2017 Lincoln MKX AWD Reserve Review - Still the Brand's Best Hope

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems
Fast Facts

2017 Lincoln MKX AWD Reserve

2.7-liter DOHC V6 (335 horsepower @ 5,500 rpm; 380 lb-ft @ 3,000 rpm)
Six-speed automatic, all-wheel drive
17 city / 24 highway / 19 combined (EPA Rating, U.S. MPG)
14.1 city / 9.8 highway / 12.1 combined (NRCan Rating, L/100km)
18.8 mpg [12.5 L/100 km] (Observed)
Base Price
$46,485 (U.S) / $54,600 (Canada)
As Tested
$63,280 (U.S.) / $68,775 (Canada)
Prices include $925 destination charge in the United States and $2,100 for freight, PDI, and A/C tax in Canada.

Utility vehicles are nothing new at Lincoln, but where there was once a single heritage-diminishing (but lucrative) oddity built to give Cadillac’s Escalade a run for its money, there now sits three models with rear liftgates. A fourth looms.

Now back from a near-death experience, Lincoln isn’t alone in requiring a lineup stocked with high-riding vehicles. Sticking with tradition bodystyles is akin to suicide these days. We can eyeball the resurrected Continental and debate whether Lincoln went far enough, style-wise, in rekindling the famous nameplate, but the reality is the brand sells far more utilities than cars, hands down, and will continue doing so. Buyers overwhelmingly want SUVs, and woe is the automaker that remains mired in the past.

Even the ancient Navigator, poised for a long-overdue revamp for the 2018 model year, sold just 148 fewer units than the Continental in September.

Leading the Lincoln sales pack is the midsize MKX, now sporting an identity comfortably divorced from its Ford Edge underpinnings. Fully redesigned for the 2016 model year, the SUV, which reportedly awaits a Continental-esque front end treatment and a transmission swap sometime in 2018, ended last year with its best sales showing since 2007. In doing so, it knocked the MKZ sedan down to the silver medalist podium.

There’s an abundance of power. There’s butt-coddling opulence. But is there enough refinement and cross-generational appeal to lure buyers back from the Germans and Japanese?

If looks matter more than anything else, the MKX’s flowing lines and soon-to-be-extinct split grille offers buyers nothing in the way of controversy. The radically redesigned Lexus RX350 is easily the most polarizing of the premium, two-row midsize set; the Acura MDX, arguably the most handsome. Without seeing the final product, it’s hard to gauge whether a Continental-esque square grille will do anything positive for this model’s appearance.

Lord knows the MKZ seems confused because of it.

Also like its main Japanese rivals, there’s only V6 power on hand. However, with the Lincoln, there’s no fancy available hybrid powertrain in sight. Entry-level models net a 3.7-liter V6, but uplevel trims benefit from the added power (and panache) of Ford’s 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6. There’s no denying the sweetness of this hard-working mill. With 335 horsepower and 380 lb-ft of torque on tap (in this application), it’s proven itself worthy in vehicles as diverse as the Ford F-150 and Fusion Sport sedan, and there’s no complaints about its performance in this 4,387-pound crossover. The MKX just goes when you want it to — surely a trait premium buyers demand.

Still, despite the power, there’s absolutely no way anyone will make use of this uplevel tester’s paddle shifters, which surely rank among the most laughably out-of-place paddles on the market today. The MKX is not a sports car, and no subtle change in steering effort or suspension damping will make it so. Naturally, I dicked around with the drive settings, but a lack of clear benefit in “sport” meant it always returned to a fallback position — one familiar to traditional Lincoln buyers: “comfort,” or at the very least, “normal.”

Yes, it’s not just wood and leather luring former Town Car owners to the MKX’s supple and hushed cabin. With overboosted but precise power steering and a somewhat soft suspension making driving calm and effortless, it’s easy to see how return buyers could comfortably set up shop in an MKX, especially with the assurance that comes with all-wheel drive. (Canadian MKX models carry AWD as standard equipment.)

Of course, that softness, which is just fine in everyday driving, could turn away younger buyers. In gold paint especially, the safe, aiming-for-elegant MKX doesn’t exactly scream “youthful!” — it actually asks, “How do you do, kids?”

Oh well, at least it can smoke their Civics.

Some of the credit for the pleasant ride falls on an old piece of kit: the Ford-supplied six-speed automatic. A no-nonsense affair, this transmission lacks the extra cogs of many of its rivals, but it does the one thing a good automatic should: make drivers unaware of its existence. A big complaint with the LX 350 is its busy eight-speed unit, which hunts for gears and downshifts three cogs when only one is needed, or vice versa. We hear a nine-speed transmission is in the works for the mid-cycle refresh. Depending on its smoothness (Ford’s excellent 10-speed gives us hope), it could pose a risk to Lincoln’s quality ranking.

