Lincoln MKZ - I Can't So I Won't

 

Lincoln's naming scheme has to be the oddest vehicle nomenclature in the market today. What does "Mk" mean? "Mmmmmm, k?" As in texting short code that my teenagers use? Mmmmmm, no; Mk is short for "Mark" which harkens back to the days of the Mark II through VIII. As if anyone really cares. It is an attempt, though, to embrace the alpha (sans numeric) naming that other "rich" brands have been doing for years. Today at your neighborhood Lincoln store you have the MkS (fancy Taurus), MkT (fancy Explorer), MkC (fancy Escape), MkX (fancy Edge) and our fetching subject, the MkZ (fancy Fusion). Those "modest" Fusion bones aside, the Fusion is a great car, the Lincoln MkZ is one of but a handful of contemporary cars that I think I would purchase...if I had 50 grand to spend on a car. I don't have that kind of money so I won't be buying one. But if I did...Oh, come on. Who's kidding who. If I had 50 grand to blow on a car I'd buy a BMW or Mercedes. I should say, if I had 50 grand to drop on a car and it had to be a domestic...

The MkZ' svelte lines and interesting exterior details make it quite attractive and hide its, again, "humble", Fusion borrowed DNA. I didn't snap the interior here but suffice to say it's leather lined library gorgeous compared to the "looks a vinyl lined Tupperware bowl" of the "lowly" Fusion. Think Lexus ES 350 vs. Toyota Camry. This dyed in the naugahyde coupe lover is smitten, though and the availability of Ford's lusty, 3.7 liter, 263 horsepower V-6 in lieu of the wonky "Ecoboost" 2.0 liter four makes the MkZ all the more appealing. This particular car had the 2.0 liter turbo engine. You can not get a V-6 on the Fusion. You also can not get the Ecoboost V-6 in the MkZ. Just as well.

Testament to the MKZ' beautiful design is that people are amazed to hear that the car is little more than a dressy Ford Fusion. Now, the problem is the Fusion itself is a car that can be confused with luxury brands costing thousands more so with an average price pushing hard against $50,000, the MkZ better offer a whole more than a loaded, $37,000 Fusion. Sadly, as is often the case with "badge or brand engineering" like this, you don't get your premium dollars money's worth.

My two cents: Buy this car because you love the car and not for some notion that Lincoln has any real luxury cache. Or, wait a couple of years and look for a low mileage used MkZ that someone took the depreciation beating on.