While Lincoln is doubling down on its utility (crossovers and SUV) offering with new products such as the Lincoln Corsair, Nautilus, Aviator, and Navigator, Ford’s luxury division still sells two rather compelling sedans; the Lincoln Continental and the MKZ.
The former is by far the most interesting of the two since it’s responsible for having rebooted the entire Lincoln brand almost three years ago, with sixties-era-inspired styling, a wide variety of powertrains and a slew of innovative features to enhance its premium aura. While it’s nowhere close to being the brand’s sales king, Lincoln admits that the Continental remains its flagship vehicle, even if it’s currently focusing on SUVs.
We had the opportunity to spend some time with a Lincoln Continental press unit for a week, during which we were able to sample the Continental’s performance, comfort, and impeccable road composure. We conclude that, even two years after it was first released, the rear seat in the current Continental remains one of the most comfortable places to spend time in a car.
We’re saying this because the entire rear seat area of the Lincoln Continental is on par with European sedans costing well over the $100,000 mark. Meanwhile, a fully-spec’d Black Label Conti stickers at $76,950, comes with all-wheel drive, and the top-shelf twin-turbo 3.0L V6 engine. It’s good for a claimed 400 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque.
While the Continental shares its CD4 platform with the Ford Fusion and the Lincoln MKZ, its wheelbase was stretched 5.7 inches, making it the longest-wheelbase Lincoln sedan currently on sale. This stretch inevitably leads to an observably spacious rear seat where even the tallest of passengers feel right at home.
Back there, the seats can be reclined to one’s liking, with both lower and upper massaging features. Flip down the center arm-rest, and one is exposed to a plethora of neat features, all controllable via a console and screen integrated within the center armrest. From there, rear seat occupants can open or close the rear sunshade or the sunroof visor, turn the audio system on or off, adjust the volume, or select radio stations.
It’s even possible to control the climate, and those rear seats include both heated and cooling functions, with three levels of intensity. It’s a very presidential place to be in, all at a much more affordable price point than European rivals such as the BMW 7 Series, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and Audi A8.
When the current-generation Lincoln Continental was released for the 2017 model year, Lincoln sold over 12,000 units in the U.S. and Canada during its first year of production. That number dropped to just under 9,000 units the following year.
It is assumed that the high demand for premium-level utility vehicles at the expense of their sedan counterparts is threatening the existence of full-size sedans like the Continental. Unfortunately, Ford will likely ax the Lincoln Continental due to declining sales, which is a real shame – since it remains one of the most polished luxury sedans currently on sale.
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Comments
Trust me there is plenty of space in the back of my 2017 Continental. It has saved me alot of money. ?
This car would do really well on the Aviator Platform. Give it the Aviator PHEV drivetrain, and it will make the German luxury PHEV’s weep.
We own a MKS, Hybrid MKZ and a Black Label Continental. We are just waiting for the 2020 Continental to come out! I don’t understand why they would even consider not keeping the sedans in their line. If you drive down the freeway you will see more sedans than SUV’s.
Wow! For only $80k I can own a Fusion with a 5 inch stretch!
If you want to sell full size luxury sedans again stop telling us small/midsize cars are really full size and we need to shut up and buy.
No… Stretch the car another 12 inches, lower it 1-2 inches and give us our STAPLE AMERICAN V8 back.
Give us what we want and we’ll buy it. Keep making what you think we should want and we will not
im with westly pipes. the back of my MKS is as spacious as a hotel room. if you know what i mean. wink nudge. that and limo tint makes it a convenient lot-behind-the-bar recreational vehicle 🙂
At least they have that COACH DOOR version so you can get a larger version.
Who cares if it’s built on the fusion platform. it’s not a FUSION!!!!! It’s longer, has a longer wheelbase, and has no 4 cylinder engine yet some get all bugged up about it. I wish the COACH DOOR version was the standard but the standard version is no corn popper as far as size goes. It has a longer wheelbase than my GRAND MARQUIS and it roughly the same width.
The FUSION bugaboo is silly. So what’s next are people going to get upset that the alternator is likely the same one out of the F150?
But then again people thought it was the end of the world when OLDSMOBILE used CHEVROLET engines in their cars when supplies were short. It wasn’t like GM bought V8’s from FORD or CHRYSLER. If they did so what?