Review: 2010 Lincoln MKT EcoBoost

Robert Farago
by Robert Farago

Remember the scene in Jaws when Quint is being eaten by a great white shark, where he kicks his legs at the beast’s head, trying to avoid its endless rows of razor-sharp teeth? I reckon Lincoln’s designers based the MKT’s snout on Bruce’s man-eating maw. Sure, there’s a touch of Hannibal Lecter’s mask to the MKT’s grill design. And yes, HR Giger’s aliens would feel right at home wheeling this whip to a Humanity’s End party. But there are children who laughed at the liver-loving psycho killer and sniggered at the acid-tongued incubus who will wake-up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, begging Daddy to take them to school in the morning in his sedate sedan. Congratulations, Lincoln: the MKT is the world’s most terrifying family vehicle.

The MKT’s grill is so unrelentingly grotesque it’s easy to overlook the fact that the crossover’s hind quarters are equally—if less aggressively—hideous. For anyone who appreciates well-sculpted sheet metal and artful illumination, the MKT’s butt is an abomination. The enormous red strip bisecting the back end at nipple height is a distorted echo of an over-sized Ford Thunderbird logo pasted onto an homage to the Acura RL’s ungainly reverse snow plow motif. Adding insult to aesthetic injury, the MKT’s back-up lights are in exactly the wrong place (dead center).

But wait! There’s more! The rear’s glass-to-metal ratio and forward tilt suggests nothing so much as an oncoming Amtrak train. You can’t ask the MKT’s designers “what the hell were you thinking?” because, clearly, they weren’t. The MKT’s profile is blessedly bland, if you discount the 10-spoke 20″ EcoBling wagon wheels filling-up the arches and ruining the ride. We’ll get to that . . .

Based on its looks, the only logical market for Lincoln’s unfathomably ugly station wagon is someone driving a

hearse. Unfortunately, the $50K plus sticker puts it out of reach for all but the most successful goth rockers, who’d instantly opt for a proper tour bus. Which leaves . . . who? Seriously. I have no idea why anyone would buy a Lincoln MKT. An engine freak?

Lincoln proudly proclaims that the EcoBoosted MKT is the “only vehicle in its class with a twin-turbocharged direct injection V6 engine.” There’s a reason for that. Vehicles in this genre (at this price point) are tuned for quiet composure. Unlike a smooth-spinning naturally-aspirated six or a lazy, loping V8, the EcoBoosted 3.5-liter V6 is a thoroughly manic motor. The MKT’s force-fed mill feels like an amphetamine-crazed stallion, ready to drop a couple of cogs and bolt for the horizon at a moment’s notice. Or, indeed, without a moment’s notice.

Never mind the occasional roller coaster-like jolt, when the MKT’s speed-seeking six-speed gearbox loses its [freight] train of thought. Or the fact that the MKT’s paddle shift transmission gave up the ghost in the middle of my test drive. With 350 lb•ft of torque at just 3500 RPM, the MKT accelerates

like its hair’s on fire. How great is that?

Not much. The the carnivorous Lincoln’s an answer to a question nobody asked: where can I buy a really fast Medusa-class crossover with a hair-trigger throttle? Oh, and don’t worry about wind noise, tire roar or a stiff, crashy ride. Or handling.

Sensibly enough, Lincoln equips its blown MKTs with all wheel-drive. While the big rig’s brakes are almost as touchy as the go-pedal, the steering system serves-up something roughly approximating feel and the car corners without excessive body roll. To no appreciable effect save safety. Tap into the MKT’s seemingly endless thrust (just try not to) and its forward momentum completely outstrips the Lincoln’s ability to do anything about/with it. The MKT is more Hyundai than hot rod; it’s Sonata sports wagon it Hertz.

Yes, there is that. The MKT’s materials, interior design and overall build quality suggests a future spent scaring jet-lagged travelers trudging through rental car lots. What the hell are those pieces of foam glued to the top of the engine bay (in front of the base of the windscreen)? My guess: a twenty-five cent fix for an at-speed hood rattle. Got duct tape? Yup. Well we may need some more over here . . .

As an automotive brand struggling to reclaim its place in The Bigs, Lincoln has equipped all MKTs with “premium perforated leather trimmed seats.” While the chairs are comfortable enough for government work, they’re as aromatic as a window pane. Without any eau de dead cow to distract the nasal palate from nasty, out-gassing plastics, Lincoln’s luxury crossover smells exactly like an oven-fresh Ford Focus.

