I didn't think it was possible but,

"Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast." (twostrokesmoke)
03/02/2015 at 12:12 • Filed to: None

a new Lincoln got my attention this morning. I saw a 3.7 MKZ AWD in this wild on the way to work....I could see myself very classily and comfortably hooning the hell out of one of those.

DISCUSSION (12)

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast.
03/02/2015 at 12:14

I feel like they aped Dodge's rear light treatment. It looks like they took the design and flipped it upside down.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast.
03/02/2015 at 12:15

Performance Tire upgrade in the summer and you'll be crushing BMW's in the slalom lol

I love them, I think it's awesome they have the 3.7L in them, they are crazy nice inside too!

spanfucker retire bitch > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast.
03/02/2015 at 12:19

The rear and rear ISO view of the MKZ is great. It's anything from the front that I hate.

If they fix the front, they'd actually have a car I might want.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
03/02/2015 at 15:33

The world is thankfully big enough for more than one brand to have full-width tail lights.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast.
03/02/2015 at 15:48

If I were still interested in sedans... This would be high on the list... since Subaru has gotten BLAND with the Legacy.

Less generic, yet overly-complex hard to clean wheels, and some good tires... maybe a bit more blackout of the front grille, and this car is ready.

If I have to get an electronically controlled automatic... it should have pushbuttons, and get rid of the fake joystick shifter that doesn't use a linkage or a cable at all... needless part complexity and weight, compared to just having the electrical switches available to the driver directly, and opening up the dash and console real estate otherwise.

I really like that about Lincoln's new interior... although I am not convinced about everything else on the dash being touch-sensitive non-haptic buttons, like the outgoing MKX and such.. and SYNC seems like usual microsoft failure-prone software. A touch-sensitive flat-surface console has all the drawbacks for an attentive driver that touch-screens have, without the software-driven versatility of displaying varying information on that surface. Fixed-position buttons should be tactile, and useable without diverting eyes from the road once the layout is memorized. If it has to be non-tactile, it might as well be a gigantic touch screen like Tesla Model S.

Not sure I would need the gigantic moveable sunroof on the MKZ, but I do like glass roofs in general, except on days that have hail storm risks... but glass damage or sheet metal damage are both no fun.

I wish MKX and MKC were a bit less visually bulky, and a bit sleeker, or that MKZ had an A5-competitive Coupe body-style, with a rear fastback hatch, since Mustang doesn't have one.

If it isn't going to be practical, it should at least be sexy. If it is going to be practical, it might as well be a versatile CUV hatchback with some cargo room, and some ground clearance over crappy pavement.

Sedans used to be the step-up from an economy car or a coupe... but now CUVs are showing how much more versatile they are, without losing much of anything to their sedan counterparts.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
03/02/2015 at 15:53

I still prefer sedans and hatchbacks. All else are minivans.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast.
03/02/2015 at 16:27

I had a sedan, a cool, turbocharged, 5-speed manual, AWD sedan, a 2005 Subaru Legacy GT Limited.

I loved it, except on days that I had cargo to haul... which happened more frequently than I had rear passengers. The tiny trunk lid opening was a killer, in terms of versatility in that respect. I have had a Ford Mustang and a Ford Probe GT fastback coupes with wide opening rear hatches, and fold down seats that were far more practical than that sedan, but didn't have the AWD chops, or the power that the Subaru had.

I wished that Legacy had been a 3-door fastback coupe SO often... and I wished my SVX coupe had been a 3-door also... due to it's also tiny rear trunk portal, despite the car being a very nice size, in terms of floor-plan.

Now instead, I have a V6 5-passenger CUV. (and still a Miata sports car for fun) It isn't as dowdy as a Minivan, although Minivans I don't think NEED to be as dowdy as they are... they just aren't widely expected to be otherwise.

I don't think I could go back to the limitations of a trunk lid, despite sedans being sleeker than CUVs. If I want sleeker, it might as well be a 3-door coupe... which is exceedingly rare, unfortunately.

Another reason why I wish Lincoln would do something like that.

Transverse V6, Turbo-I4, or even limited-edition TT-V6 like MKS-EB/Taurus SHO, with AWD, and a dual-clutch 6-7-speed gearbox, and an A5-style profile, with an A5-Sportback style rear hatch... It would be significantly different than the Mustang, and not just another re-badge of another car. It would be able to keep the pushbutton dash, with paddle shifters behind the steering wheel. (Lincoln isn't going to do another manual gearbox after LS 6-cylinder).

Lincoln could build the Focus RS for grown-ups, as a Lincoln personal coupe. And it wouldn't have much of any competition in that niche. A5 coupe doesn't have the lift back hatch that the 5-door Sportback does, and TT is expensive and small.

It would be more versatile than most other coupes that start under 40-ish thousand dollars. Lexus RC and Infiniti Q60 are longitudinal rear-biased AWD, but they certainly don't have lift back hatches or dual-clutch gearboxes, and absolutely don't look as good as MKZ or A5. Lincoln/Mercury has had interesting coupe possibilities before...

Kinja'd!!!

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
03/02/2015 at 16:29

Seems like most newer sedans have fold down seats too. At least my 6 does.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast.
03/02/2015 at 16:41

Legacy did not in '05-06, although before, and after that, it does.

The only other car I considered in 2007 when I bought that Legacy, was the Mazda 6... If they had done a Mazdaspeed 6 package on the 5-door lift back sedan body, I may have gone for it... the 4-door MS6 was almost right, but I ended up hearing some issues with those... not that Legacy didn't have some fit and finish issues, and potential mechanical gremlins.

But still... if a package is too wide to fit through the opening of the trunk lid, it doesn't matter how long or wide the trunk floor space is, or if the rear seat backs fold down.

The first package I had that problem with was a new, in-the-box compound miter saw that I couldn't fit in the trunk... I BARELY fit it through the rear side door into the rear seat.... it would have fit in the trunk volume just fine, if it would have fit through the trunk lid opening. If I had had rear seat passengers that day, I would have been in even more trouble, having to either pay a substantial amount for delivery of a barely-too-big box, or having to re-trace a 100-mile round-trip.

A hatch immediately removes that obstacle.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
03/02/2015 at 17:20

Yeah, I just went with the 4 because of those issues. It's not as fast, but it still is a fun drive. It's not my primary car, it's my wife's, and she has more of a lead foot than I do, so in the long run the 4 was probably a better choice for her.

Manic Otti > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
03/02/2015 at 19:15

It's not bad, but I want luxery & badass, not luxery and "not bad".

Manic Otti > Manic Otti
03/02/2015 at 19:16

LUXURY! You knew what I meant, before the spelling police get me!