By multiple-requests, a Review of the all-new 2017 Lincoln Continental

http://www.lincoln.com/cars/continental/

IN A NUTSHELL: Late to the party, but almost everything the ill-fated MKS should have been, andwasn't.

CLOSEST AMERICAN-MARKET COMPETITORS: Cadillac CT6, Hyundai Genesis/Equus, Kia K900, Chrysler 300













(This is an upmarket version)



OVERVIEW:

The Continental, as we know it, began life in 1939 as a specially-designed, prototype personal vehicle for Edsel Ford, son of the company's founder, Henry Ford. Edsel ordered the car in the fall of 1938....he wanted it ready for his March 1939 vacation. It was basically a redone version of the company's Zephyr convertible, significantly lowered in ride-height some 7 inches (for better handling/stability), and minus the running-boards that were common at the time. It used the same 267 c.i. (4.1L) V12 engine as the Zephyr, and suspension was the then-standard Ford/Lincoln transverse-leaf springs. Chrome was very sparingly used (basically, only on the rille) to emphasize the general styling of the car, rather than just glitter. It used the large covered spare-tire housing on the rear bumper (where the term "Continental Kit" came from).

The early Continentals did see a limited amount of production (more so for the coupe versions, because the Cabriolet drop-tops were basically hand built, even on an assembly line)....but, for these and a number of other reasons, were not as popular as their Packard and Cadillac rivals. Edsel Ford died a premature death in 1943 (auto historians believe it was partly because of the intense pressure his father, mismanaging the company, put on him, and the pressures of war-effort production). With Edsel's passing, the company's interest in the Continental waned for several years, and the nameplate was dropped in 1948....at that time, the last American-designed car from a major manufacturer with a factory-installed V12 engine (Cadillac and Packard had dropped their V12 a number of years previously).

The Continental name was revived, in late 1955, for an all-new 1956 mega-luxury coupe (the Continental Mark II)...and, for a brief time, Continental actually became a separate Ford division, separate from the rest of Lincoln. The 1956 Continental Mark II was the most expensive car, at the time, available with an American nameplate. It listed, depending on options, for around $10,000, at a time when the average American full-size luxury car was maybe half that much. For that price, a buyer expected a lot, and the Mark II certainly delivered. Unfortunately, the separate Continental division was not able to make it on is own....it folded in a couple of years, as also did the now-infamous experimentation with the Edsel division in the late 1950s, which became one of the greatest automotive sales-flops of all time. So, by then, Ford was back down, once again, to three basic divisions...Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln.

The Lincoln Continental's reputation really took off in the 1960s, though, with the award-winning rectangular styling, inside and out. The brand became a favorite of President John F. Kennedy's White House.....and Lincoln convertibles were often in the background of the famous Camelot pictures of him, Jackie, and the two kids (Carolyn and John) as the country idolized them. (this was in the days, of course, before Presidential limos went to enclosed sedans and bulletproofing). JFK, of course, was to have his life tragically ended, at the hands of an assassin, in the back seat of a Lincoln convertible...just as famous country music singer Hank Williams died, from natural causes, in the back seat of his Cadillac Sedan de Ville, on the road from Atlanta to Cincinatti to give a concert.

I was a big fan myself of the way the 60s-vintage Lincolns rode and drove. Like most normal teens at the time, I liked the classic American muscle cars. But, unlike many teens, I also liked big, heavy, quiet, smooth American luxury cars....and the Continental, being heavier and more softly-spring than its Cadillac and Imperial rivals, was arguably the smoothest and most magic-carpet-like of the lot. My late father, upon retiring from the Army in 1969, went to work at the Philco-Ford company (Philco was a TV/electronics company then-owned by Ford). He would bring home big luxury Mercury Marquis and Park-Lanes home after work, toss me the keys, and say, "Here, Mike...try them out" (even as a young, newly-licensed teen-ager, unlike some of my friends, my driving was careful and sensible enough that I could be trusted not to abuse or wreck them). I fell in love with those big luxury-boats. One night, he brought home a real prize....a brand-new 1969 Continental that was a company Vice-President vehicle. He gave me the keys, looked me in the eye, and said...."Mike, please, be careful". I did not disappoint him. Oh my Gosh, what a smooth ride. That car was as steady as a battleship (and handled like one LOL), and was probably the most completely-isolated car from the harshness of the road surface that I have ever experienced....though the Lexus LS460 I sampled many years later was probably quieter in wind noise.

