2008 Lincoln MKX
by Jim Prueter -06/2008

Lincoln’s new crossover utility vehicle

(This review was originally written for the 2007 Lincoln MKX. Little of substance has changed with this year’s model, but the review has been updated to include changes for 2008.)

Most of the news coming out of Ford Motor Company’s Dearborn Michigan headquarters focuses on the troubles the blue-oval is having. Ford lost $1.4 billion in the first half of 2006, and a whopping $5.8 billion in the third quarter 2006 alone.

In September, Alan Mulally, a former Boeing executive, replaced Henry Ford’s grandson William Clay Ford Jr. as the company’s CEO. Earlier announcements included U.S. workforce reductions by as many as 30,000 and plans to shut sixteen plants. Ten years ago, one in four new vehicles sold in the U.S. carried the blue-oval marque. Today it’s around 15 percent.

In response, Ford is scrambling to bring new vehicles to the market and recently introduced two new crossover utility vehicles: Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX. Both vehicles bear an unreasonable amount of expectations from its parent company.

Appearance-wise, the new MKX is chic — if you favor a slightly overdone look. The retro harmonica-look chrome grille is a throwback to the 1963 Lincoln Continental, and a massive tail lamp traverses the entire rear of the vehicle.

MKX looks more upscale and expensive compared to the more athletic lines of its sibling Ford Edge. Similarly, it has a raked windshield, swept-forward rear roof complete with spoiler and clear-lens taillamps, and rounded wheel arch openings.

For 2008, MKX is offered in one model, either front-wheel drive ($36,615) or all-wheel drive ($38,365). Both are equipped with an all-new 3.5-liter V-6 that delivers 265 horsepower and is mated to an all-new six-speed automatic transmission.

Inside, MKX provides two rows of seating for five; a third-row seating option is not available. Our tester came equipped with the optional Elite and Ultimate Packages, which included heated and cooled front sets, heated rear seats, DVD navigation system, reverse sensing system, Sirius satellite radio, 18-inch chrome wheels and a panoramic vista roof (an oversized power glass sunroof over front-seat occupants and a large skylight over second-row passengers, both with sunshades).

The front seat is comfortable, but we wished for just a bit more legroom. Two adults will fit comfortably in the back seat, three for short distances only. Rear seats recline (but don’t slide fore and aft) and are split 60/40. There are grab handles to ease entry into the back, but the front. Rear seats power fold down but oddly, not up. Like the Edge, MKX can carry longer objects like a ladder or eight-foot long lumber.

The large center console is designed to hold objects as large as a laptop and features a concealed power point and MP3-audio input jack. Small slots molded into the side of the console keep phone and MP3 cords neat and organized. The console lid has a ticket clip, two penholders and a tissue holder.

We liked the overall shape of the dash and the functionality and ease of audio, climate and optional navigation control, but not the navigation system itself.

Our White Chocolate colored tester was trimmed with camel colored leather seats, light carpeting and blond wood trim along the dash and door panels. My various passengers either loved or hated the wood trim. I like it.

New features for 2008 include a monochrome Limited Edition package, available only in black. It includes 20-inch chrome-clad wheels, chrome door handles, fineline Ebony wood accents and premium leather seats in charcoal black with medium light stone inserts and piping. The monochrome edition includes a black body-color grille.

Other 2008 upgrades include standard SIRIUS Satellite Radio and Lincoln Syncäaudio system. Heated and cooled front seats, reverse sensing system, memory seats and mirrors, and driver and passenger power lumbar are now all standard.

On the road, the MKX is quiet, handles well, and is tossable in turns, but feels more like a standard-issue Ford than a luxury vehicle. Performance from the 265 horsepower left us feeling it was lighter on its feet than the two-ton-plus curb weight would indicate. We gauged unofficial zero to 60 mph times in the 7 to 8 second area.

Standard safety equipment includes Ford’s Advanced Trac with roll stability control that automatically kicks in if the system detects you’re cornering too fast and the vehicle is in danger of tipping over. Seat-mounted side air bags, safety canopy air curtain system, and Ford’s Personal Safety System come standard. Neither MKX nor Edge has been tested for crash test durability.

Overall, we think Ford/Lincoln loyalists will be more than pleased with either the Edge or MKX, but both fall short of GM’s new CUVs: Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia.

Both MKX and Edge face formidable competition in this segment with the likes of the popular Nissan Murano, Toyota Highlander and Honda Pilot on the Ford side and Cadillac SRX, BMW X5, Lexus RX and VW Touareg on the upscale side. To succeed, it will need to pull buyers away from those brands. It remains to be seen if the lure of these new vehicles can sustain the kind of staying power Ford so desperately needs to help ease some of its financial woes. We certainly hope so.