Forties Wink

NO BOXY Flex, MKT sheetmetal is unique, though interior is simply an upscale version of the Ford’s.

“FLYING WING” grilles now lead off the modern Lincoln lineup, save for the MKX. (That facelift is about a year away.) The latest model to receive this retro treatment is the MKT, a six- or seven-passenger crossover utility vehicle Lincoln calls its new flagship. The wing-free Navigator sport/utility costs a bit more, but it’s relegated to a future of very low volume, high-profit model.

One thing the MKT doesn’t need behind its 1941 Continental-like grille is an eightcylinder engine. Turbocharging, direct injection, and the high compression that goes with it replace two cylinders in Ford Motor Company’s coming line of EcoBoost engines. The first of this new family, a 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V-6, is just the ticket to making a big, post-SUV prairie schooner like the MKT quick and efficient. Base engine for the MKT is a 270-horse, 3.7-liter Duratec V-6, also standard in the 2010 MKS. Lincoln certified both engine choices on premium, though you can run either on regular without affecting the warranty. Lincoln rates the Duratec on regular at 268 horsepower. It doesn’t list a regular-fuel horsepower rating for the EcoBoost.

In the MKT, the Duratec is available with FWD or fully automatic AWD. MKT with EcoBoost comes with AWD only. A six-speed automatic with a paddle attached to the steering wheel uses the paddle for upshifts, thumb control for downshifts. It can be confusing, especially in the middle of a turn, with the controls out of place. Most owners will let the tranny shift itself, except when crossing mountain ranges.

Like General Motors with its Lambda large crossovers, soon to be reduced to Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, and Buick Enclave (and probably, the next-generation Cadillac Escalade moving to the platform to compete directly with the MKT), this new Lincoln and the Flex share underpinnings but no sheetmetal. While we find the boxy, upright Flex a refreshing CUV take on the modern wagon, it has been far from a sales success compared with competitors like the Traverse. The curvy, flowing MKT won’t have any problems with the creased-sheetmetal averse, though reader comments of our motortrend.com first drive reveal a fairly even split among the love it versus hate it camps.

The Lincoln further distinguishes itself with an all-glass roof, adding weight and a kind of two-tone look to the model. The Panoramic Vista Roof is fixed in standard form. A power sunroof is optional.

The “premium innovations” list reads like a Mercedes or Lexus spec sheet, as recited by Bill Gates. EcoBoost-powered MKTs come with electric power steering, which in turn allows for the Active Parking Assist option, Lincoln’s more successful take on the Lexus LS automatic-parkingfor-dolts option.

Lincoln says that, unlike competitors’ systems, it works when parking uphill. There’s adaptive cruise control, intelligent access with push-button start, adaptive headlamps and standard high-intensity discharge lamps, automatic high beams, rain-sensing wipers, Blind Spot Information System, Cross Traffic Alert, a reverse camera, and, of course, standard Sync.

With its thickly padded dash and door trim panels, the MKT’s interior trumped that of an Audi Q7 4.2, which Lincoln thoughtfully provided for the first drive, at Ford Motor Company’s Romeo Proving Ground in Michigan. The wrapped and stitched dash is soft and cushy where the Q7’s is made of hard, though high-quality, plastic. And

“PREMIUM INNOVATIONS” LIST READS LIKE A LEXUS OR MERCEDES SPEC SHEET AS RECITED BY BILL GATES.

2010 MKS: ANOTHER NAIL IN THE V-8’S COFFIN

INCREASING concerns for fuel economy and low CO2 emissions steered Lincoln clear of the Yamaha V-8 available in the MKS’s platform sibling, the Volvo S80. Instead, the top-of-the-range MKS comes with the same 355-horse twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6, coupled with AWD to avoid torque steer, as in the new MKT. With less weight than the crossover bears and the same 1500-5250-rpm peak torque band, the MKS EcoBoost easily lives up to its promise, accelerating with alacrity from a dead stop. Both new Lincolns are plush and extremely quiet. With that kind of smoothness, accelerating to, say, 120 mph is like taking a walk in the park. Lincoln says the EcoBoost’s power equals a 4.6-liter V-8’s—200 cc larger than the Volvo-Yamaha engine.

The MKS does this with minimal chassis upgrades, which include a new electric power-steering system, new front and rear anti-roll bars, revised suspension and bushings, and a new upper-shock mount design. An optional Sport Appearance package comes later this year with dark headlamp/foglamp lenses, unique badging, and an upgraded interior.