The big Continentals lasted to the end of the 1970s, being the last of the big American luxury cars to downsize (1980). I won't spend a lot of time on the later-generation Continentals, as I wasn't terribly impressed with them....the enormous Continentals of the 60s and 70s were so smooth and refined that later models, in comparison, seemed like toys. Eventually, the Continental ended up a stretched version of the FWD Taurus platform.....as the all-new 2017 version also is (more on that later). Finally, the Continental name was (once again) retired in 2002....and the larger, RWD, body-on-frame Town Car became the sole Lincoln Flagship. Eventually, the Town Car itself was dropped (which, as I had predicted, cost Lincoln some sales, as it was a mainstay of the senior-citizen, rental-limo, funeral-home, and executive-car business). The smaller, lighter, less-refined MKS, which replaced the Town Car as the new flagship did offer better handling and an AWD option for bad weather that the Town Car lacked....but it was clearly a step down from the Town Car in smoothness, refinement, and general comfort. The MKS never appealed to the public like the Town Car had done, and sales plummeted.

(Cadillac, by then, had also dropped the Town Car's rival, the DTS, and had run into more or less the same problem with its replacement....the XTS. I covered that in my CT6 review).

So now, with a big problem on its hands with the unpopular MKS, and with Lincoln's position in the luxury-car market having slid for some years (though the recent MKC and MKX SUVs have brought back some of the lost business), the company's management has decided to bring back the old Continental nameplate for (yet) another try. Unlike Cadillac 's rival CT6, the latest 2017 Continental, like the last one before it in 2002, uses what is essentially a slightly stretched version of the FWD Taurus platform, with transversely-mounted V6 engines and FWD/AWD (the CT6 uses RWD/AWD and an all-new platform with longitudinally-mounted turbo-4, V6, or V6 turbo powerplants). Neither the CT6 or Continental use a V8 any more (I'll get to that below).....a concession to ever-tightening gas-mileage/emission rules.

Continentals, for 2017, come in three different trim/price lines. Premiere 100A models ($44,560) come with a normally-aspirated 3.7L V6 of 305 HP/ 280 ft-lbs. of torque (the version I'd probably choose) and a choice of FWD or AWD (AWD adds another $2000). Select 200A ($49,745) models come with a twin-turbo 2.7L of 335 HP/380 ft-lbs. of torque, and a choice of FWD or AWD. Reserve 300A models come with a 3.7L twin-turbo V6 of 400 HP/400 ft-lbs. of torque (almost exactly equal in power to the top engine in the Cadillac CT6) and standard AWD. All Continentals come with a 6-speed Select-Shift automatic transmission with shift-paddles. As with other Lincolns, specialized, more expensive/upscale Black Label versions are available (see web-site for details), including one with the all-chrome-trimmed interior originally shown on the first Continental Concept version last year (that one will really take old Continental fans back to the 1950s juke-box era LOL). The Continental, IMO, one-ups its Cadillac CT6 competition by having a standard normally-aspirated V6 instead of a turbo four, but the CT6 responds with a more flexible standard 8-speed transmission instead of the Continental's 6-speed. Continental prices, for most versions, also significantly undercut those of comparable CT6 models....though the Black label versions, of course, add price for more unique trim and customer-perks from Lincoln.

For the review and test-drive, I sampled a lovely Select FWD version, in White Platinum Tri-Coat paint, with Cappuchino (Ivory) leather interior and the standard normally-aspirated 3.7L V6. It listed for a very reasonable (for this class) 51K.


MODEL REVIEWED: 2017 Lincoln Continental Select FWD

BASE PRICE: $47,515


OPTIONS:

White Platinum Metallic Tri-Coat paint: $595

Select-Plus Package: $1255

Single-Slot CD Player: $335

Continental Climate Package: $695

Floor Mats: $120

DESTINATION/FREIGHT: $925 (Reasonable for a car of this class and size)

LIST PRICE AS REVIEWED: $51,440


DRIVETRAIN: FWD, Transversely-mouted N/A 3.7L V6, 305 HP @ 6500 RPM, Torque 280 Ft-lbs. @ 4000 RPM, 6-speed automatic with push-button or manual paddle-shifting.

EPA MILEAGE RATING: 17 City, 26 Highway, 20 Combined

EXTERIOR COLOR: White Platinum Tri-Coat

INTERIOR: Cappuchino Luxury Leather




PLUSSES:


Classy styling reminiscent of Jaguars.

Superbly-done interior.....probably the best I have ever seen on a Ford Product.

Base N/A V6 engine (and at a lower price) instead of Cadillac's turbo 4.

Silky-smooth (but not particularly flexible) 6-speed automatic.

Much quicker steering response than anticipated.

Good ride/handling combo.....but not quite as good as Hyundai's Genesis for the same money.