It’s no small point. Lincoln owes its miserable existence to its inability to sweat the small stuff. Everywhere you look, there’s evidence of cost cutting. From the glove box lid’s flimsy feel, to the execrable embalmed mouse fur material covering the third row seats, to the nasty faux nickel-finished plastic adorning (in the ironic sense) the radio and HVAC housing, the MKT is more econo-box than luxury limo.

I know luxury cars. And you, sir, are no luxury car.

The MKT’s central dials are an especially egregious example of Ford’s lack of commitment to, or understanding of, an upmarket ethos. Garish markers illuminate an otherwise vapid tachometer and frame the speedometer in twenty mile-per-hour increments. [Note: if Lincoln wants buyers younger than 60, perhaps they shouldn’t put that number smack dab in the middle of the speedo.] I’m thinking the MKT’s vanilla-ice-cream-topped-with-gravy styling owes its genesis to a penny-pinching rummage through Ford’s parts bin. If so, shame on them. If not, double shame on them.

The MKT’s plastics may smell bad, but they engender the same amount of haptic happiness as any other Ford product (i.e., none). About the best that can be said about the MKT’s cabin: the wood’s shiny and the second row seating is expansive, cosseting and comfortable—provided the owner opted for twin chairs (as advertised on TV).

Hang on; why would they do that? Who wants an ugly-ass six-chair

leather-lined station-wagon-on-stilts? How’s that whole R-Class thing working out for Mercedes, anyway? True story: the moribund Merc enjoys pride of place on the Lincoln’s Compar-O-Matic, flanked on either side the not-exactly-flying-off-the-shelves Audi Q7 3.6 and the not-entirely-unpopular Acura MDX.

Yes, well, as well all know, three’s company and six is a crowd. And there are not one but two more 5000 lb gorillas in or near the MKT’s vicinity. I know Lincoln’s nonsensiclature makes it virtually impossible to memorize their lineup, but I seem to recall that they already have a crossover. The MK . . . uh . . . X. Trying to create a market for the MKT—instead of improving and promoting their existing model—is yet more evidence of Ford’s ongoing wander through the wilderness.

Anyway, primate number two: the Ford Flex. The twin-under-the-skin Flex is no oil painting either, but it costs less, does everything the Lincoln MKT does, and wasn’t designed by a psychopath serving a life sentence in a maximum security mental health facility.

Time to face facts: the MKT’s fugly grill and bulbous butt are an insurmountable obstacle. The EcoBoosted Lincoln could be as fast and agile as an Mercedes S63 AMG, as luxurious as a Bentley Flying Spur and as economical as a Toyota Prius and you’d still need to a brace of beta blockers to buy one.

I know Lincoln dealerships treat their customers well, if only because of their scarcity. But anyone who buys an MKT instead of an up-optioned Flex or something else entirely is an idiot. Actually, make that a blind idiot.

As even the Rhode Island Department of Motor Vehicles’ licensing division has to draw the line somewhere, I don’t expect the Lincoln MKT will do much for Lincoln’s bottom line or future prospects, save weaken them. The Lincoln MKT AWD EcoBoost proves, once again, that just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.

Performance: 5 stars. Anyone who’d want more thrust in this thing ought to have their headers examined.

Ride: 2 stars. If it was an SUV, fair enough. But it isn’t, so no fare.

Handling: 3 stars. Deadly dull but not deadly.

Exterior: 0 stars. Ghastly.

Interior: 0 stars. What we have is a failure to luxuriate.

Fit and Finish: 1 star. Nothing broke or fell off during the test drive, but Lincoln needs to reach higher. MUCH higher.

Toys: 4 stars. It honest-to-God parks itself and the SYNC works a treat, but the ICE audio quality is so muddy I wanted to put a pair of Wellingtons over my ears.

Desirability: 0 stars. I can’t imagine anyone pining to plunk down 50 large on one of these things.

Price as tested: $50K

Overall Rating: 0 stars. Beats walking and goes like stink, but the MKT is a complete embarrassment to all concerned, really. A badly built car that never should have been built.

Robert Farago
Robert Farago

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  • Impala 64 Impala 64 on Feb 15, 2014

    Eh gats! Nary a positive word and the honda oddesy reigns supreme. What kind of bizzaro site did I stumble into. The small pud that did the review knows luxury, eh... a definition to him that more than likely means when he upgrades to 2 ply toilet paper prior to sitting on his hemeroid ring while writing this crap. This was like walking into a city with a population of thousands of roger eberts, who's utterly worthless opinion about movies, (or, in this case cars), typically means that if they "hated it" then chances are good that it is exactly the one you should watch, or drive. Patetic.

