Road Test: 2014 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid

Lincoln is the Ford Motor Company’s lone premium brand after the bean-counters decided to sell off Jaguar, Aston Martin, and Volvo in an effort to right the corporate ship and focus on its domestic offerings.

The storied Lincoln marque had become stagnant over the last decade, as the Navigator, an over-sized SUV, and the seriously outdated Town Car were the company’s bread-and-butter offerings.

The luxurious Lincolns of the past were long gone, as the life was sucked out of the struggling nameplate by more dynamic competitors like Lexus and Infiniti, as well as the always appealing German marques BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz. Even GM’s Cadillac division was leaving Lincoln in its wake.

Following the economic downturn which almost crippled the North American automotive industry, Ford began to rise from the ashes with a new found vigour, and the automotive giant’s product lineup was revamped to compete with the best the world has to offer. This reboot included Lincoln, which would expand its catalogue to include a number of new models that were designed to attract a new wave of customers to the once proud nameplate.

One look at the Lincoln MKZ and it is obvious that the design team has worked hard to differentiate these new models from their sister offerings at Ford. While shared platform designs represent the bricks that give the modern car company a solid foundation on which to build, it is equally important that the different brands establish their own identity.

The MKZ is the car which Ford brass hope will help re-establish the Lincoln brand, so it has been penned to be elegant, luxurious, and chock full of technology. An aging customer base is a killer, so the MKZ is aimed at bringing a much younger consumer into the Lincoln family.

The MKZ is a mid-size, front-wheel-drive sedan available in three flavours. The entry model features Ford’s 2.0-litre EcoBoost four-cylinder engine which produces 240-horsepower and 270 lbs.-ft of torque. For those consumers that appreciate the smooth running of a V6, Lincoln offers the MKZ fitted with a 3.7-litre V6 which is good for 300 horsepower and 277 lbs.-ft. Both of these models feature a six-speed automatic transmission, and all-wheel-drive is available as an option. The subject of this review is the MKZ Hybrid, which is fitted with a 2.0-litre, Atkinson-Cycle in-line four-cylinder hybrid engine and an Electronic Continuously Variable Transmission (e-CVT). This ultraefficient power plant generates 188 combined horsepower and 129 lbs.-ft of torque, and is only available in front-wheel-drive form.

Acceleration is very linear, as the car surges forward quickly and quietly with surprisingly little noise from the e-CVT. In fact, the MKZ Hybrid is probably the quietest car I have driven in recent memory. I pushed the car to about 130 kilometres-per-hour momentarily while executing a passing manoeuvre, and the cabin remained free of excess wind and road noise. The test vehicle featured the optional panoramic glass roof, so this is pretty impressive, as window seals tend to be tested once you reach triple digit speeds.

Lincoln Drive Control is standard, which is an automatic system which intuitively integrates a variety of systems — engine, transmission, steering and chassis — to reduce noise, refine the ride and improve driving dynamics. It seems to work, as the car is a precise handler, and overall ride quality was smooth and serene throughout my test period. There was only one hiccup triggered by a series of extra wide speed bumps which caused the Continuously Controlled Damping adjustable suspension to stiffen to a rather extreme level of hardness that caused items in the trunk of the car to bounce around in reaction.

As a larger individual I came away appreciative of the space available in the tidy passenger compartment. The front seats proved both comfortable and supportive, and all controls are within reach of both hand and eye.

The dash and console look very uncluttered. Gear selection is made via a vertical strip of soft touch buttons, while touch sensor controls are used to operate the climate control system.

Outward visibility is very good due to the large windows, but extra large mirrors and a rear facing camera system are on board to ensure that drivers will be fully aware of their surroundings during vehicle operation.

The rear seating compartment has room for three adults as the MKZ is a rather wide car, but taller folks may find it taxing for long trips, as the sloping roofline and short foot well conspire to rob six-footers of comfort.

Tech savvy consumers will appreciate SYNC with MyLincoln Touch.

This innovative system combines the operation of the climate control, navigation and various infotainment devices so that the driver can operate them using steering-wheel mounted controls and voice commands. A large, touch-screen display dominates the centre stack, allowing the front passenger to monitor various functions and manipulate settings of the associated equipment.

The MKZ is luxuriously appointed and a variety of trim levels allow you to make it quite opulent. Features such as perforated leather seats, real wood and alloy trim, full LCD instrumentation, a THX certified sound system, and heated and chilled front seats create a very pleasant environment. Optional safety equipment packages include a suite of advanced driving aids such as Lane Keeping Aid, Lane Keeping Alert and Driver Assist, as well as Adaptive Cruise Control and Collision Warning.

Like most hybrid designs, the trunk in the MKZ Hybrid is substantially smaller than its traditionally powered brethren due to the fact that the hybrid system’s batteries reside behind the rear seats. At 11.1 cubic feet in size, it should be sufficient for a couple of golf bags or the weekly trip to Costco. Luckily, the rear seatbacks fold flat should you need to carry larger items.

The Lincoln MKZ Hybrid represents an attractive package at a good price, but the big challenge for the product planning team is how to get the word out and butts in the seats.

This car is faced with the formidable challenge of the Lexus ES300h, which while more conservative in appearance, scores big in the reliability and build quality departments.

An even more direct threat comes from in-house. Ford’s similarly equipped Fusion Hybrid has an equally pretty face and a lower price.

The MKZ model lineup is distinctive and represents a nice mix of technology and style, but does it offer enough appeal to keep the Lincoln brand relevant in this modern age? I hope so.

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2014 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, as driven by Russell Purcell

2014 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, as driven by Russell Purcell