Brake pedal/action ideally located for large feet like mine.

Plenty of both headroom and legroom in both front and rear (without sunroof).

Stable and secure-feeling on the road.

Superb stereo sound quality.

Easy-open exterior chromed grab-bars for the doors.

Relatively nice paint color choice...and better-marketed than on the Cadillac CT6.



MINUSES:


6-speed automatic lacks a few gears compared to most of the competition.

(Slightly) more engine noise under acceleration than anticipated.

Rather shallow trunk and trunk opening.

Electric push-button inside door handles take some getting used to.

The usual very complex luxury-car video-screen system.

Cheap Ford parts-bin matte-black plastic paddle-shifters.

Poor underhood layout for easy access (except for the battery)

Relatively sparse dealer network....sold only through selected Ford dealerships.



EXTERIOR:

While styling, of course, is subjective, and opinions will vary, I am of the view that the general looks of this car, even if the front end was copied somewhat from Jaguar, are quite classy...certainly FAR better then the ho-hum MKS it replaces. The same general look to the front end was also added to a mid-generation refreshening of the MKZ sedan this year....and word from Lincoln is that we will also see it on future designs, as that will be the company's signature look. Indeed, as with Cadillac's CT6 and CTS, it is rather difficult to tell a Continental from a new 2017 MKZ sedan just by a quick look or the front end...the main difference between the Continental and MKZ is from the C-pillars rearward.

One forum member, when she looked at an early-production (or perhaps pre-production?) Continental, complained about some uneven panel gaps in the sheet metal. I examined this white Continental very carefully from stem to stern (my vision is 20/20 or better corrected with glasses), and I could find no gap-problems at all except one VERY minor one near the top of the drivers' door, next to the front fender. That makes me think that she probably saw a pre-production model....they can sometimes have flaws in them, and that is why they are usually not for sale.

The exterior sheet metal was reasonably solid by today's standards, and the paint job was superbly-done (as noted earlier, an extra $595 cost for the White Platinum). The paint-color choice is reasonable (there were several that I found attractive), and, unlike on some GM products, Lincoln only charges extra for a couple of them. The exterior door handles are quite unlike anything I've seen before...large metal (not plastic) chromed grab-loops. When you grab them, the car's computer senses your hand and recognizes a signal from the nearby electronic fob releasing the door-latch (the inside door-releases are quite unusual, too...I'll get to that below). The doors themselves don't shut with a very solid thunk, but that appears to be one of the design-goals of this car.....very gentle closings, made as quietly as possible. All of the exterior trim and hardware was securely attached and of good quality....even the gray/silver plastic grille-teeth were reasonably solid-feeling.

So, I give the exterior an A. It would maybe have gotten a A+ if Lincoln had used the retro-styled square fender-tips they did on the show-circuit 2002 Continental Concept, but the stylists opted not to use them on this latest Continental. Still, even without them, a darn good-looking exterior in my book.


UNDERHOOD:

Pop the hood, and a single (but strong) gas strut, on the right side of the hood, holds it up for you. The usual insulation pad is on the underside of the hood, though perhaps it isn't quite large or thick enough (more on that below). The transversely-mounted 3.7L V6 is a tight fit inside, mostly hidden by a very large dark gray plastic cover, so there is very little access to reach any other components but the (thankfully) uncovered battery, to the right and back, near the firewall. Fluid reservoirs, filler-caps, and dipsticks are reasonably easy to reach. Still, like most of today's complex upmarket vehicles, this is obviously no DIY'er for shade-tree mechanics.....you will almost certainly have to take it to the shop.



INTERIOR:

IMO, the interior, like the exterior, also gets an A......arguably the best interior I have ever seen on a Ford product. There's three reasons, though. why, I don't give it an A+. First, because, after such care and effort to detail on everything else, Lincoln reached into the El Cheapo Ford parts-bin for the same cheap matte-black plastic paddle-shifters that are out of place even on a Fiesta econobox. Second, for using electronic push-buttons on the lower door-panels as interior door-release switches that function as the interior door-releases, which are nifty, but also small in size and take some getting used to (and what if the electronics fail and trap you inside)? Third, the usual complexity of the video-dash screen and trying to adjust its MANY different functions.

But that was just about it on the interior flaws. Some people may complain that there is too much bling, chrome, and flash inside (and I respect their opinions). But, conversely, this is the nameplate of a classic American luxury car being brought back after a decade and a half of absence, and, as I see it, it's about time a manufacturer started giving us interiors like that again. And, boy, does this interior load up the bling. Where the competing Cadillac CT6 is far more subdued inside, with mostly wood-tone paneling and matte-finished trim surfaces, the Continental's interior glitters like a 1950s jukebox. Chrome is used liberally throughout the cabin, even as trim-borders around the small steering-wheel controls/buttons and column-stalks (in fact, one of the Continental Concept versions at the auto shows actually had a virtually all-chrome/dark blue interior, but that version was nixed for production, in favor of the present wood/chrome version.

