Cars.com's Dave Thomas takes a look at the 2009 Lincoln MKS. It competes with the Acura RL and Cadillac STS.
Transcript
(upbeat rock music) (upbeat music) Hi, I'm Dave Thomas with Cars.com, and we're here with the 2009 Lincoln MKS. This is an all new sedan from Lincoln, starts at $37,000, and the company hopes to can take on the likes of Lexus and Infiniti.
What most people notice right away about the MKS is its huge grill up front. This is Lincoln's new trademark styling. We've seen it actually as a concept at auto shows before. Now it's sitting production on the MKS for the first time. Really the overall look of the car is really nice, but the grill really stands out. There's only one engine option with the Lincoln MKS, and that's a 3.7-liter V6, good for 270 horsepower. That's actually a lot. Even though a lot of cars today have 300 horsepower, it's plenty powerful enough for this car. You won't need to go too fast, but it certainly could pass on the highway. Because it's a Lincoln, you might think the MKS sails like a big land barge and has a cushy ride. In fact, that's not the case. MKS actually has a bit stiffer ride, really large wheels help with that. So you're gonna notice bumps, loud highways, stuff like that. So there's more road noise in the MKS than and you'd expect. It doesn't handle like a sports sedan, so we're a little surprised that it does ride like that. But steering is good overall, but just be aware of the ride. Starting at $37,000, you can get into an MKS with front-wheel drive. If you want all-wheel drive, that figure moves up to around $40,000. Our tester here equipped like it is is around $46,000 with navigation, double sunroof, all the goodies. Now the competition, especially a similarly platformed Volvo S80, and what that means, it actually shares a lot of the same bits and parts and all that is actually about $5,000 more. So if you wanna move up to a Volvo, there is a price difference. So you're getting a little value with the Lincoln. Lincoln has radically upgraded the interior of the MKS. So even if you were in a recent Lincoln, this one looks a lot different inside. That center stack is completely different. The leather is a different grade. The doors have real nice thick leather and padding on them. Everything's chrome. It has wood. It's really nice. So it's an upgrade before. $50,000 nice? I'm not quite sure, but it's pretty close. And one of Lincoln's big selling points about the MKS is it come standard with a lot of luxury-like features, including heated and cooled seats. A lot of cars come with heated seats. Heated and cooled standard is unusual. It comes with a really nice stereo. It comes with Ford's SYNC system standard. There is a special upgraded version with navigation in our test model here. There is a lot of interior space with the Lincoln MKS. If you like hip room, shoulder room, definitely the car for you, a little wider than its platform mate, the Volvo S80. So you're going to feel that inside from the driver and front passenger seat. If you're expecting big sedan size in the back seat, you're gonna get it with the MKS. A lot of cars you get into say they're a big sedan, but when you get in the back seat, it's a tight fit. That's not a problem here. You can see the front seat's about where I had it when I was driving. I'm exactly five feet, 10 inches tall, and I have plenty of knee room here. So if you have two friends that need to get in the back, another couple to go out to dinner or whatever, they're going to be really comfortable. A third person even won't mind. Lincoln has a hit on its hands with the MKS in terms of styling. The looks will definitely attract new buyers into showrooms that have never thought of Lincoln before. The good news is it actually delivers on those looks with a lot of value. The handling is a little iffy, but if you can get by that, definitely check it out. <v Announcer>For additional information on this car or any other, go to Cars.com and our blog, Kicking Tires.
