Road Test 2010 Lincoln MKZ: A change for the (much) better

The only way the 2010 Lincoln MKZ could have been changed more would have been for Lincoln to have mounted the wheels on top. And that’s a good thing. Not mounting the wheels on top, which Lincoln fortunately didn’t, but rather changing the 2010 Lincoln and changing it for the better.

 When we reviewed the 2009 Lincoln MKZ we were positively underwhelmed and clearly unimpressed. While we thought the midsize ’09 Lincoln looked the part of luxury car, the MKZ behaved like Eliza Doolittle before she went to finishing school.

But no matter what we thought about the looks of last year’s Lincoln MKZ, the 2010 model makes Eliza look like a homely older sister. We continuously received positive unsolicited comments, and while that’s not uncommon when we’re driving a new—and particularly expensive—automobile, remarks about the 2010 Lincoln MKZ were surprisingly enthusiastic. We were all but asked for autographs.

The all-new front end has much to do with it. It makes last year’s MKZ so, well, last year. The “split-wing grille,” as Lincoln calls its family face, makes the Lincoln MKZ look a lot like the larger and more expensive Lincoln MKS—and perhaps some people were confusing the 'Z for the 'S. If so, more’s the better for the Lincoln MKZ owner.

The hood is new, as are the front fenders and wraparound headlamps. The rear end has a new trunklid with wider LED taillamps, which makes the MKZ look wider. The overall body, however, has the same exterior panels as the ’09, so Lincoln’s designer worked a bit of magic on the ’10 MKZ.

Like last year’s model, then, the 2010 Lincoln MKZ shares its platform with the Ford Fusion. We’ve liked the Fusion every time we’ve driven it, including the 2009 Ford Fusion SEL and the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, but as good as it is, the Fusion isn’t a luxury car.

That’s where the 2009 Lincoln MKZ fell short. For 2010, however, Lincoln engineers almost completely reworked the car’s “sound packing.” The 2010 MKZ has a new acoustic laminated windshield with sound-absorbent vinyl between two layers of glass, better door-to-body sealing to reduce wind noise, an all-new sound-deadening acoustic headliner, and “expandable stuffers” in the fenders and pillars, and “constrained layer damping material” over the entire floor to reduce road noise.

We noticed the difference.

Lincoln engineers also worked on the engine mount subsystem to find “sound that balances sportiness and luxury.” Indeed, while the 2010 MKZ’s engine is the same 263 hp 3.5-liter V-6 of that in the 2009, we noticed none of the harshness of last year’s engine in the 2010. The V-6 sounded good under power and although the Lincoln isn’t as silent as a Lexus at idle, the engine has a healthy sound at idle even if one will never be tempted to try to start the engine while it’s running.

Scroll down for detail photos of the 2010 Lincoln MKZ.

Our notes call the 2010 Lincoln MKZ’s acceleration “vigorous” but the shifting of the six-speed automatic always smooth, which is a word we would also use for the MKZ’s ride and steering. It’s quiet on the road—the sound deadening paid off—and wind noise is absent as well, all the better to appreciate the THX-certified audio.

The 2010 Lincoln MKZ is also a smoothie on the highway, but despite our test MKZ’s optional Sport Appearance Package—which oddly enough for an “appearance package” also includes performance handing chassis tuning—the MKZ didn’t inspire sporty driving. The Lincoln MKZ isn’t a BMW in American togs.
The Lincoln MKZ isn’t dressed like a Bimmer inside either, but rather good looking in a Lincoln sort of way. And not only does the MKZ look like quality inside, it feels like it as well, including soft-touch surfaces rather than hard plastic even in places usually not touched, such as behind the steering wheel. We mean, who reaches around...? But the dash top is not only soft touch, it’s compressible. What's more, the interior trim that's supposed to look like aluminum does look like aluminum because it really is aluminum.

The seats are shaped more for comfort than sport, though the seatbacks are bolstered for support. Our test MKZ had contrasting white piping and stripes over black. It's high contrast and we think there will be little middle ground over the effect; one either will love or not care for the effect.

An oddity on this price range of automobile is a handbrake. Much more common is the foot pedal or, increasingly common on more expensive cars, a power parking brake with a tiny switch on the console.
But overall, the 2010 Lincoln MKZ is an unabashedly American near-luxury car and doesn't pretend to be Euro or to become the American Lexus, whatever that might be. And we'll note, it doesn't have its wheels on top. We probably wouldn't have had all those compliments if it had.

Illustration: 2010 Lincoln MKZ; photo by John Matras.

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