And, beneath the surface-bling seems to be mostly decent-quailty interior materials/trim and hardware, too, with the exception of the aforementioned paddle-shifters. Fit/finish is excellent, as are the way that the materials and patterns are harmonized. The squarish and box/rectangular theme to the trim-patterns seems to suggest the classic Continental interiors of the 1960s and 1970s....as opposed to the far more disingenuous way the CT6's patterns are organized inside. There is plenty of headroom and legroom inside, both front and rear, for all but NBA-sized guys, at least without a sunroof housing (my lower-level Continental didn't have a sunroof). My test-car had 10-way adjustable front seats......various options/packages have 22-way and even 30-way seats. The seats themselves had very nice leather, and were generally comfortable...but not the most comfortable I've sampled. The vertically-stacked buttons on the mid-dash for shifting the transmission were, IMO, a nice respite from annoying zig-zag lever-shifters, E-shifter joy-sticks on the console, and short E-stubs sticking out from the steering column. (that is a strong selling point for me, and one reason why I may seriously consider a new Lincoln in the future). The Continental's buttons are quite large and easy to use/operate. Unlike the old Chrysler transmission push-buttons from the early-mid 60s, the Continental's buttons only require a light tap...you feel a small click in the button, and Bingo, the transmission responds. Overhead, the sun-visors and ceiling headliner, at least in this Select version, were covered in decent fabric material, but nothing special for a luxury car. The all-electronic instrument panel can be set or programmed several ways. I noticed, on my test-drive, that the way it was programmed had the speed-limit for the roads I was on flashed on the screen, next to the digital speedo readout, graphically displayed with the typical black/white sign seen on the side of the road...the same graphic-display matched in the center-dash video screen. The stereo sound quality was superb, though the adjustment/tuning functions on the screen were complex, even with the chrome-ringed rotary-***** for volume/tune on the upper-console/lower-dash. In fact, almost everything about the center-screen video display is complex.....Continental drivers who want to master these functions are going to spend a lot of time fishing through the Owners' Manual.

So......except for a couple of slip-ups and design-faults here and there, IMO, the new Continental's interior, unlike that of its last precedessor in 2002 (and the more recent Lincoln MKS), is worthy of the nameplate. Yes, American bling is back.



CARGO COMPARTMENT/TRUNK:

The trunk lid, of course, is power-operated, but the trunk itself is not one of the car's better features, at least for a sedan this size. The lid, due to the car's rear-end styling, is somewhat on the low and short side, and the trunk rather narrow and shallow, which eliminates some large, tall, or bulky items (for those, of course, Lincoln will sell you that big full-size Navigator SUV down at the other end of the showroom LOL). I did not see a First-Aid Kit anywhere in the trunk (and one was not listed on the price sticker)....some of the competition does include one as standard or an option; others don't. The floorboard was covered in a nice black carpet...the walls with a rather vague, fuzzy material I couldn't quite make out. A couple of cubby-pockets, with stretch-nets to hold small items, were built into each wall. Under the floorboard was.....yep, you guessed it......the usual temporary spare tire.



ON THE ROAD:

Start up the 3.7L V6 with a brushed-chrome engine start/stop button (it is far enough away from the transmission buttons to avoid confusion like on some earlier Lincolns) and the V6 comes to life and idles almost totally silent. Release the E-brake (the rather small button is under the left side of the dash, hit the "D" Drive button, take off, and the car accelerates with a noticeable amount of exhaust and engine...more than I expected on a car like this. Perhaps a little more insulation underhood or a more effective muffler is in order. Power level, with its 280 ft-lbs. of torque at a not-too-high 4000 RPM, is certainly adequate for most normal driving...and avoids the added turbo complexity of the CT6's base four. The 6-speed transmission generally shifted seamlessly, though, like I said previously, I wasn't impressed with the cheaply-done shift-paddles for the transmission's manual-shift mode.

