Article Comments - 2009 Lincoln MKS First Drive / Full Test

154 messages, Last post on Nov 17, 2008 at 2:21 PM

You are in the Lincoln MKS Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens

What is this discussion about? Lincoln MKS, Sedan

First Drive: 2009 Lincoln MKS - First Impressions: The world's most completely equipped Taurus/Taurus X/Sable/Volvo/Flex, which turns out to be not such a bad thing. (more)

Full Test: 2009 Lincoln MKS AWD - Bottom Line: A luxury sedan for the Ford faithful, but all others would be advised to look elsewhere as there are far better luxury sedans for the price. (more)

Outline

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#135 of 154 Re: I Don't Get It..... [akirby] by exalteddragon1 Sep 30, 2008 (8:49 pm)
Replying to: akirby (Sep 30, 2008 4:49 am) Yeah its a huge problem considering the size of the car and its trunk. It would be hard to fit a cooler in there, when you travel, it would be very hard to fit luggage in there too, just due to the opening. The trunk being so big virtually guarantees that anything you do fit in there will be hard to get out as well. After a long day of chores / shopping you don't want to break your back reaching in at odd angles to get stuff out. The old Crown Vic / Grand Marquis / Town Cars have the best trunk in the business, period. The only rival is that of the Taurus / Sable. Another problem I know you are tired of me wailing about are the disastrous (read small) rear window, and (in this price and class range) sound system. I was just in my Avalon today and I agree with you that the MKS has more speakers and the sound goes concert' from multiple directions, but its the quality of the sound that gets trumped by my Av's JBL. Lastly, the seats have a headrest that pushes my head too far forward. This was the last issue I was going to deal with. Don't get me wrong, I'm bagging on this car because these are in my view clumsy mistakes FoMoCo made that they didn't have to. This car has so many good things going for it, its tall (makes it really unique and look more prestigious when pulling up to any rival) , has great looks, and a good amount of room inside. FORD WHY DO YOU HAVE TO TEASE ME SO! Replies to this message: akirby (Oct 01, 2008 4:38 am) exalteddragon1 (Oct 01, 2008 1:33 pm) akirby (Oct 01, 2008 4:48 pm) and 2 more... gregg_vw (Oct 02, 2008 5:25 am) and 2 more...
#136 of 154 Re: I Don't Get It..... [exalteddragon1] by akirby Oct 01, 2008 (4:38 am)
Replying to: exalteddragon1 (Sep 30, 2008 8:49 pm) We know the rear window and trunk opening were products of the exterior design so while I agree that they made a conscious choice it would have required significant sacrifices in exterior design to make the rear window and trunk opening larger. If you remember the MKS was basically "in the can" before the new Lincoln design team took over and all they were able to change was the grille, so there's a good chance the next design will take those things into account up front. As for the small rear window - it's no different than my Fusion (which also distorts due to the curvature and angle of the glass). At first it was different and annoying but after a couple of months you don't even notice it. Your issue with the sound system is simply personal preference - it just doesn't sound the way you want it to sound. Beyond a certain level the quality doesn't really improve - it just gets different. Replies to this message: exalteddragon1 (Oct 01, 2008 1:33 pm) akirby (Oct 01, 2008 4:48 pm) exalteddragon1 (Oct 02, 2008 8:27 pm) and 1 more... gregg_vw (Oct 02, 2008 5:25 am) akirby (Oct 02, 2008 5:33 am) exalteddragon1 (Oct 02, 2008 8:15 pm)
#137 of 154 Re: I Don't Get It..... [akirby] by exalteddragon1 Oct 01, 2008 (1:33 pm)
Replying to: akirby (Oct 01, 2008 4:38 am) Ak - I agree with most of what you said. I would like to caveat two things... To make the trunk better, all they had to do was not shorten the length of the car. I think 3 - 6 inches more for the opening and it would be fine, if anything it will make the car look even better. Lastly, sound is not my personal preference, its fact. At this price range the sound system has to be of higher quality. You can tell they ran out of money on the sound system, they couldn't even get it to be a name brand. At 10K more, its not wrong of me to expect the sound system to outperform my Avalon. The car is wider and taller than my Av, which is cool. About the sound, If you don't believe me then take some of your CD's to a Toyota dealer and a Lincoln dealer, and listen to the sound back to back (make sure the models have the upgraded systems). Go with out any preconceptions. Me and my gf had none, which is how we were able to arrive at our conclusion. I have an older Av (not 2005+) but i don't think Toyota made it any worse. I agree with you that it is possible to get used to a bad rear window. In a car like the Fusion its more forgivable. At this price the car should adapt to the driver, not the other way around. Replies to this message: akirby (Oct 01, 2008 4:48 pm) exalteddragon1 (Oct 02, 2008 8:27 pm) akirby (Oct 03, 2008 4:35 am) gregg_vw (Oct 02, 2008 5:25 am) akirby (Oct 02, 2008 5:33 am) exalteddragon1 (Oct 02, 2008 8:15 pm)
#138 of 154 Re: I Don't Get It..... [exalteddragon1] by akirby Oct 01, 2008 (4:48 pm)
Replying to: exalteddragon1 (Oct 01, 2008 1:33 pm) Sound quality is almost ALWAYS subjective unless there is audible distortion. I know many Lincoln THX owners that believe it is one of the best sounding stereos available (not necessarily THE best but definitely above average). You say the opposite. Why does your opinion count more than other owners? That's why it's SUBJECTIVE. Replies to this message: exalteddragon1 (Oct 02, 2008 8:27 pm) akirby (Oct 03, 2008 4:35 am)
