2017 Lincoln Continental Review: Quick Spin

CARS.COM — Lincoln has a new flagship model, but you’d never know it. After much hoopla and publicity at the Continental’s unveiling at various auto shows over the last two years, Ford’s luxury brand has put the car on sale without a formal media launch. This is practically unheard of when dealing with a new luxury car, especially one as critical to Lincoln’s rebirth as the Continental. But there they were, 10 of them sitting on the lot of my local Lincoln dealer, shiny and resplendent in their chrome trim. I had to wonder: Is Lincoln embarrassed about the new Continental? Is it not up to the promises that the brand made at its unveiling?

I had to know why we haven’t heard anything from Lincoln about its new flagship sedan. Instead of waiting for a press vehicle evaluation, I popped into Sesi Lincoln in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and spoke with Ricky “Raccoon” Foresi, a 38-year sales veteran of Lincoln vehicles. He was only too happy to let me take a brand new 2017 Lincoln Continental Select for a spin.

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It Doesn’t Look Bad

Few things about the new Continental have been as polarizing as the styling. The resemblance to other cars is undeniable — it looks as if it could be the next-generation Audi A8 from some angles, like it’s a Bentley Flying Spur from others. But taken all together, by itself, sitting in a showroom, there’s no denying that it has presence. The blunt front end sweeps back over a long hood, with character lines along the car’s smooth flanks rising to incorporate the door handles into the window-sill trim. The overall look is understated, a little boring, but frankly it’s meant to appeal more to Chinese buyers than Americans — Lincoln’s growth prospects are far greater overseas than they are at home, with a much bigger market to conquer and with buyers who don’t have preconceived notions about the brand. Chinese luxury buyers don’t like bold or angular; they like smooth and innocuous, and the Continental certainly delivers on that front.

They might seem gimmicky, but those unusual door handles actually feel good in your hand. Walk up to grab them and pull the plipper pad to open the doors, and they feel hefty and substantial. They close with a thunk that implies precision and solidity. The first impression people get about a vehicle’s quality comes from the feel and movement of the door, and the Continental immediately makes a positive impression at this point. But looking a little closer at some of the panel stampings, such as the edge of the front door and how it follows the edge of the fenders, or the fit of the trunk lid in its opening, and there’s still a ways to go before the Continental stands up to the industry’s best. It’s much better stamping quality and panel assembly than we’ve seen on many other recent Ford products, but it still isn’t up to Mercedes-Benz or Lexus snuff.

It Doesn’t Drive Bad

You have a choice of three powertrains in the Continental: a 305-horsepower, naturally aspirated 3.7-liter V-6; a 335-hp, twin-turbocharged 2.7-liter V-6; or a 400-hp, twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6. Front-wheel drive is standard on the first two engines, all-wheel drive is standard on the 3.0-liter engine (and optional on the 3.7-liter and 2.7-liter engines), and all powertrain options use a six-speed automatic transmission. My test car came in the Select mid-level trim, equipped with the 3.7-liter V-6 and all-wheel drive. It’s smooth, quiet and packs plenty of power to get the Continental moving smartly. Off the line, acceleration is acceptable when left in Drive, but when you push the Sport button on the push-button transmission controls, the powertrain wakes up. Accelerator response becomes much more immediate, lower gears are held longer and the big car feels noticeably quicker.

The sense of heft and mass is definitely the overriding sensation when driving the Continental. It’s the same feeling one gets when driving a Bentley Flying Spur — you feel that the car is heavy, substantial and solid. Exactly how heavy the Continental is in pounds, we don’t yet know — Lincoln hasn’t provided that specification.

The electric power steering feels highly boosted, but the steering action is precise and provides well-tuned feedback. The brakes bite hard and bring the big Conti down to a stop with confidence and immediacy. Ride quality is excellent, with a silence in cruising broken only by the slap of the big tires on the pavement. Little engine noise gets into the cabin except under hard acceleration. More than any Lincoln I’ve sampled in years, this feels like a proper luxury car, easily competitive with established luxury players in its powertrain and chassis refinement.