The chassis and suspension was generally pretty well done, though IMO not quite as well-rounded or as comfortable as on the competing Hyundai Genesis 5.0L I had sampled previously. Steering response on the Continental's base-level suspension/tires (which my test-car had) was definitely faster than I expected for this type of car, and body roll was minimal. Wind and road noise were generally well-damped (as they should be on a car of this class), but not as tomb-silent as, say, on a Lexus LS460 or Mercedes S550. Ride comfort over bumps was borderline-soft, but a faint hint of firmness is still there for stability...and the car, despite its relative agility, did have a nice, stable feel to it, perhaps from the relatively large size, heavy weight, nose-heaviness, and the gyroscopic effect of the FWD powertrain. The brakes were generally effective, and the brake pedal was ideally located, relative, to the gas pedal, for my big Mens'-size-15 clown-shoe to have no difficulty moving off the gas to the brake without getting hung-up on the brake pedal.

All in all, well-engineered on the road...except for some engine noise when giving it the gas.



THE VERDICT:

OK, folks, I like this car.....that's obvious. But, as a reviewer, I also have to be objective. The classy but conservative exterior styling may not be for everyone....especially those that like humpback-whale designs like the Mercedes CLS. Those that feel a luxury sedan of this class should have a RWD/AWD platform, like the arch-rival Cadillac CT6, have a point if you are talking about high-speed handling and lack of torque-steer with high-powered engines. RWD with a longitudinally-mounted engine also makes for a less-complex adaption to AWD, compared to transverse-engined FWD designs, with fewer drivetrain parts to break down or wear out. I fully recognize their arguments. But, in general (unless one wants to lose his or her license) we don't drive at German Autobahn speeds here in the U.S., even on Interstates.

And, in my honest opinion, once the buyer gets past the FWD/RWD issue, the Continental provides more value for the money than the CT6. First, the base price on entry-level versions is lower. Second, on those entry-level versions, Lincoln gives you a more refined, normally-aspirated V6 instead of Cadillac's turbo in-line 4. (though, of course, if you choose to, like with the CT6, you can spend REAL money on the Black Label-grade Continentals). Third, although the CT6's interior is not cheap or poorly-done by any means, IMO it simply doesn't compare to the Continental's unique combination of traditional American bling, wood-tone trim, chrome, and retro-Lincoln styling themes. Nor does the CT6's front styling, IMO, though admittedly nice, compare with the Continental's Jaguar-type grille. The CT6 does come with a wider-range 8-speed automatic to the Continental's 6-speed, but, at typical American Interstate driving speeds, that will probably make little difference in transmission flexibility or fuel economy.

But, like any car, the Continental could use some improvement. Tone down the exhaust note a little or give it some thicker insulation underhood. Toss the interior push-button door-release....IMO nothing but a gimmick, and perhaps hazardous if power is lost. Redesign the compact-sedan-level trunk..it is too small for a car of this class. And why the El-Cheapo shift-paddles when so much time and effort went into everything else inside? (I guess the bean-counters had to strike somewhere LOL). And maybe soften up the suspension /tires just a minimal amount, though the car is not uncomfortable-riding as it is now.

But, all in all, quite an impressive car....probably more so than anything I've seen or sampled since the Hyundai Genesis 5.0L V8 review I did a couple of years ago. The Genesis 5.0L had superb road manners (better then the Continental's), and was impeccably-built, but its interior, though nice and well-made and luxurious, lacked the sheer level of looks and bling of the Continental.

And, as always......Happy car-shopping.

MM

 

What is your next planned review?

 

Nice review Mike, like I told you in the PM I also got to drive a Continental today, I'm writing up my thoughts and will post shortly.

 

Thanks, Steve. Seems like you and I have had penchant-co-incidences lately for test-driving the same cars on the same day LOL.

No, seriously, I'm anxious to hear your thoughts, too. I know that you'll probably think more of the Cadillac CT6, its RWD platform, and its position against the Continental, than I do....I expected that.

 

Well, I had the all-new 2017 Verano on the list, until the Buick marketers screwed that up. Right now, I don't have any more specific requests.....I've done them all. I might (?) check out the new 2017 MKZ re-fresh on the road with a quick test-drive (I did the static-inspection earlier)....they have (supposedly) softened the suspension along with the front end and dash refreshes. I may (?) also check out the latest Avalon with a quick test-drive (Toyota also softened the suspension last year because of customer complaints). And ditto for the Buick Envision, the first Chinese-built vehicle to be sold here as mainstream (I've done a static inspection of an Envision, but not a road test).

Our Condo's Maintenance Chief is also interested in a new Chevy Silverado pick-up truck for the work he does here in the condo. If I go shopping with him, of course, I'll check out any truck we look at and probably do at least a minor write-up on it.

Also might (?) take a look at the Genesis G90...that could be a good candidate for the annual Holiday Season Review I do every year, in December, on a newly-introduced or existing Lexus product, or expensive upscale product from another manufacturer.

