Review: Lincoln Continental inches luxury brand forward
The 2017 Lincoln Continental luxury sedan will make a few buyers very happy, but it’s not the long-awaited car that turns Lincoln into a competitor for leading global luxury brands.
Roomy, comfortable and loaded with modern conveniences, it’s a competent big car that people already inclined to like Lincoln should love, but it’s unlikely to draw many new buyers to Ford’s luxury brand.
Built alongside the Mustang in Flat Rock, Mich., the Continental is in dealerships now. It’s a large and roomy luxury sedan with an attractive interior and modern features, but the Continental’s styling and performance betray the fact that it’s based on essentially the same structure as the Lincoln MKS it replaces. Lincoln engineers reworked the existing architecture as thoroughly as they could. The Continental’s wheelbase and track are unique.
Prices for the 2017 Continental start at $44,500 for a front-wheel-drive model with a 305-horsepower 3.7-liter V-6 engine. Adding all-wheel drive costs $2,000. The Continental with the 335-horsepower 2.7-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 costs another $2,250 and is available starting with the midlevel Select model. A 400-horsepower 3-liter twin-turbo V-6 adds $3,265 to all-wheel-drive versions of the top two trim levels: Reserve and Black Label.
A six-speed automatic transmission is standard.
I tested a well-equipped all-wheel-drive Reserve edition with the 400-horsepower V-6. Its features included Revel audio, 30-way power heated and cooled front seats, heated steering wheel, navigation, Bluetooth phone and audio compatibility, Apple CarPlay, navigation, large power sunroof; inflatable rear seat belts, 20-inch polished aluminum wheels and more. It stickered at $72,560. All prices exclude destination charges.
The Continental competes with large front-wheel-drive based luxury sedans like the Buick LaCrosse and Cadillac XTS. It could conceivably also compete with Hyundai’s new Genesis G90, a rear-wheel-drive based large sedan that also hopes to crack the luxury market. Like the Continental, those cars offer all-wheel drive.
The engine produced plenty of power. It’s a heavy car, though. Lincoln only provides the curb weight of a base 3.7-liter front-wheel-drive model, but even that’s a few pounds heavier than Cadillac XTS with similar horsepower. The Continental accelerates well in a straight line, but its heft — and an aging architecture that dates back to when Ford owned Volvo — reveals itself in hard acceleration and quick maneuvers. Lincoln’s adjustable dampers reduce that, but the Continental doesn’t challenge the handling of leading contemporary luxury sedans.
Fuel economy is competitive. It's rated at 16 miles a gallon in the city, 24 mpg on the highway and 19 mpg overall using regular gasoline. The EPA estimates the Continental will cost less to fuel annually than the G90 and XTS, more than the less powerful LaCrosse.
The exterior styling sets a new course for Lincoln, with a tall and formal profile, big rectangular grille, innovative door handles integrated into the chrome strip running along the bottom of the windows, long roofline and vaguely Bentley-esque rear fenders.
The Conti’s best side is inside. My car’s seats, doors and dash had black leather, while lovely warm brown wood decorated the steering wheel, doors and center console. The 30-way front seats provide an exceptionally wide range of adjustments and a massage feature that should be useful on long drives. The optional Revel audio system has precisely machined bright aluminum speaker grilles.
The controls are easy to use, with buttons and dials for climate and basic audio functions. The voice recognition works well. Apple CarPlay only activated about 50% of the time when I connected my iPhone 7 to the USB port.
The interior is large, with more passenger space than the LaCrosse and XTS. Trunk size falls between the big Caddy and smaller Buick, but the Conti’s opening is bigger and more useful than the narrow entrance that bedeviled MKS owners.
In that and all other ways, the 2017 Continental is a significant improvement for Lincoln. It’s a car likely to delight the brand’s loyalists and dealers, if not one destined to lure buyers from other luxury marques.
WHAT STANDS OUT
Power: Plenty of oomph from the largest engine
Heft: It's heavy, and handles that way
Controls: Easy to use, a welcome change
2017 Lincoln Continental
What? A full-size luxury sedan
Where? Made in Flat Rock, Mich.
When? In showrooms now
How big? 16.8 feet
What makes it go? Choice of three V-6s at 305 horsepower, 335 horsepower or 400 horsepower
How thirsty? Rated at 16 miles a gallon in the city, 24 mpg on the highway and 19 mpg overall
How much? Starts at $44,500, including destination charges, but goes north of $72,000 at higher trim levels and options
Overall? Lincoln makes progress, but still has a ways to go