Lincoln MKS

In all the hoopla of the past few years ragging on the American car industry (mostly deserved), apparently Ford missed the memo to be crappy. Somewhere between my 2002 Focus with its Italian-like ability to ceaselessly shed pieces of itself and this 2010 Lincoln, Ford figured out how to make a quality car. The build quality, materials, and interior are all great, and offer a comfortable, attractive place to sit and go somewhere.

What is truly impressive, though, is the engine. Now I don't know about calling something that gets 19 mpg "ECO" anything, but the aluminum 3.5L twin-turbo "ECOBoost"V6 is exceptional.

Ford's claim of making V8 power and V6 fuel economy may only be half right, but they got the correct half right. Put your foot down, and this thing launches. This is also thanks to the all-wheel drive, but that 350 ft-lb of torque makes this Lincoln feel like a muscle car. Turbo lag is minimal, if there at all. Mightily impressive. I found a couple of sites that measured a 0-60 in the mid-to-high 5 second range, and that certainly feels about right. This is basically the same engine they're putting in the new SHO, which should speak to the engine's sportiness.

With mostly highway and only small amounts of hooliganism, I got 23 miles per gallon. With the most recent fill-up in my Focus I got 19. So not too shabby for a big car.

Handling is odd. I've driven big cars that handle like big cars (LS460), and big cars that handle like smaller cars (Acura RL). The MKS though, has a fairly firm ride, almost implying sportiness, but it wallows and leans in the turns. Tight corners definitely evoke a "what do you think you're doing" from the car. You'd think the AWD would allow a little more play, but not so much. Maybe I'm biased, I power-slided the RL like a hero.

All in all, quite a decent car. Sadly, $50,000 is a lot of money and going head to head with the likes of BMW, Mercedes, and Audi is going to be tough. If I wasn't the kind of person that would spend that $50,000 on a Lotus, would the THX II/Sync combo lean me towards the MKS? Actually, yes, it would.