Orlando Sentinel's view

Sometimes it’s nice to be wrong.

I thought it would take at least five years for an American automaker to surpass the Lexus SC 400, the world’s best under-$50,000 luxury/sport coupe.

It’s only taken two model years, thanks to Ford.

The new Lincoln Mark VIII, which will begin to arrive at dealers in about two weeks, puts Ford on par with German and Japanese luxury-car makers.

The Mark VIII may be the one American luxury/sport coupe that you can compare against the foreign competition and not have to make any compromises or excuses.

The stylish Mark VIII is high on performance, and it’s loaded with innovative features, such as a voice-activated hands-free phone, an electronic air suspension system and ”auto glide” seats.

When compared to the imports, the Mark VIII delivers value for the dollar that can’t be beat.

It’s a 32-valve aluminum V-8 that features double overhead cams. The 4.6-liter engine is rated at a potent 280 horsepower.

PERFORMANCE

Under the hood of the Mark VIII is the most technically complex regular production engine Ford has ever built.

It’s a 32-valve aluminum V-8 that features double overhead cams. The 4.6-liter engine rated at a potent 280 horsepower.

This is a fabulous engine. It is smooth and quiet, but not like a Lexus engine that you can’t feel or hear.

When revved up, you hear a muted growl that hints at the power available under your right foot.

When the engine reaches its 5,500 RPM limit, you hear an expensive-sounding turbine like whoosh coming from under the hood. This is what helps give the Mark VIII character.

Ford says the Mark VIII can do 0-to-60 mph in 7.5 seconds. But on test tracks, enthusiastic automotive journalists have dropped that time to about 7 seconds.

The Mark VIII is the only lux-ury/sport coupe I have driven with an engine strong enough to spin the rear tires at 40 mph on fast acceleration. But don’t get the impression the MarkVIII is unruly. It’s not. The car is always very stable and sure-footed. The driver has the option of pressing a switch on the center console to activate the traction control system, which prevents the tires from losing grip when accelerating.

There is only one transmission available, a superb computer-controlled four-speed automatic.

On a trip from Miami to Orlando on Florida’s Turnpike, the Mark VIII returned 23.6 miles per gallon of unleaded premium with the air conditioner on.

That’s not bad for a car that weighs 3,752 pounds.

HANDLING

The Mark VIII is the finest handling American luxury/sports coupe that has ever been built.

Chrysler has nothing that can compete with it, and the only General Motors entry that’s a close match is the Cadillac Eldorado.

But the rear-wheel drive Mark VIII is more predictable and easier to control, giving it the edge over the front-wheel drive Cadillac.

The car’s suspension system is as impressive as t he engine.

For starters, the Mark VIII has an ultra-smooth and quiet ride, but it is not soft and unwieldy like the car it replaces, the 9-year-old Mark VII.

The Mark VIII handles like a sports car.

The power-assisted rack and pinion steering is responsive, tight and precise. A set of fast-acting, four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes are strong and fade-free.

The four-wheel independent electronic air suspension system gives it the ability to handle gymnastic maneuvers with ease. For instance, you can slice through a sharp curve at 60 mph as easily as you can at 30 mph.

The suspension system has a load-leveling feature that keeps the car balanced front to rear and side to side. The body stays straight; there’s no trace of body roll.

The Mark VIII handles with balance and finesse. Unless you’re a race car driver, you’re not likely to find the limit of its handling ability.

FIT AND FINISH

No production car has ever had an interior quite like his.

The Mark VIII features a wildly curved wrap-around dash that conveys the intimate feel of a jet cock pit.

Most of the controls – radio, air conditioner and trip computer – are in the center of the dash and angled toward the driver. The dash is divided by a console that features a leather-wrapped shifter.

Dual air bags are standard.

The front seats are sumptuous, soft and supportive leather buckets that feature electric adjustments with a memory feature. Tilt them forward and they automatically glide out of the way to allow rear passengers easy entry.

There’s plenty of room for three adults in the rear seat. And Lincoln claims the trunk can hold four golf bags.

The test car came with an optional trunk-mounted CD player, electric sunroof and voice-activated telephone, which is turned on by pressing a button on the windshield pillar.

The gauges are no-nonsense analog units that are easy to read.

But there is room for improvement.

The interior cries out for some type of dark wood inserts along the upper portion of the door panels and along the center section of the dash. There is a bit too much plastic.

With the electric sunroof open, wind badly buffets the interior. A deflector of some sort would cure that.

The car needs some stylized chrome exhaust tips to really set off the rear end. Someone at Ford must really hate these, because not even the Mustang GT or the Taurus SHO have them.

I’ll make a prediction: The Mark VIII will sweep car of the year awards for 1993.

It’s that good.

Truett’s tip: The new Lincoln Mark VIII sets the standard for American sports/luxury coupes and puts Ford on a plateau at least as high as Lexus, BMW or Mercedes-Benz.