s sales «increased market share and conquest sales by such-and-such percent.” But Lincoln’s progression from absolutely nothing to almost nothing will hardly be a triumph. Lexus-style profit margins require plenty of masquerading metal and a bit of one-offsmanship. Anything less just ain’t gonna cut it. Anything more from Lincoln would be a surprise, and a long-overdue one at that.
