2018 Lincoln Continental

The 2018 Lincoln Continental has 4 trim levels which are named as Premiere, Select, Reserve and Black Label. The base Premiere trim is priced at $45,160 which tops up to $69,630. It has a choice of three engine specifications, the subtle 3.7 Ti-VCT V6 making 305 horses then, you have the 2.7-liter twin-turbo V6 making 335 horses and 380 pound-feet of torque and the wild 3-liter twin turbo V6 delivering 400 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque.

The Continental has 4 trim levels which are named as Premiere, Select, Reserve and Black Label with prices being $45,160, $49,370, $54,785 and $69,630 respectively. There are three engine specifications available under the hood. First is a 305 horsepower 3.7 Liter naturally aspirated V6 which comes on Premier and Select trims, second is a 2.7-liter twin-turbo V6 making 335 horsepower and 380 pound-feet of torque. this engine is standard on top 2 trims of the continental.

Trims	Premier	Select	Reserve	Black Label
MSRP (FWD)	$45,160	$49,370	$54,785	$69,630
MSRP (AWD)	$47,160	$51,370	$56,785	$71,630
Features	SYNC 3   3.7L Ti-VCT V6 Engine Dual-Zone Electronic Automatic Temperature Control	Bridge of Weir Deepsoft Leather Seats   Hands-free Power Trunk Lid Lincoln Experience	Driver/Passenger Heated & Ventilated Seats   BLIS (Blind spot Information System) PowerFold Rear Head Restraints	2.7L Twin-Turbocharged V6 engine   Venetian Leather Seats Tri-zone electronic automatic temperature control

The third powertrain is a Lincoln exclusive twin Turbocharged 3-liter twin turbo V6 bringing a total of 400 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque to the wheels. Regardless of engine choice, every model comes paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission with front wheel drive and all-wheel-drive being standard.

We Recommend

Lincoln Continental was considered an American icon when it came out. If you want a piece of the rich history, Lincoln Reserve trim will serve you the best. Not only it gets all the necessary advanced safety features, the potent engine, and the best sound system but also the creature comfort interior features. It does come at a price of $54,785 for FWD and $2000 dearer for all-wheel-drive version.

“It’s smooth, quiet and packs plenty of power to get the Continental moving smartly. Off the line, acceleration is acceptable when left in Drive, but when you push the Sport button on the push-button transmission controls, the powertrain wakes up. Accelerator response becomes much more immediate, lower gears are held longer and the big car feels noticeably quicker.”-Cars.com

Engine and Transmission

Lincoln Continental is powered by a 3.7 Liter Variable Continuous Timing (VCT) V6 engine that produces 305 horses with 280 lb.-ft of torque. It is mated to a 6-speed automatic. Starting with a price tag of $45,160 for the base premier trim, it does feel expensive but with a lot of equipment on offer makes the cost justifiable.

Model	Lincoln Continental Premier	Cadillac XTS	Lexus GS 350	Genesis G80 Standard
MSRP	$45,160	$47,390	$50,390	$41,750
Engine	3.7L Ti-VCT V6	3.6L SIDI DOHC V6	3.5L V6 24V DOHC	3.8L DOHC 24-valve V6
Transmission	6-Speed Automatic	6-Speed Automatic	8-Speed Automatic	8-Speed Automatic
Power	305 hp	304 hp	311 hp	311 hp
Torque	280 lb-ft	264 lb-ft	280 lb-ft	293 lb-ft

Comparing it to the competition, the Lexus GS 350 and Genesis G80 are a notch above Cadillac and the Lincoln. Both are offering an 8-speed automatic transmission. Lexus GS 350 is powered by 3.5 V6 engine producing 311 horses and 280 lb.-ft of torque. On the other hand, Genesis G80 offers the top of the line 3.8 Liter V6 also generating 311 horses but with 293 lb.-ft of torque which is best among the competitors.

Acceleration

Lincoln has naturally aspirated V6 engine which delivers 305 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. It does 0-60mph in 6.8 sec and a quarter mile time of 14.9 seconds. That’s pretty quick for a car of such size.

