2007 Lincoln MKX AWD

MKX marks the spot

There's one big problem with benchmarking your competition -- by the time you've caught up with them, they've made another advance, and you're once again left behind. Witness the 2007 Lincoln MKX AWD, the first crossover SUV from Ford's premium brand. Based on its corporate sibling, the Ford Edge, the 2007 Lincoln MKX AWD carries a base price of $35,770 ($44,385 as tested), with a 4 year/50,000 mile basic warranty, a 6 year/70,000 mile powertrain warranty and an EPA estimate of 17 mpg city/24 mpg highway.

Larger exterior photos: Front Rear

I'm a big fan of the crossover vehicle in general. I really feel like the whole genre is starting to look like the car of the future, gently detaching from the two- and three-box designs of the past to a more organic shape that really makes sense inside and out. MKX is easily the most modern design ever to wear the Lincoln name.

Up front, a big chrome grille dominates the face of the MKX, a half inch mesh bisected by a chrome crosspiece and some vertical stanchions, highlighted by a big Lincoln crosshair badge at center and flanked by faceted quad halogen headlamps. The hood is broad, short and low, and slants up to the steeply raked windshield. MKX's body bulges up with an aerodynamic jellybean-ish shape. Sharp fender wells give some sculptural detail to the sides of the vehicle, rising over the standard 18" machined aluminum wheels. The tailgate is my favorite feature of MKX's design. A red horizontal light bar connects the two taillights. The tailgate is hinged particularly far forward, resulting in a very big opening when the tailgate is lifted. It's very functional and quite attractive.

Fit and finish on the exterior of the MKX was very good. My test vehicle wore a coat of premium ($495) White Chocolate Tricoat that looked simply delicious -- I resisted the urge to taste and confirm that opinion. Lincoln did a nice job with the trim and badging, with just enough tasteful chrome lettering to distinguish the MKX without making it gaudy.

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Larger interior photo: Dash

Oh, well. I felt a big letdown when I sat down in the MKX's driver's seat and looked around the cabin. The promise of the exterior's design doesn't extend inside the vehicle. The Lincoln is comfortable, but not really luxurious by the standards of the competition. There's way too much cheap-feeling plastic, from the gunmetal-look bezel on the center stack to the recycled milk carton feel of the door panels. There's are a few nice touches, like real wood dash and door inserts and steering wheel accents, but they just serve to emphasize the gulf between the good, the bad and the ugly.

In terms of function, I especially like the Lincoln DVD Navigation System, which was part of a $4795 Elite Package of options on my test vehicle. The package bundled the nav system with a panoramic vista roof, Sirius satellite radio and a THX II audio system, a diverse if pricey grouping. The nav system is simple, easy to use, and gives great audio prompts that include the name of the street that you'll be turning on.

The steering wheel is adjustable for both tilt and reach, and the driver's seat is highly adjustable, so finding the right driving position is easy. The view through the MKX's big windshield is expansive, and the big greenhouse presents no major blindspots.

Rear seat passengers are treated to roomy accommodations, with plenty of leg and head room and nice cushy seats. There's even room behind the second row for actual luggage, 31.8 cubic feet of it. Fold down the second row, and you can cram 69.0 cubic feet of junk in your trunk.

Another ho-hum experience. MKX's 3.5 liter V6 is adequate to the task of propelling 4420 lbs of crossover around town, with 265 hp and 250 lb-ft of torque on tap, but it's not a thrill ride by any means. The six-speed automatic transmission is geared very conservatively, so MKX's engine never revs too high or strains too much. Though MKX has four wheel independent suspension, it is plagued with a healthy amount of body roll and very soft springs. That's fine on the highway or on straightaways, where MKX floats along on a cloud. But push hard into a curve or hit a little bit of rough pavement, and that insulated ride becomes a little disconcerting. MKX doesn't perform sharply, floating into turns rather than biting down hard. That may suit your personal driving style -- if you live in Nebraska or Kansas and curves are few and far between. For my day-to-day driving, I need a more communicative suspension.

On the plus side, MKX is loaded with standard safety features, including four wheel anti-lock brakes, traction control, tire pressure monitoring, front and side airbags with a safety canopy and childproof rear door locks. The all-wheel drive system on my test vehicle is also a great safety feature, improving all-weather handling and braking -- definitely worth the $1,650 higher base price over the front-wheel drive edition.

Benchmarking vs. innovation. That's what it boils down to. MKX does a lot of things well. It's not a bad vehicle on the whole. The problem is that other crossover vehicles have been doing it for years, and they're on to their second or third generation of refinement. MKX is too pricey and flawed to compete with the other luxury crossovers in its class. I would even have a hard time recommending it over the Ford Edge, which starts at $25,995 with the same mechanical underpinnings.

There are several other luxury crossovers to consider if you're contemplating an MKX. The Japanese luxury crossovers, Acura's RDX, Infiniti's FX35 and Lexus's RX 350, are all excellent vehicles, competitively priced with MKX. The European makes include BMW's X3, Volvo's XC70 and Mercedes-Benz's M-class, heady competition as well. Don't overlook the Cadillac SRX either. In non-luxury crossovers, there's the Nissan Murano, the Honda CR-V, the Toyota RAV4 and the Mazda CX-7 from Japan and the Chrysler Pacifica and even the Ford Freestyle from the US. The crossover field is very crowded, and will only get more so in the next few years.

So, go back to the drawing board, Lincoln. Forget about what everybody else is doing, and figure out how to make the crossover that's really worthy of the Lincoln nameplate. Let's get back to the days when a Lincoln was something to aspire to, a true American luxury car. We're all counting on you.