2009 Lincoln MKS Review

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last couple years, you know that the American auto industry has seen better days. This is why I was pleasantly surprised to get an email from the venerable Ford Motor Company asking us to take a look at their 2009 Lincoln MKS.

I said yes to the test drive not because I happen to love American cars (I drive an older Acura CL myself), but because I wanted to see firsthand what type of car the American auto industry has to offer in these troubled times.

With the Lincoln MKS, Ford is competing directly with the likes of the Lexus GS350, Infiniti M35 and Cadillac STS among others. And out here in the Bay Area, where German and Japanese cars dominate the mid-luxury sedan space, it was refreshing to be driving something different.

After the car was dropped off, I asked a couple people in the office to come check out the MKS.  Both were impressed with the stance of the car. “It looks mean. Look at that grill, it’s a BEAST”, said one of them. The other said, “Wow, it’s not what I expected.” Read into those comments all you want, but I was equally impressed when I first saw the MKS.

When I think of a Lincoln, a quiet, tuxedo black Towncar with a comfy cloud-like ride comes to mind. These have become the defacto standard non-taxi work horses I see all around downtown San Francisco.

With the MKS, it’s a huge departure from what I have come to think about Lincoln. The lines and overall fit and finish of the MKS are very impressive.

The interior looks and feels like what I would expect for a $40k+ car. It doesn’t shout out luxury, but the leather and wood trim accents are very nice. On the center console, the knobs and dials were a tad too small. I did like that the center arm rest telescoped and extended out some (nice touch). I also liked how the seat belt height could be adjusted easily and was also hidden at the same time.  The interior is not as spacious as I would have guessed looking at the car from the outside, but in no way was it small. I had a friend who is 6′2″ sit in the back and he had no problems with the amount of head or leg room either. The gauges on the dash board looked a little budget. In particular, I didn’t like the fact that every MPH was displayed i.e. 40MPH, 50MPH, 60MPH (see image).  It felt a little cluttered and made it harder to read my actual speed.

Where I think the MKS really shines is in it’s technology enhancements. Rear view camera, Microsoft SYNC, keyless entry, push-button start, steering wheel controls, navigation, voice control and THX sound system were just some of the nice things I really enjoyed. Anyone looking for a car with these technology enhancements will not be disappointed. If you’ve ever seen the movie Flight of the Navigator, the MKS felt similar in terms of all the technology crammed into this car. While some of the voice commands took a little while to execute, the ease of use and increased functionality more than made up for it.

Another thing about the MKS that really stood out was the sheer size of the trunk.  It was Grand Canyon like. Holy shite, was it huge. You could fit at least a couple golf bags and at least a weeks worth of groceries in there. The only down side though was the lip or entrance into trunk felt a little tight, but you can’t have everything.

Once I got the car out on San Francisco roads, I was pleased. Although the MKS’s suspension feels a bit stiffer, it’s still similarly tuned to that of a Lexus over a BMW in terms of comfort. The steering is true, not overly sensitive and you get just the right amount of feedback to make driving it fun. There was noticeably more road noise in our test car, but that may be attributed to the stiffer suspension. Aside from that, the MKS handled very nicely. Whether on the street or on the freeway, the handling felt appropriate and the throttle responsive.

Overall, you can tell extra effort was put into making this car. Although I was skeptical in the beginning, I came away with a good impression of the Lincoln MKS. And in a way, it gives me hope that the American auto industry can turn it around. Now wouldn’t we all like that.