The competition among the luxury brands has always been very difficult for Lincoln that struggled to find its position. Other elite manufacturers, including Mercedes and Lexus, have diminished the role of Lincoln to a minimum, which prompted many people to think that the American company cannot compete in this segment. The recent MK series was supposed to strengthen the positions of Lincoln but did not enjoy intended interest from the customers. The series of frustrations convinced executives at Lincoln to command the designer to take the latest redesigned models to a new level, which would make the brand competitive for at least several years and convince more customers to join the brand family.
In the automobile industry, the term “redesign” means that manufacturer adjusts the design of the previous model to make the next one better. However, US Company has redefined this term with the 2017 Lincoln MKZ. It received some completely new features, while maintaining some of the proven functions from the concept model we had the privilege to see several years ago.
The statement made by Lincoln’s president Kumar Galhotra shows the company’s desire to improve the customer experience and meet their requirements. Specifically, he said, “Our customers are looking for three attributes in a mid-size luxury sedan – technologies that ease their everyday experience, a beautiful design that is crafted with attention to detail, and a vehicle with impressive power that makes it a pleasure to drive. The new Lincoln MKZ elevates all of these attributes – and much more – to create a compelling entry in this large and highly competitive portion of the luxury market.”
Indeed, the model lives up to the expectations and dazzle with some premium features, such as improved parking assistant, concert-quality audio system, and adaptive cruise control. Also, the manufacturer has provided the customers with a decent selection of trims and great customization options. At this point, the only question remains whether the model will be a solid competitor in the segment and win the trust of customers. We will have to wait for that to be fully tested but before that let’s take a closer look what Lincoln MKZ will be using to achieve this goal.
2017 Lincoln MKZ Interior Design
There are some improvements and additions waiting in the cabin, including new switches, audio system, ventilation adjustments, and USB ports. These new features greatly enhance the functionality of the vehicle improving comfort and entertainment of the model. As it was mentioned above, Lincoln MKZ offers great customization options: for example, the customers can select the color of the interior and separate elements making quite a unique combination. The seats themselves are made with high-quality materials and look elegant and comfortable, so they should make long trips a reasonably pleasant experience.
The infotainment system includes a large touch screen display that shows crisp and vivid graphics. Moreover, it is fully compatible with smartphones and supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which is also great for navigation purposes. The cabin looks very spacious and has a floating center console, which is becoming more and more popular in the industry. Overall, the interior looks very elegant, luxury, and comfortable, which means that designers did a good job here.
Exterior Design of new MKZ
The front of the vehicle is equipped with adaptive LED headlights and slimmer LED lights which replaced the fog lights used in the previous generation model. Perhaps the most noticeable change in 2017 Lincoln MKZ is the single piece front grille, which is fully redesigned and features new, lower air vents and chrome bits and pieces. The overall body looks very aerodynamic and aggressive, which is something that Lincoln models are known for, to be honest. Nevertheless, the customers will be glad to find that the company strives to meet all requirements and be modern. The rear of the vehicle look identical to the concept revealed several years ago. For example, it has LED bar that is placed around the deck lid between the lights and small LED taillights.
Powertrain
This model will be supplied with a range of powerful engines, including 2.0-liter four-cylinder EcoBoost, 3.7-liter 24-valve, and 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle hybrid powertrain. These units generate 188, 300, and 240 horsepower respectively. The manufacturer claims that the 2017 MKZ will also be offered with an entirely new engine: a 3.0-liter GTDI, which is significantly more powerful than the standard ones. Specifically, it is supposed to produce about 400 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque, which makes it the most powerful unit and marks the enormous step further in comparison with the previous generation model. Also, it should be noted that Lincoln has been paying much more attention to hybrid segment and delivery of this type of powertrains. This is also good news for MKZ in gaining competitive advantage in the market and possibility to attract an additional number of buyers that usually would not consider buying Lincoln.
Safety Features
The list of safety features includes adaptive cruise control, stop-and-go functionality, enhanced parking assistant, automatic braking, pre-collision system, frontal collision warning, lane departure warning, pedestrian detection, and numerous airbags. Overall, the vehicle is very safe and has all premium features which are needed to compete in the introductory luxury market. This will be confirmed by NHTSA and IIHS.
Trim Levels and Pricing
There are three primary trim levels, Premiere, Select, and Reserve, and they can be equipped with all different engines described above. The manufacturer also offers a decent selection of packages to meet all expectations of the customers and provide maximum customization. The entry level Lincoln MKZ Premiere, including Hybrid version, starts at $35,010 and the most expensive model, Reserve 300A AWD equipped with a 3.0-liter V6 engine, starts at $45,400. The entry level Select trim costs $39,510 and climbs to $42,650 for the same 3.0-liter unit. As for the Reserve, the entry-model has the same starting price and increases up to $45,400. There are also five packages available for selection, including Technology, Climate, Driver’s, Luxury, and Select Plus, which cost additional $2,395, $695, $3,395, $4,400, and $1,255 respectively. Panoramic Glass Roof, Single Panel Moonroof, and Revel Auto with HD Radio and fourteen speakers are among additional premium features, which will cost $2,995, $1,200, and $1,180 depending on your choice.
Conclusion
The latest MKZ has a decent payload of features and certainly can be considered as a fair competitor in the introductory luxury market. Hopefully, this will allow Lincoln to improve sale results further and to get back on their feet and to build a solid foundation for the future models across the lineup.