With no powertrain issues to keep occupants distracted, it’s up to the MKX’s luxury amenities to keep the ride entertaining. The 19-speaker Revel stereo sounds great; its brushed metal speaker covers also look the business. Front seat passengers can go nuts adjusting the color of the Lincoln’s interior accent lighting, get a responsible dance party or conference call started using the Lincoln’s Sync3 infotainment system (Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity come standard), or just recline and stare through the optional panoramic sunroof. Actually, there’s a better option than any of that. Scrolling through the menu of this high-zoot model revealed a front seat massage function that soon got a workout from this reviewer and his adjacent passenger.

Yes, it’s this kind of feature that makes a premium car driver feel special. Never mind the 22-way power front seats, Lincoln’s optional Active Motion function is where it’s at. Your backside will thank you.

Still, life in the MKX isn’t without gripes. The suspension, while compliant, could use an extra bit of cushioning at the upper range of travel to keep seemingly minor pavement cracks from disturbing the tranquility (note: the 21-inch wheels, which looked fine and filled the wheel arches nicely, might shoulder some of the blame). Rear seat legroom is only so-so for taller occupants, and the lower headliner surrounding the panoramic sunroof means backseat passengers with beanstalk-like physiques could receive an unwanted scalp massage.

Oh, and something must be off-kilter in Brampton, Ontario, as the aft rear door wasn’t a perfect fit, leading to trim misalignment. (Check out Ford’s Edge for this recurring problem.) It’s too bad, as the interior’s fit and finish is just fine.

This might sound odd, but the location of Lincoln’s huge, center stack-mounted transmission pushbuttons has always bothered me. It just never seems to ingrain itself in the driver’s mind. Despite being well within my field of view, I found myself constantly reaching down for a nonexistent console-mounted shifter. Reaching out and pressing those buttons never stops feeling awkward. Other automakers, including Acura, offer a better, handier pushbutton array.

Spoil the lines of the sleek, sparse console if you must, Lincoln, but do something.

Like in other Ford products, the MKX’s lane-keeping function waits too long to make course corrections when drifting towards (and over) over the line. Still, the other driver’s aids in the optional safety suite — pre-collision braking with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control — proved quite aggressive. You can dial it back if you choose. As well, the optional technology package’s parallel parking butler (aka Active Park Assist) is another one of those “I feel good about my life” features.

Relatively minor quibbles aside, what we’re left with is a fairly attractive premium crossover designed to appeal perhaps too much to upper middle class or affluent Boomers, and not nearly enough to, say, their “I just got a big break and Sophie’s pregnant” 30-something kids.

Lincoln does a consistent business with its MKX — through the recession and beyond, the model consistently recorded annual U.S. sales in the low 20k range, shooting up to 30,964 in 2016. It’s clear buyers see something they like in the current generation. And, while the year-to-date tally is just 42 units higher than 2016 through September, last month’s sales were up nearly 6 percent, year-over-year.

Unfortunately for Lincoln, rival Lexus sold more than three times as many RX models in 2016. The Cadillac XT5, which debuted last year, saw more than twice as many buyers this year as the MKX. If it’s volume Lincoln wants, and this review’s title refers to just that, Lincoln needs to sell aspirational vehicles throughout its lineup — not just the Continental and next-generation Navigator.

The crossover segment is just too important and too lucrative for Lincoln to leave all of the public relations duties to its flagships.

[Images: © 2017 Steph Willems/The Truth About Cars]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Cimarron typeR Cimarron typeR on Nov 03, 2017

    I think it's handsome. I do wish Ford would the 2.7EB motor in a mustang and call it the SVO.

  • Brett Woods Brett Woods on Nov 09, 2017

    "Sticking with tradition body styles is akin to suicide these days." People haven't caught on to beauty being only skin deep, I guess. What about the beauty beneath the skin? A good new vehicle has to be more than lipstick on a cart imo. Maybe that's what Ford's are about today? "The transportation business." No, lipstick on a cart, again. They are scrambling now. The industry needs to increase fleet mileage to 60mpg/60mpg-e right away to stop warming at 2C. I don't mean to be harping, but this is hugely important. "Models show that the 3C world is quite scary." to quote Piers Sellers. Love you bunkie. Sorry to see this is what’s happening at this pivotal time in automotive history.

    • Ray Davies Ray Davies on Nov 15, 2017

      Some people care more about if it has iplay than anything else. I don't get it, they can swap out the entertainment center a lot easier than the drivetrain. The more tech on a car's interface the faster it looks outdated.

  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
  • 3-On-The-Tree Son has a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 6spd. And on paper they are pretty close.
  • 3-On-The-Tree Same as the Land Cruiser, emissions. I have a 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser and it’s a beast off-roading.
  • CanadaCraig I would like for this anniversary special to be a bare-bones Plain-Jane model offered in Dynasty Green and Vintage Burgundy.
  • ToolGuy Ford is good at drifting all right... 😉
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