It’s Really Nice Inside

Hopping into the Continental seats you in a chair that sits rather high and is padded in ways that feel unconventional compared with other luxury cars. Lincoln makes a big deal about the “Perfect Position” seats, but the base seats do not feature the multi-adjustability of the car’s more expensive thrones. My Select had the base level 10-way adjustable seats, and it must be said: They were not comfortable. The seat bottoms are much too short, a situation rectified by the more expensive 24-way or 30-way seats that offer powered thigh extenders. Furthermore, a pad across the lower back feels as if it’s pushing you forward on the already too-short seats. I was able to sample the more expensive 30-way Perfect Position seats in a static showroom model and found them to be far more pleasant. Those are an option you’ll want to spend on.

The backseat is more comfortable, but headroom in back is strangely limited. My head brushed the ceiling, and while legroom was more than plentiful, the view to the left or right for backseat passengers is obstructed by the falling roofline. It may look like a formal, upright sedan from the outside, but sitting in the backseat proves otherwise.

Interior build and materials quality are excellent. The formal, upright dash also evokes the feel of a Bentley Flying Spur in its design and material use, albeit with far more chrome trim than any luxury car I’ve experienced recently. Everything is adorned with chrome — every console panel, every knob, even the slats on the air-conditioning vents. The wood quality is outstanding — I viewed both the matte-finish Espresso Ash wood in the Cappuccino tan interior and the superior Brown Swirl Walnut in the Ebony black interior, and both interiors felt truly upscale. The base models may not be as comfortable as the more expensive trims, but there’s no denying that these look and feel like expensive cars inside.

The Electronics Work Well, Look Strange

Unlike Cadillac, Lincoln seems to have learned from its touch-panel debacle — nothing is touch-sensitive in the Continental, with the exception of the multimedia screen. Mechanical buttons and switches finally feel like quality items — an issue that continues to dog Lincoln products in vehicles like the Navigator and MKC. They move with a fluidity and click with a precision that again exudes the kind of quality feel I’ve found more often in a German luxury car. When powered down, the buttons go blank, a neat touch.

Sync 3 is standard on the new Continental, and it is such an improvement over the old MyLincoln Touch touchscreen system that it feels like a complete rethink. Fast, easy to use, well laid out, the latest Sync system transforms Ford and Lincoln multimedia systems from frustrating to fantastic. There’s just one issue with the presentation in the Continental: It’s brown. The color is drab, muted, and while I assume it’s meant to look classy, its earth tones look subdued and dim.

The same issue is present with the Continental’s gauge cluster. It’s a big reconfigurable digital screen, but the graphics are bronze on a black background. It automatically feels dim and rather retro, almost like an old hi-fi stereo system from the 1970s. It’s certainly not as modern or advanced-looking as the newest Mercedes-Benz digital system, or even Cadillac’s reconfigurable screen. It’s also a bit hard to read at a glance due to the lack of differentiation between numerals and background, so it’s hard to make out in twilight.

It’s Not Even Overpriced

The new Continental starts at $45,485, including destination fee, for the front-wheel-drive, 3.7-liter-equipped Premiere trim level. Two more trims are available: Select and Reserve. Lincoln hasn’t limited the kinds of option packages you can get for the Continental, offering everything from luxury packages to rear-seat equipment packages and more. If you want yours ultra-lux, there’s even Lincoln’s Black Label special series, allowing you to choose from among three different themes for super-premium interior and exterior colors and materials. The Revel audio system is available in an Ultima top-trim system, with 19 speakers and signature aluminum speaker grilles. Add every conceivable option and you’re looking at a loaded Continental Black Label AWD with the 400-hp turbo engine for more than $80,000. Most available, however, will likely be the Select trim for between $55,000 and $65,000, according to my Lincoln dealer sales friend.

In the end, we’re just not sure why Lincoln has decided to launch the Continental without a big media push. There’s certainly nothing to be ashamed of here – the company has created a stately, luxurious flagship sedan that’s loaded with technology and is easily competitive with entries like the Genesis G90, Lexus LS 460 and Cadillac CT6. It’s even priced accurately to match up with other automakers’ offerings. It definitely makes us wonder just how serious Ford is about the revitalization of Lincoln in the U.S.