Lincoln MKZ Review
Luxury cars can change a lot in seven years, with some evolving faster than others. When the MKZ first arrived back in 2006 as the Zephyr, it represented a worthy contender to the likes of the then current Lexus ES and Infiniti I30. It was well screwed together, decently optioned, competitively priced and delivered a more involving driving experience than its Far Eastern rivals.
On the surface, Lincoln has tried, by giving it the current corporate face and a large grille ensemble. At the back changes are more subtle, the almost full-width taillights now incorporate LEDs and there’s a back up camera system available as an option. The rest of the car’s silhouette is as familiar as the Manhattan skyline, sensibly proportioned, if perhaps a bit angular compared to newer offerings, but on the flipside, it’s also less generic. Other updates include revised side mirrors that incorporate blind spot monitoring and an optional Sport Appearance package that adds a darker toned grille.
Inside, the MKZ is decently finished. It was among the first modern, domestic entry-level luxury cars to embrace the concept of a quality looking interior and seven years on, it’s held up rather well. The seats are quite firm, but softer than say, most German offerings. During longer journeys they’re fairly comfortable, without inducing tiredness – a standard heated and cooled feature is also welcome.
In terms of on the road behavior, the MKZ is hard to fault. It’s powered by the same evergreen, 263-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 as found in the Edge, Flex, Taurus and of course its larger MKS sibling. In a smaller and lighter package, it delivers fairly sprightly performance (0-60 mph takes around 7.1 seconds), and there’s ample torque in reserve for passing, merging or contending with steep hills. The six-speed automatic transmission is also nice and smooth, the gearing decently matched to the V6’s power band, but in all honesty we found it better to just leave it in ‘Drive.’ A manual shift mode is offered, but we found it somewhat counter-intuitive, in order too up shift you move the lever back and for downshifting you move it forward.
Braking is decent and well controlled, but feedback is not as good as the MKS or Taurus, though the ABS can get rather aggressive during panic stops.
In terms of fuel economy, the MKZ is about middling in the entry level luxury segment – front drivers get around 17/29 miles per gallon city/highway, depending on conditions, while AWD models get slightly less at around 16/25 mpg.