Model	Lincoln Continental Premier	Cadillac XTS	Lexus GS 350	Genesis G80 Standard
0–60 mph	6.8 sec	6.9 sec	6.1 sec	6.4 sec
Quarter Mile	14.9 sec	15.3 sec	13.8 sec	14.7 sec
Engine	3.7L	3.6L	3.5L	3.8L
Emission (Tons/yr of CO2 Emissions @ 15K mi/year)	8.8	8.0	7.7	8.0

In comparison, Lexus GS 350 is quick to 0-60 MPH in about 6.1 seconds. Genesis having the most powerful engine clocks in at 6.4 seconds which takes second place. Quarter mile time of Lexus is quicker than the rest at 13.8 seconds. Rest of the cars take over 14.5 seconds in the quarter-mile run.

Handling and steering

Lincoln Continental is a luxury sedan and not a race car so presumably, it’s an everyday car and it excels in that department. Lincoln is tuned for comfort as most of the people are going to be in the back seat. The suspension provides for a plush and subtle ride. There is a sports mode but what’s the point of rushing a car that is tuned only for luxury.

Handling with safety features such as 360-degree camera, adaptive cruise control, lane monitoring etc. make it a breeze while handling this luxury yacht on wheels. It doesn’t feature a more advanced semi-autonomous drive which rival models do have but it should have been standard here too ion this vehicle.

Braking

Lincoln is a big vehicle and to stop that kind of a size and weight, you need to have big brakes that you can depend upon for that peace of mind drive. The car has ventilated discs, 13.9 inches in the front and 13.6 in the rear. Lincoln is pretty heavy at 4224 pounds, close to 2 tons. It takes about 110 meters to stop the hurling of Lincoln from 60-0 MPH.

Model	Lincoln Continental Premier	Cadillac XTS	Lexus GS 350	Genesis G80 Standard
60 – 0 mph	110	116	119	109
Curb Weight (lbs.)	4224	4021	3726	4195
Brake (Front)	13.9	13.6	13.1	13.6
Brake (Rear)	13.6	12.4	12.2	12.4

Against the competition, Lincoln is the heaviest at 4224 pounds. Lexus is the lightest at 3726 pounds but takes about 119 meters to stop from 60-0MPH which is pretty bad. Small rotors at the back and front might be the reason for such delayed braking power. Genesis fairs the best when it comes to braking. 109 meters stopping distance from 60-0MPH is impressive to see as it does weigh close to the Lincoln at 4195 pounds.

Having a V6 engine has its pros and cons, like performance is exceptional but when it comes to fuel economy, it is pretty low. Lincoln continental does 17MPG in the city, 26 MPG on the highway and 20 MPG on a combined city and highway driving circle.

Model	Lincoln Continental Premier	Cadillac XTS	Lexus GS 350	Genesis G80 Standard
MPG (City)	17	19	20	19
MPG (Hwy)	26	28	28	27
MPG (Combined)	20	22	23	22

Lexus is the best among competitors when it comes to fuel economy. It does 20 MPG in the city, 28 MPG on the highway and 23 MPG on a combined driving cycle of city and highway driving. The Cadillac XTS and Genesis are at par with each other with 19 MPG in the city, 28 MPG and 27 MPG respectively on the highway and 22 MPG in the combined driving cycle.

“Between the highly adjustable seats, adaptive suspension and heated-and-cooled everything, we still expected more. Seat adjustment is unnecessarily complex, and the suspension isn’t as refined as we’d like. There’s certainly comfort to be had, but at the price competitors offer more.”-Edmunds

Seating and comfort

Looking inside the cabin has a very rich appearance which is no doubt helped by this car’s light color scheme. The seat control buttons are Mercedes style. In the Select and Premier trims, the seats are 10-way power adjustable whereas in the Reserve and Black Label have 24-way adjusting seats. Three-person memory seats are also standard. All windows are one-touch automatic.

Lincoln Continental is a 5-seater sedan. The space in the front and the rear is super. It has a passenger volume of 106.4 cubic feet. Headroom and legroom in the front and rear are pretty good, owing to its comfortable yet bold design language. Shoulder room is 58.3 in the front and 55.9 inches at the back.