#139 of 154 Re: I Don't Get It..... [exalteddragon1] by gregg_vw Oct 02, 2008 (5:25 am)
Replying to: exalteddragon1 (Oct 01, 2008 1:33 pm) Three to six more inches? The car is already huge..longer than a Lucerne and many of the big German sedans. "Not shorten" implies they had a longer version designed and then chopped it. No matter what, Allen is right and the design was set before they re-did the grill. If I had designed it initially, it would have about 4 or five inches removed from the proboscis and added on the the rear over hang, for better access to the trunk, but that is almost a whole redesign. Replies to this message: akirby (Oct 02, 2008 5:33 am) exalteddragon1 (Oct 02, 2008 8:15 pm)
#140 of 154 Re: I Don't Get It..... [gregg_vw] by akirby Oct 02, 2008 (5:33 am)
Replying to: gregg_vw (Oct 02, 2008 5:25 am) *that is almost a whole redesign* No "almost" about it - and it probably requires a new GRWD platform to do that. Just think where Ford would be if they'd hired Mulally 3 years earlier when Ford had more time and money to invest in future platforms. We'd already have a GRWD sedan platform AND a U.S. Fiesta AND ecoboost......
#141 of 154 Re: I Don't Get It..... [gregg_vw] by exalteddragon1 Oct 02, 2008 (8:15 pm)
Replying to: gregg_vw (Oct 02, 2008 5:25 am) Hey - I don't really care how they get that 3 - 6 more inches in there, IMO the way the car is today, the trunk openning is laughable. Also, I don't mind that its a 'big' car. There are plenty of cars on the road that are bigger than the MKS... but they cost tens of thousands more.
#142 of 154 Re: I Don't Get It..... [akirby] by exalteddragon1 Oct 02, 2008 (8:27 pm)
Replying to: akirby (Oct 01, 2008 4:48 pm) AK - when I put in a rock / metal song, what I heard may be distortion although I'm not sure. But the guitar sounded like... garbage, I'm not sure how else to describe it. It was as if the sound was too complicated for the MKS's audio system to reproduce. Contrary to that, in my Av the sound is better than most other sources I listen to - except good head phones. If you know people that are happy with it then great. Good for them and good for Ford. I don't think many people who are into sound will take this car seriously though. I'm not one of those types, but I just know its a marginal system that Ford is trying to pass off as premium. I'm telling you, just go to your dealers (Lincoln and Toyota) and test it out. You have to be objective though, because it sounds like you are defending a system you have never experienced. I came into the F/L/M dealer with an open mind, and I was very upset because like you, I thought at least it would sound better than a non luxury car. Even with an open mind, I just didn't think it would under whelm. It did to me. Replies to this message: akirby (Oct 03, 2008 4:35 am)
#143 of 154 Re: I Don't Get It..... [exalteddragon1] by akirby Oct 03, 2008 (4:35 am)
Replying to: exalteddragon1 (Oct 02, 2008 8:27 pm) I respect that you don't like the sound. And I admit I haven't heard the MKS system specifically and it's possible that it's not as good as other Lincoln THX implementations. But the THX system in other vehicles has won awards for sound quality and gotten rave reviews from multitudes of owners - some of them audiophiles. I also know what went into developing the original THX system on the Lincoln LS. The THX tuners even went so far as to request changes in materials and structure for better sound. So I have a hard time agreeing that Lincoln "cheaped out" on the system just because it doesn't have some name brand on it that you recognize. Again, it is possible that they cheaped out on the MKS system or simply didn't get the tuning right, but until I've heard multiple owners saying the same thing I have to chalk this up as subjective preferences. And in the end that's the only thing that matters to YOU.
#144 of 154 Re: I Don't Get It..... [pmerk28] by tib2006 Nov 10, 2008 (7:03 pm)
Replying to: pmerk28 (Sep 06, 2008 6:01 pm) OK...lets get one thing straight. Lincoln could hardly be called a "luxury brand" anymore. All of the vehicles it sells are basically higher-end versions of other Ford vehicles on the market. The popularity of the Navigator is obvious yes, but how much sense does it really make? The same goes for the MKS. Think about it, its little more than an upscale Taurus. The MKS might fare better if it were not being marketed as a luxury sedan. Furthermore, Lincoln needs to nail down the ride and handling balance that so many other luxury automakers seem to do so well at (Acura, Audi, BMW, MB, and yes Cadillac too!). I do recognize that a front drive platform has limitations(but Honda does wonders with front drive platforms!), but I feel that Lincoln really did a piss poor job at tuning this chassis. From a distance the interior looks upscale and nice leather covers the seats. But closer inspection reveals that this car is not up to luxury car standards. Marketed next to an Avalon, it wouldnt be so bad. But when put up against luxury stalwarts that dominate the market, it fails to impress in any way. For $46K, there are just better choices out there. A fully loaded Hyundai Genesis 3.8 (with rear drive!) can be had for 36K (thats 10K less!) and offers equipment levels that are just as impressive, and a much better finished interior. Also, for about the same money as the Lincoln, a Lexus GS350 can be had. Both of these cars have much more refined engines as well. Don't call the MKS a bad car, just don't call it a luxury sedan either. I rest my case. Replies to this message: carolinabob (Nov 12, 2008 8:45 am) nvbanker (Nov 13, 2008 3:00 pm) carolinabob (Nov 14, 2008 10:24 am) and 6 more... gregg_vw (Nov 14, 2008 11:51 am)