  • Bbqueen Bbqueen on Aug 10, 2014

    Don't Knock It Till You Try It!! Are these reviews for real, this car is loaded with every feature imaginable. It's every child's dream come true. Who cares about how it looks on the outside, it's what's on the inside that counts :0) Pros: -Plush perforated leather heated and cooled front and back seats -all 6 seats are captain chairs/bucket seats -middle row features a centre row console which contains a refrigerator/freezer, cup holders and storage area with things like USB ports and a 3 prong plug. - reverse backup camera with parking assist/ warning - navigation with DVD sync and my lincoln touch - really cool ambient lighting that lights up the whole front and back flooring of the car as well as around the cup holders and door handles, can choose many different colors the kids love it. - oodles of safety features like blind spot alert, collision warning front and back as well as cross traffic alert warning/ -auto parking which means if you have to parallel park . the car will find a spot where it can fit and will back up and perfectly parallel park itself, hands free and perfect parking every time!! -huge double sunroof almost the whole roof is glass - adaptive cruise control, couldn't live without it - power folding seats that stow and fold and flip up with push of a button, even the middle row sitting flips forward to let 3row passengers in with a push of a button. - 3rd row seats flip backwards into tailgate position so kids can sit and watch their siblings football game from the comfort of the trunk, and the trunk door acts as a sun visor/ rain shade , another one of my kids favorite features. - back windows have retractable sun blinds/ shades for backseat passengers. - incredibly smooth luxurious ride -amazing sound system and memory to store 2000 songs -the list goes on and on too many to list Cons - heavy back doors Best 2010 family car out there and by far the coolest, please don't listen to these comments, your kids will be thrilled and so will you, everyone that steps foot in this car says wow I need one!!

  • EBFlex Garbage but for less!
  • FreedMike I actually had a deal in place for a PHEV - a Mazda CX-90 - but it turned out to be too big to fit comfortably in my garage, thus making too difficult to charge, so I passed. But from that, I learned the Truth About PHEVs - they're a VERY niche product, and probably always be, because their use case is rather nebulous. Yes, you can run on EV power for 25-30 miles, plug it in at home on a slow charger, and the next day, you're ready to go again. Great in theory, but in practice, a) you still need a home charger, b) you paid a LOT more for the car than you would have for a standard hybrid, and c) you discover the nasty secret of PHEVs, which is that when they're on battery power, they're absolute pigs to drive. Meanwhile, to maintain its' piglike battery-only performance, it still needs to be charged, so you're running into all the (overstated) challenges that BEV owners have, with none of the performance that BEV owners like. To quote King George in "Hamilton": " Awesome. Wow." In the Mazda's case, the PHEV tech was used as a performance enhancer - which worked VERY nicely - but it's the only performance-oriented PHEV out there that doesn't have a Mercedes-level pricetag. So who's the ideal owner here? Far as I can tell, it's someone who doesn't mind doing his 25 mile daily commute in a car that's slow as f*ck, but also wants to take the car on long road trips that would be inconvenient in a BEV. Meanwhile, the MPG Uber Alles buyers are VERY cost conscious - thus the MPG Uber Alles thing - and won't be enthusiastic about spending thousands more to get similar mileage to a standard hybrid. That's why the Volt failed. The tech is great for a narrow slice of buyers, but I think the real star of the PHEV revival show is the same tax credits that many BEVs get.
  • RHD The speed limit was raised from 62.1 MPH to 68.3 MPH. It's a slight difference which will, more than anything, lower the fines for the guy caught going 140 KPH.
  • Msquare The argument for unlimited autobahns has historically been that lane discipline is a life-or-death thing instead of a suggestion. That and marketing cars designed for autobahn speeds gives German automakers an advantage even in places where you can't hope to reach such speeds. Not just because of enforcement, but because of road conditions. An old Honda commercial voiced by Burgess Meredith had an Accord going 110 mph. Burgess said, "At 110 miles per hour, we have found the Accord to be quiet and comfortable. At half that speed, you may find it to be twice as quiet and comfortable." That has sold Mercedes, BMW's and even Volkswagens for decades. The Green Party has been pushing for decades for a 100 km/h blanket limit for environmental reasons, with zero success.
  • Varezhka The upcoming mild-hybrid version (aka 500 Ibrida) can't come soon enough. Since the new 500e is based on the old Alfa Mito and Opel Adam platform (now renamed STLA City) you'd have thought they've developed the gas version together.
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