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AUTO REVIEW
2016 Lincoln MKX
By Steve Schutz, MD
In 2000, Lincoln sold 193,009 vehicles in — again, like Lexus — and design their ve- the horizontal waterfall grille currently fea-
the U.S. and claimed the title of best-selling hicles to look less dramatic and more under- tured on all of its vehicles and replaces it
luxury automotive brand in this country. stated than their competitors (unlike Lexus, with a more traditional grille. Nevertheless,
Fifteen years later, they have been passed by ironically). Oh, alphanumeric titles like the MKX looks like what you’d expect a
BMW, Lexus, Mercedes, Audi, Acura, Cadil- MKZ or, the crossover I’m reviewing today, contemporary luxury crossover to look like,
lac, and Infiniti and sit eighth in that impor- MKX, are going away, and real names are which is to say upscale but understated.
tant competition for sales preeminence. coming back. Hooray, I love names! While Would it be smart to make Lincolns more
While many of those years have seen Lincoln cars called 328i and S550 are fine with me, interesting, stylistically? Maybe, but if I
be unable to mount a successful strategy, the I miss names I could remember without were in charge of Ford’s luxury brand, I’d do
last three have shown a coherent plan that googling like Legend, Futura and Eldorado. exactly what they’re doing, which is to go
seems to be working. No, Lincoln’s not with a more low-key design language and
going to topple No. 1 BMW anytime soon, OK, on to the MKX, a compact crossover focus on quiet, quality, and the ownership
but it’s worth noting that Lincoln’s U.S. sales SUV clearly aimed at the hugely popular experience.
went from 94,474 in 2014 to 101,227 in Lexus RX 350. Based loosely on the Ford
2015, a 7 pecent increase. Edge, the MKX seats four comfortably and The interior is also tasteful and (mostly)
five in a pinch, and is a nice alternative to user-friendly, but a little bland. The materi-
What is this coherent plan? Lincoln exec- the RX. als are excellent with soft touch surfaces and
utives haven’t revealed much in the way of a nice look, but I’d prefer more personality.
details, but news reports indicate that the Don’t focus on the exterior design too As it stands, it looks like a mix of Ford and
idea is to benchmark Lexus ride comfort and much though, because as noted above, that, Lexus — and the result is as good as what
interior quiet, focus on the dealer experience like the name, is going to change in the next you’ll see in the Lexus RX — but I’d like to
couple of years as Lincoln moves away from
40 San Antonio Medicine • July 2016
