Review: 2009 Lincoln MKS, mainstream comfort at a luxury price

The Lincoln MKS is a halfhearted large luxury sedan that
is neither remotely sporty nor especially comfortable or
refined. SEE ANOTHER PHOTO

In 2003, Cadillac began its design renaissance with the edgily-styled CTS sedan. The new “art and science” proved successful for the brand, helping it break with its once-stodgy roots and market that successful and award-winning luxury sports sedan. 

 

In 2003, Lincoln, the brand that was previously virtually interchangeable with Cadillac, was not doing a design renaissance. It was instead restyling its existing competitor to the CTS, the LS. The new look on the LS represented a change only from a forgettable appearance to a slightly different forgettable appearance.

 

But Lincoln now has what it hopes will be the signature design feature for its products, that came out first on the MKS large luxury sedan: a larger version of the brand’s traditional “waterfall” grille split down the middle. (SEE PHOTO DETAIL.) But compared to the massive effort Cadillac undertook to do better for itself with its new look, the Lincoln grille seems a bit halfhearted.

 

But more than styling distinguishes today’s Cadillac from today’s Lincoln. While the Cadillac CTS is on Car and Driver magazine’s 10Best list and was Motor Trend’s 2008 Car of the Year, the MKS isn’t an award-winning type of vehicle. It’s designed to offer a more old-fashioned luxury: a serene, isolated driving experience and plenty of space.

 

The other significant difference between the Cadillac and the Lincoln is that Lincoln didn’t do a good job.

 

The MKS, which is mechanically a Ford Taurus, offers little that a mainstream large family sedan does not. It lacks the ride quality, the refinement, and the overall feel that would distinguish it from the Taurus’s competitors. The Taurus has a base price of under $25,000, while the MKS starts close to $40,000. While the Taurus is a very competitive vehicle at $25,000 (one of the best cars you've never considered buying), at $48,340 as tested, the Lincoln MKS should be a much better car than it is. 

 

The MKS will leave a good first impression, at least. It certainly looks the part of a luxury car. Even beyond the big grille – and the very large wheels – the proportions and basic shape are of a modern luxury sedan. The roof line is evocative of a Lexus GS, but the details are unique enough to prevent the car from appearing derivative. 

 

Even inside, the MKS is nice to look at. The design is tasteful yet not bland, a far cry from Lincoln’s other 2009 models. The quality of the materials is also better than other recent Lincolns, and there’s lots of space in the front and rear seats, surprisingly uncommon among luxury cars.

 

This first impression seems to be enough for many buyers, who made the MKS Lincoln’s best-selling car, buying 2,100 MKSs in that month, during a recession at that. But you shouldn’t follow their example, because the details of the car don’t elevate it above much cheaper alternatives.

 

The biggest problem is the driving dynamics. Someone who wants a nimble, fun-to-drive sports sedan would be unsatisfied with the bulky, rather cumbersome feel of the MKS, but that’s not actually what’s wrong with the car. Many people do just want a smooth, quiet ride, a perfectly valid preference. 

 

The problem is that the MKS doesn’t have a smooth, quiet ride.

 

It’s not terrible. It’s certainly not bad enough to drive off those 2,100 people who bought them last month. But the standards for refinement among $25,000 sedans are quite high in today’s market, and the standards for $45,000 sedans are even higher. The MKS meets that $25,000 standard, but isn't luxury-level.

 

The MKS, which like the Taurus it’s based on is available in both front- and all-wheel-drive, has a weight problem. At well over two tons, it’s more than 400 pounds heavier than the Taurus, and the suspension has trouble coping with that mass.

 

A good comfort-focused luxury car has a controlled and absorbent ride. It’s not jittery on smooth pavement, it suppresses bumps well, and it doesn’t keep moving up and down after passing over a bump. The MKS, especially with the available large wheels (20 inches, as tested), isn’t at that standard. You’d never call it uncomfortable, but for your $48,000, you shouldn’t need to settle for harsh impacts that leave the car wallowing afterward.

 

The MKS would have decent ride quality by the standards of the Taurus’s class. In fact, it feels very similar to the Hyundai Azera large family sedan: mostly comfortable but without optimum control. The difference is that a loaded Azera will set you back well under $30,000 with all the discounts. 

 

Even the Azera and others in its price bracket will offer more powertrain refinement as well. The MKS’s standard 3.7-liter V6 – the only engine offered until later this year, when extra power becomes optional – is shared with two much less expensive Mazdas, and sounds much rougher than it should when asked to move this Lincoln’s bulk. Gas mileage isn’t so good either, at 16 miles per gallon in the city and 23 on the highway as tested (front-wheel-drive models get one extra mpg), but at least Ford’s new capless gas tank will shave a few seconds off your refueling time.

 

One area in which luxury cars are expected to distinguish themselves from the mainstream is in their fancy options. The MKS’s lineup includes a navigation system, keyless entry and starting, a backup camera, 12-way power adjustments for the driver and front passenger, heated front and rear seats, cooled front seats, rain-sensing windshield wipers, and adaptive headlights that follow the turn of the steering wheel around corners or bends in the road.

 

But while that’s a spiffy-sounding list when the salesman is rattling it off, that’s not so outstanding for $48,000. Many of those features are becoming increasingly common in much less expensive vehicles. Ford’s SYNC system, a voice-controlled Bluetooth and MP3 system, is impressive in the $16,000 Ford Focus, but it’s more frustrating when in a full-size luxury car when it can’t understand repeated instructions. (You can control everything through buttons when the MKS doesn’t listen to the salesman’s demand to find a jazz satellite radio station.) 

 

Also, the backup camera is wouldn’t be necessary if it weren’t for the MKS’s poor visibility. Though drivers sit high for a good forward view on a straight highway, thick roof pillars block the view to the sides, and a very high trunk makes it hard to see out the back. Use the camera when you first put the car in reverse to see if there’s something hidden in your blind spot, but then you’re best off making the best of your poor rearward view to back up the old-fashioned way. Parking is further complicated by a wide turning radius. 

 

A more unique feature, a self-parking system that allegedly works better than the competing Lexus version, is on the way later this year, but as it is, the MKS doesn’t stand out at its price point. Not  for its feature content or for too much else.

 

And that’s too bad. There’s an underserved market of luxury car buyers who want a lot of space and a smooth ride, while most luxury automakers instead offer sports sedans with firmer, less-absorbent rides and tighter interiors. Had Lincoln done a good job on the MKS, it could have offered a more spacious alternative to the Camry-based Lexus ES350, currently a sales leader for being one of the few luxury un-sport sedans.

 

As it is, the closest thing to what the MKS is trying to offer is the Hyundai Genesis, which comes very close to smooth, quiet, spacious luxury at a lower price. Though it doesn’t nail the optimum ride isolation either, it has the overall suspension control and refinement that distinguishes a luxury car from a family sedan. The MKS doesn’t. 

 

That said, if you’re satisfied with the way the MKS drives, you should consider a mainstream-brand large family sedan. The Hyundai Azera or Toyota Avalon would offer you the same level of space, refinement, and interior quality, and most of the feature content for around $30,000. If you want the MKS's all-wheel-drive, give up a bit of refinement over those two and get the Ford Taurus.

 

There are at least discounts on the MKS. At the time of this test drive, Ford was offering employee pricing, which cut the price from its lofty $48,340 to a slightly less lofty $43,334. That price is no longer available, though standard haggling should get you a similar reduction.

 

If that price were reduced another $10,000, Lincoln would have the MKS at a price point where it would be competing against cars with similar driving dynamics. But if this is the type of vehicle you want, you should spend less than the cost of the MKS and buy something else.