 

you should do video reviews and post them on youtube.

in any case, nice review. thank you for sharing.

 

Thanks for the compliment. Glad you enjoyed it. For a number of reasons, I never really wanted to be part of the regular automotive press, though I (casually, not real close) know Motorweek's John Davis and think quite highly of him, as he is a nice guy. But I'm not really that good with computers, videos, and high-tech stuff, either. I do my reviews the old-fashioned way....inspect, drive, and write. Besides, though I occasionally post in other forums, I feel like I have long had a home here on Car Chat...which IMO is one of the best auto-talk forums on the Internet, with many great posters.

 

Here are my thoughts, I agree with you in some ways not in others:

I stopped by the local Ford dealer today, walked over to the small forgotten Lincoln side and as luck would have it sat three Continentals. I really lucked out because they had one totally base car stickering at $45k (didn't even have a sunroof, had the imitation leather), a fully loaded model with a sticker of $76k with all the rear seat goodies and all the other options, and a mid priced car at $65k. I was able to sit in all three, and as I finally did with the CT6, I chose to drive the $65k car because in my opinion thats a price point that this vehicle actually has value. Above that I would do something like an LS, XJ, 7, etc.

My thoughts will really kind of circle around the Continental vs the CT6, because I really think that is its most logical competitor.

Outside:

Its an attractive car, I wouldn't call it beautiful. It definitely looks FWD, its big but not really imposing which is a good and a bad thing. Hood is short, trunk slopes backwards which is atypical for styling today where most cars sit higher in the rear than the front. Gives it an old world-ey type of look to it. Think old Rolls Royce sedan. Trim level is good, the strange window trim door handles work on some colors, not on others IMHO. I thought the white high end car looked great, the blue midlevel car and the black base car not so much. 20” rims on the white car looked great, the 18s on the other two cars looked terrible IMHO, mostly black, not attractive. Not a lot of difference in outside appearance between high and low trims, which IMHO is a good thing if like me you think the upper trims are too expensive for what the bulk of the car really is.

The LED headlights look great, regular housings are okay.

I did notice a couple of fit and finish issues. The white high end car had a misaligned trunk lid, the other two looked fine. I didn’t particularly think the paint jobs were that good on the darker cars. Had some orange peel, and overall the luster wasn’t very strong. I thought Cadillac had much better paint jobs.

IMHO the CT6 is a much more attractive car outside.

Inside:

The car is definitely well done. Overall material quality is very good, very few hard touch plastics. Some of the door and dash materials have a weird, lower rent feeling sheen to them, notably the front of the door panel above the speaker grills. The one I drove had a black interior, which tends to magnify that sort of thing. Lower B pillars are hard plastic as they are in the CT6, switchgear seems good, and for once doesn’t feel straight out of a Ford. I thought the black plastic bezel around the navigation screen was cheap looking, and that’s really a shame since its such a focal point of the car. Would not have been hard for this to have been some sort of a metallic plastic, or something of that nature. Needs some sort of texture, likewise the air vents felt plastic-y and cheap to me. All the chrome inside is plastic, and looks like plastic.

Wood trims are very nice, I was able to see the matte open pore wood and the gloss cherry trims, both of which were top notch.

Most of the switchgear felt very good, like you Mike I thought the paddle shifters felt cheap. I also felt like the storage cubby between the cupholders and the nav screen felt a little cheap when it was operated, even though its lid is a beautiful wood piece and everything inside is nicely felted. Good storage in the console. Power opening doors is just silly.

As I said, I hate the push button gear selector. I thought it operated quickly enough, I deliberately did rolling swaps from D to R and R to D to simulate backing out of a driveway and shifting without fully coming to a stop and the shifts happened fine. But, I was constantly looking for a gearshift not only to manipulate gears, but also to rest my hand on which I typically do. Gearshift…I want one.

The crazy 30 way seats. I just don’t know. Boy they have a ton of adjustments…yet…they’re hard and thinly padded. The seat surface is really nothing but a leather pad, and the seat itself is a mechanical apparatus. Think sitting on one of those Sharper Image massage chairs. People love them, but give me a nice lounge chair anyday. Obviously I didn’t have enough time to adjust them 100% to my liking, maybe I would adapt.

Headlining I thought was another missed opportunity, the Lincoln salesman actually pointed that out himself.

Space is quite good, I would say its roomier in the back than the CT6. Think halfway between an LS460 and LS460L.

Nav interface seems good. Gauge cluster I think is another advantage for Cadillac. Lincoln’s LCD virtual cluster is small, without as wide a range of adaptable readouts and such. It could easily be another 2-3 inches wide.

