2014 Lincoln MKS

2014 Lincoln MKS Features ...

Perhaps at last the 2014 Lincoln MKS will be able to emerge from the shadows of its ancestors now that the gigantic, ancient Town Car has been gone from showrooms for a couple of years. The MKS is far from that ancient land barge; it’s a husky four-door premium sedan built for American-sized people that is actually something of a sleeper. It piles on the luxury features, with a generous dose of advanced technology for a car now in its sixth model year, but it’s also a surprisingly stronger performer–even if you’d never know it from the outside.

• Interior / Exterior »

The Lincoln MKS is a good-looking sedan, so it comes as a surprise that it’s been such a slow seller. Granted, the brand may have a foggy (at best) identity, but the MKS is well-designed, with handsome styling at a distance, and nicely detailed appointments inside.



The MKS is a classically sleek car, in the Lexus mold, with a large winged grille calling attention to itself a little more insistently than the rest of the car. Visually, Lincoln has made a number of minor changes to the exterior for 2013, and they add to ‘suggest’ something more significant, even if the proportions haven’t changes. The MKS grille has a fine pattern of slats, and the lower airdam is a little more chiseled; meanwhile the hood has been lowered but given a strong middle spine–all of which makes the car look a bit lower and wider from the front. Styling at the rear has been cleaned up as well, with the trunkline following different contours this year.
Although the MKS is basically a cousin of the Volvo S80 and pretty closely related to the Ford Taurus, it doesn’t look that way. About the only thing it does have in common with the Taurus is its rather short, arched roofline and somewhat high beltline, with a little more overhang in front and in back than is now typical for the class.
Inside, we see lots to like, with a linear, spare theme to the cabin design. White-lit electroluminescent gauges glow softly at night off its leather and wood trim, with noticeably closer attention to detail. Stitched leather panels replaced a few remaining harder surfaces for 2013, and MyLincoln Touch has been subbed into the interior. Unfortunately, that means a set of capacitive sliders for volume and climate-control functions as well.

• Performance »

The 2014 Lincoln MKS isn’t really an aggressive performer. It’s not rear-wheel drive; there’s no overpowered V-8 under the hood. Instead, it feels mature and willing, with a real focus on the car’s luxury–but that doesn’t make it a slouch.


Shoppers who consider the MKS are going to have some wide-ranging ideas of how it should respond, and roll over the pavement, so Lincoln has tried to make good on the MKS’s ride and handling with the introduction of a new active damper system. Three modes give you a range between comfort and sport, while there’s a new Lincoln Drive Control system that coordinates steering, transmission, throttle, and stability control responses to a Sport mode when desired.
Go with the base engine, and you’ll get an enthusiastic performer. Based on our time with this powertrain in the Ford Taurus, this engine gets even better passing power without giving up any off-the-line oomph. Everything that’s happening with the engine and transmission is carefully damped, though, so you don’t get notice that much dramatic is happening.
In the EcoBoost edition–a twin-turbo, 3.5-liter V-6 now makes 365 hp, and all-wheel drive is mandatory; while models with the base 3.7-liter V-6 come with a 304-horsepower, 3.7-liter V-6 (31 more than for 2012). You can get the non-turbo version with either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.
Opt for the EcoBoost model, with its 350 pound-feet of torque, and you get impressive V-8-like pull, with a little more of a ripe, baritone exhaust note–and combined fuel economy that’s only down 1 mpg against the base engine with AWD and 2 mpg versus the front-wheel-drive model.
A six-speed automatic is standard with either engine. The automatic gets paddle shifters in the EcoBoost MKS, and at first glance, the paddles might seem kitschy in a car of this size. That’s at first blush; a quick turn in the MKS proves the paddles are more useful than you might think. The gearbox does an excellent job of keeping the Lincoln in the right gear at the right time—just what an automatic transmission should do.
Finally, brakes were upgraded last year–not just for the higher horsepower, but in response to complaints in previous model years that the brakes were fade-prone.
The crowded segment of mid-size to large sedans in the near-luxury class includes a number of worthy competitors to the MKS. The Infiniti TK (nee M37), Lexus GS, and Volvo S80 compete directly, though the Audi A6, BMW 5-Series, and Mercedes-Benz E-Class are all full luxury brands. Against that set of vehicles, the Lincoln MKS is a bit larger, with that much more shoulder room inside–especially in front. The high beltline and short, abbreviated roofline arch impinge on backseat space, but the handsome stance works well from the outside even if its proportions are think and somewhat high-waisted.

Inside, at least in the front seat, quiet, classy styling is a big contrast with the glitzy showmanship you’ll find inside some of these rivals. Front seats are all-day comfortable, and the MKS interior is supremely quiet on all kinds of surfaces (there’s active noise cancellation, too).
The MKS’ performance is quick and strong, but perhaps not dynamically on par with true sport sedans like the better E-Class and 5-Series four-doors. It has a strong, mature personality–it’s a luxury car, first and foremost. In the EcoBoost edition.a twin-turbo, 3.5-liter V-6 now makes 365 hp, and all-wheel drive is mandatory; the base version works with a 304-horsepower, 3.7-liter V-6.
You can order the non-turbo version with either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. Go with the base engine, and you’ll get a reasonably enthusiastic performer. Opt for the turbocharged MKS model, with its 350 pound-feet of torque, and you get impressive V-8-like pull, plus more of a ripe, baritone exhaust note–and a fuel-economy rating just 1 mpg lower than the base engine paired with AWD. (We should note, however, that some EcoBoost engines prove to return real-world numbers considerably below their ratings.) The six-speed automatic is a smooth and well-damped companion, and we anticipate that the new electric power steering with a quicker ratio–and continuous damping–will amount to a more eager-driving personality, although we haven’t yet driven an MKS with this update.

If you’re concerned about safety, the Lincoln MKS is one of the best choices you can make. In addition to top-tier occupant protection ratings, the MKS offers a set of available safety features you won’t easily find elsewhere at this price. Top Safety Pick status and an excellent five-star overall rating make this a model that protects better than most; and with with adaptive cruise control an option, as well as lane-keeping assist, lane-departure warning, and an active-parking system, this is a model for those who want the most technology and security with their luxury.
Last year, Lincoln cut out the matte-metallics and gave the interior an understated makeover, also subbing in the MyLincoln Touch infotainment system and a new reconfigurable gauge cluster. The capacitive-slider controls can be fidgety; MyLincoln Touch can be complex to learn, but it has extensive control over the car’s functions, so it’s essentially sink or swim. Standard equipment includes ventilated front seats; heated front and rear seats; adaptive HID headlamps; rear parking sensors; automatic climate control; and an exterior keypad entry system.

With a Premium Package, you get a heated steering wheel, power-adjustable pedals, navigation, premium audio, a power rear sunshade, and blind-spot and cross traffic alert systems; while the Elite Package adds Active Park Assist, Lane Keeping, premium wood trim, and a few other extras. Altogether, you can load an MKS just past the $50k mark–but then you get quite the collection of luxury and tech features, at what might also buy a rather basic German sport sedan.
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