How much is too much bang for the buck? Lincoln has an answer to that with the MKZ in 3.0 twin-turbo V6 AWD guise. Priced at $43,575 including the $925 destination charge, the mid-size luxury four-door sedan is a steal compared to segment rivals.
The Ford Taurus SHO doesn’t count because it is a full-size sedan and it’s far from being as luxurious as the MKZ. The 2016 Lexus GS 350 is one of the main rivals. Priced at $50,950 for the rear-wheel-drive version with the 311 horsepower 3.5-liter V6, the Lexus can’t hold a candle to the Lincoln. Nor can the $55,850 BMW 535i or the $54,280 Cadillac CTS Sedan with the 3.6-liter naturally aspirated V6. The Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400 is the closest rival.
Then again, what do you get for your $43,575? As a starting point, a lot of performance: 400 horsepower and 400 lb-ft (542 Nm) of torque from a 3-liter twin-turbo V6, all-wheel-drive, LED signature lighting, lots of goodies and luxury, as well as distinguishing exterior aesthetics.
Opting for what Lincoln calls the Driver’s Package will upgrade the range-topping MKZ with a Focus RS-derived torque-vectoring rear differential. This should be interesting, but don’t expect to find a Drift Mode in there because that’s not appropriate in a Lincoln. If the twin-turbo V6 model is too audacious for you, $35,935 will buy you the entry-level model with FWD and a 2-liter four-cylinder EcoBoost engine rated at 245 horsepower. AWD hikes the price of the 2-liter model by $1,890.
As for the mid-range option, the 2017 Lincoln MKZ comes with the same 3-liter twin-turbo V6 engine, albeit “limited to 350 horsepower and 400 lb-ft (542 Nm) of torque” due to the limitations of the front-wheel-drive chassis. At the end of the day, the MKZ is a fair proposition in the mid-size luxury segment. But then again, German brands won’t let Lincoln have its way for fairly obvious reasons.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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