The base imitation leather was very good, very similar to NuLuxe.

Overall, I would agree this is the nicest interior that Ford has ever made, as the CT6 is likely the nicest GM has ever made. Which is nicer? It’s a tough one. I prefer the CT6 here too, but I could see how one would prefer the Continental. The style is very different, and I think in lower trims the Continental feels more luxurious (mainly I think because non Platinum trim CT6s don’t have wood on the console).

I too thought the trunk was small, and for some reason they chose to give it flat sides vs contouring them around the rear wheels and suspension, which robs lots of room.

Ride and Drive:

First of all, the AWD model that I drove felt in some ways like a FWD car, and in some ways not. First, the greenhouse has the cab forward feel of a FWD car. The A pillars are set forward, yet the windshield doesn’t have a steep rake. The side mirrors are too small IMHO, that was another point, and sit much closer to you than the A pillars.

From behind the wheel, you have a nice view out over the hood, which you typically do not have in FWD transverse cars. On the road, I never felt any torque steer or other interference from the FWD layout. I’d be interested to know if its front biased in its AWD…my guess is yes.

Overall the car is very quiet, but I agree with Mike that the engine was louder than I expected and sounded and felt unrefined. The car I drove was the 400hp 3.0L, so it sounds like those refinement issues exist in the 3.7 as well. I thought both the 3.6 and the 3.0TT in the Ct6 were notably smoother and more refined, in fact I’d rather have the lower HP Cadillac 3.6 than the 3.0T from Lincoln. Road noise was well controlled, and the ride had a solid vaultlike smoothness that reminded me of my LS. Bump impacts were a little sharp, but the tires were aired to 39PSI so I’m sure an adjustment there would make an impact. Wind noise was pretty well controlled, but I did detect a moderate wind rush around the A pillar on the highway.

I did drive my LS460 home along the same route, the LS rides better and is more refined, creamier…noisewise very close, the LS is still slightly quieter but excellent showing there given the price chasm. An interesting note, I thought the LS felt significantly lighter and nimbler than the Continental. The Continental feels like a big car, as the LS does (or so I thought), the CT6 drives smaller than it is, IMHO the Continental drives bigger.

Overall, ride and drive I would probably give to the Continental over the CT6.

In conclusion:

I like the car, but I could never love it. Its very well made, very competent, but nothing about it speaks to me on any sort of level. I couldn’t really look at it and say “I’d really like to own and drive that car” or “that car says something about me that I want to say to other people”. I felt differently about the CT6 when I went back and drove it the second time, I came away from that actually kind of excited about the car. I loved the style and the overall feel of the car…didn’t feel that way about the Continental.

Could I happily drive the Continental? Absolutely. Do I want to go out and get a Continental? No.

So in this comparison, Continental vs CT6 both optioned around $65k, both equipped how I would choose I would without reservation, choose the CT6.

The Continental will be a HUGE hit with livery services. Seriously, you will see these things all over NYC, in every hotel parking garage. Uber blacks everywhere. The Lincoln faithful will love it. My mother in law who had a Lincoln Town Car when my wife was little and they had money, had to give it up when she and her husband divorced and shes always said that she wants to have another Lincoln, she will love this car. Will anybody buy this who was not already predisposed to buy a Lincoln? Will a Lexus owner, or a BMW owner, or a Mercedes owner, or a Cadillac or Audi or Jaguar owner even consider this Continental? I would bet serious money the answer would be no…and I again don’t feel that way about the CT6. I think a 5 series driver or an E Class or GS driver wanting a bigger car could absolutely come away from driving the CT6 feeling like they could see themselves in it…I don’t think that would happen with the Continental.

I’ve said before, that this Continental really is exactly what the Continental was in 1990 when my Dad had one. Having spent time with it and having driven it, I still feel the same way. When you sit in it and compare it to what else is out there, it really occupies the same spot. Its big, comfortable, reasonably well made, very nice riding and quiet, but everything it does just shows you that its not really a peer for those other sorts of cars, including Cadillac.

Without a doubt the best Lincoln ever. Overall IMHO though the package, styling, image, and overall execution are better in the CT6...and thats really always been the case...

 

Thanks for the input. It's nice that you sampled a higher-line AWD version, since I was in a relatively low-line FWD. I more or less expected you to prefer the CT6 in some areas, as I know you are more partial to RWD platforms and AWD platforms with a north/south engine layout than I am.

Agreed the front seats could use a little more padding (which is the case in many new vehicles today). That's one thing that sold me on the Verano that I'm driving. It has unbelievably thick, cushy front seats for a car that size....more so than other small Buicks. But the Continental's front seat at least was shaped well for large people, and the bolsters don't dig into one's sides or rump.