It doesn’t pretend to be a sport sedan. The car tends toward excessive, benign understeer and some easily controlled high-speed wallow. As with the MKT, you discover the bump stops quickly on rough pavement. The MKS is simply not engineered to be the kind of car the EcoBoost otherwise suggests. The large, front-drive-based lux car is the replacement for the much longer, lower rear-drive Town Car. This is a stately sedan designed to exude quiet luxury, even if the headlamp and foglamp lenses are blacked out.

2010 LINCOLN MKS

BASE PRICE DRIVETRAIN $41,695-$48,595 Front-engine, FWD/AWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan

ENGINES 3.7L/275-hp/276-lb-ft*

TRANSMISSION 6-speed automatic

CURB WEIGHT

4150 - 4300 lb (mfr) WHEELBASE 112.9 in LENGTH X WIDTH X HEIGHT 204.1 x 75.9 x 61.6 in 0-60 MPH 5.9-7.0 sec (MT est) EPA CITY/HWY FUEL ECON Not yet rated ON SALE Currently

*On recommended premium fuel; 273-hp/270-lb-ft on regular * ;

WRAPPED and stitched dash is soft and cushy, with real wood trim. Rest of interior is closer to that of its Flex sib.

the fit-and-finish, even for preproduction MKTs, was quite good. Except for dash/ instrument panel design, a dollop of real wood trim and higher quality seat leather, the Lincoln’s design is much closer to the Flex inside than outside, a testament to the surprising quality of the Ford’s interior.

As with the Flex, six-passenger MKTs will be available with a center-console refrigerator. Thanks to the optional sunroof and the more rakish D-pillar versus the Flex’s, the MKT’s third-row seat is best left to the kids or those shorter than five-anda-half feet. First and second rows are very roomy and comfortable.

The EcoBoost engine is a worthy alternative to the V-8, able to motivate large, heavy objects along vast expanses of American highway. Powering the MKT, it feels more sprightly than the 350-horsepower, 325-pound-feet Q7 V-8. The twin turbos, each serving a bank of the vee, need a couple hundred rpm over idle to get up and go. There’s just half a beat of lag after tip-in. Peak torque kicks in quickly, though, at 1500 rpm, and stays there right up to 5250. Lincoln estimates 7.0-seconds 0-to-60 mph (about 8.6 for the 3.7 Duratec). It feels quick and composed to 120 mph and beyond.

Even with a late-summer on-sale date quickly approaching, Lincoln didn’t have EPA fuel mileage numbers, but expect 17/24 mpg for the AWD EcoBoost model, well ahead of the 800-pound-heavier Q7’s 13/18 mpg and bettering the Acura MDX’s 15/20 or the Buick Enclave’s 16/22.

While Lincoln may try to pass off its MKT as a kind of rolling boardroom, it’s really a family-size luxo wagon, the logical successor to the not-quite-logical Navigator. As a postmodern prairie schooner, the MKT’s chassis isn’t quite up to the task of meeting the engine’s potential. The EcoBoost version comes with stiffer front and rear springs versus the Duratec version’s and retains its 32mm front/22mm rear anti-roll bars.

The EcoBoost makes the MKT feel light and lively. Keep in mind, though, it’s a traditionally cushy Lincoln. When pushed, the electric power steering feels too light and needs corrections on crowned or bumpy roads. You’ll also find the MKT’s bump stops on crusty roads, although the damping rebound is excellent and keeps everything in proper control. Lincoln benchmarked the Q7, of course, and the Acura MDX, plus Mercedes’ R-Class for the MKT. That’s the kind of crossover it is, somewhere between Q7 and R-Class, with an optional engine that will make you king of the big family vacation, able to cross the Continental Divide in a single bound and without the need of a thirsty V-8. ■

2010 LINCOLN MKT

BASE PRICE VEHICLE LAYOUT

ENGINES $44,995-$49,995 Front-engine, FWD/AWD, 6- or 7-pass, 4-door SUV 3.7L/270-hp/270-lb-ft* DOHC 24-valve V-6; 3.5L/ 355-hp/350-lb-ft twinturbo DOHC 24-valve V-6

TRANSMISSION 6-speed automatic

CURB WEIGHT

4700-4950 lb (mfr) WHEELBASE 117.9 in LENGTH X WIDTH X HEIGHT 207.6 x 76.0 x 67.4 in 0-60 MPH 7.0-8.1 sec (mfr est.) EPA CITY/HWY FUEL ECON 17/24 mpg (est, EcoBoost) CO2 EMISSIONS 0.98 lb/mile (est) ON SALE IN U.S. Currently