On the livery and limo-car services, I agree......you can bet the farm this car is going to be popular with them (that's virtually a given). I think that a lot of former Town Car owners who shunned the MKS will also come back home (I noticed your mother-in-law may be one of them). That's why I said, in the opening statement, that the Continental is what the MKS should have been, and wasn't.

Do you agree with me that the small door-panel buttons to unlatch the doors inside are gimmicks, and could be a PITA or worse if the electric power failed? (maybe there are emergency backup release-latches somewhere...I didn't see any). I personally think that's probably the worst feature on the car.

Comparing the new Continental to your dad's 15-year-old version, I agree that, in the basic mechanical layout, there isn't much difference, but to me at least, the old one seemed crude and cheap-looking inside compared to this one. This interior, in comparison, will knock one's socks off.

 

Yeah and I still think to really be taken seriously as a premium vehicle it needs to have a bespoke platform and transverse/RWD setup. I think Ford really showed us the level of investment they're willing to make in Lincoln here. They did a lot of things right, but the fundamental, and really expensive thing is lacking and thats the platform. They had an opportunity to create a new RWD platform here that could have been the basis for a whole future of world class Lincoln products, and even downline Ford products...but they cheaped out and didn't do that. GM is a lot more serious about Cadillac, and this is the best example of that different mindset.

Yeah the neat thing about these seats is that really they can be whatever anybody wants them to be. Want a big flat seat? It can be that. Want a tightly sculpted supportive seat? It can be that too. Plus its something nobody has ever done before and I like that.

With that said...I'd rather it have a normal seat and a world class bespoke platform...if that was how money was to be allocated

Well in her case she didn't shun Lincoln, she went through a period in her life where her lifestyle changed dramatically. She and my wife went from a 4,000 square foot colonial with a pool and a Lincoln Town Car to a 2BR condo-townhouse and a Ford Escort. No joke. Apparently she had the worst divorce attorney in NJ lol

I think she would have driven any Lincoln...a Lincoln is her thing. Right now she's driving a Hyundai Sonata.

Absolutely, just a silly gimmick. There is an emergency backup switch lower in the door but still. Old Lincolns used to be famous for this kind of stuff too.

Not to make you feel old but 1990 was 26 years ago not 15 LOL, time flies huh? And absolutely, clearly this car is worlds better than a 26 year old Lincoln. My point was comparing this car to its contemporaries and comparing that old Continental to its contemporaries. Back in 1990 what he wanted was an LS400...but they were brand new and really hot, and the Continental was a much better deal, so he settled for that. That same sort of situation would occur today, if someone wants a big flagship sedan I could see them settling for this, but I don't see this as being something that someone who is not already a big fan of Lincolns really desiring. In 1995 when he got rid of that Lincoln he really again wanted an LS400, but they were a lot more money and he decided between the all new 95 Continental or a 95 Cadillac Seville STS, and he chose the Cadillac that time...but again still settling for a car that wasn't what he really wanted.

The Continental and the CT6 are in the same positions those Continentals and Sevilles were in, its a car for somebody who wants a big flagship car...but isn't quite ready or willing to stroke that big flagship check...and as such they're not quite to that level as they weren't then. Also the same as back then, I think the Cadillac has a style, swagger, and desirability factor on its own that the Lincoln lacks. He felt the same way in 95 and chose what at that time was a technologically inferior STS to an all new and very modern Continental because of that (remember at that time the Seville was 3 years old and in 96 the dash and radio layout, gauges etc were all refreshed, the Continental was all new). Fast forward to today, I think you could show that the Continental is "better", but I would still choose the Cadillac and I think a lot of people will too.

 

Sorry...my bad. I thought your dad had a 2002. That was the last year the old Continental was made.

 

No he had a 1990. This bad boy:



This interior is a 94 which was the refresh year, his didn't have a console, it had a bench seat and a column shifter, and had a squarer steering wheel but it was this color:

 

Good info thx guys. Agree the new lincoln won't get hardly any conquest sales, unlike say the genesis g90 or cadillac ct6.
In the end, it's just too frumpy looking. nice, but not really anything truly special.

 

It's interesting how little attention has been given to the Continental launch. There's not much in the way of video or print reviews. It may not be the most exciting car/launch, but considering what the Continental means to the Lincoln division, I would have thought there would have been more coverage.

 

That's because it hasn't been "launched" yet. This happens more often than you think- sometimes automakers choose to build up some dealer inventory before the embargo lifts on press reviews and heavy TV/internet advertising.