Model	Lincoln Continental Premier	Cadillac XTS	Lexus GS 350	Genesis G80 Standard
Passenger Capacity	5	5	5	5
Passenger Volume (Ft.3)	106.4	104.2	99.0	107.7
Headroom (Front/Rear) (in.)	39.3/37.7	39.0/37.8	38.0/37.8	41.1/38.2
Legroom (Front/Rear) (in.)	44.4/41.3	42.1/40.0	42.3/36.8	45.7/35.0
Shoulder Room (Front/Rear) (in.)	58.3/55.9	57.9/56.3	57.3/55.7	58.3/57.1

In comparison, Genesis G80 has the biggest space in passenger volume at 107.7 cubic feet. Continental has 106.4 cubic feet of space which are pretty close to the G80. While the Lexus GS has the least space. Genesis G80 also betters Lincoln continental in terms of Headroom, legroom and shoulder room. Cadillac XTS and Lexus GS 350 are almost close to each other in space but Lexus has least available legroom at the rear.

At the back, there is a lot of padded leather which shows its continuity of materials from the front of the vehicle. You have massive legroom and headroom owing to its comfortable yet bold design language. Centre armrest at the back has 2 cupholders and also some storage space under the elbow rest.

Infotainment

The Sync 3 system is nothing different except it has a brown screen for Lincoln and blue for ford. It has a really good response when you swipe and pinch. There are 6 main buttons on the screen Audio, which controls your music, Climate, which controls your ventilation system of the car, Phone, all contacts, and Bluetooth functions are under this tab, Satellite Navigation, Apps button, this car comes with both android auto and apple car play features and lastly the settings which you can do as per your liking.

The climate control is dual-zone automatic. The controls are easy to use since they are large and well labeled. You also get heated seats, rear parking camera with guidance, auto hold parking brake, front and rear parking sensors etc. The car has a 10-speaker audio system as standard but it also has a choice of 13-speaker Revel sound system that comes in reserve trim or a more powerful Revel Ultima with 19-speaker in the black label trim.

Cargo Space

In the cargo department, the rear seat has a 60/40 split flat configuration. The trunk of the continental is large at 16.7 cubic feet. The 60/40 split allows more space to carry luggage.

Model	Lincoln Continental Premier	Cadillac XTS	Lexus GS 350	Genesis G80 Standard
Trunk Vol. (Ft.3)	16.7	18.0	18.4	15.3

In comparison, Lexus GS has the largest trunk at 18.4 cubic feet which is humongous. The Cadillac XTS has 18 cubic feet of cargo volume which earns him 2^nd place in trunk volume capacity. Genesis G80 gets the last place with 15.3 cubic feet.

Among the Continental’s most notable design elements are the E-latch electronic door handles, situated in the beltline just below the windows and sitting stationary. Rather than pulling them, you simply reach and press a button to open.”- KelleyBlueBook

Dimensions and Weight

Lincoln is a big car. It is 201.4 inches in length, 75.3 inches in width and 58.5 inches in height. Ground clearance is 5.5 inch which is low but decent for a car of this size.  Wheelbase is 117.9 inches which provide ample amount of knee room and interior space for the comfort of the driver and passengers.

Model	Lincoln Continental Premier	Cadillac XTS	Lexus GS 350	Genesis G80 Standard
Curb Weight (lbs.)	4224	4021	3726	4195
Wheelbase (in)	117.9	111.7	112.2	118.5
Length (in)	201.4	200.9	192.1	196.5
Width (in)	75.3	72.9	72.4	74.4
Height (in)	58.5	59.4	57.3	58.3
Ground Clearance (in)	5.5	5.0	5.1	5.3
Track Width – Front (in)	63.2	61.7	62.0	64.1
Track Width – Rear (in)	64.1	62.0	62.6	65.3

When comparing it to competitors, Lincoln is the longest, widest and has the best ground clearance in the segment, which means guaranteed road presence, ample space for passengers in the cabin and goes over many potholes and crosses undulation in the road surface. The closest that comes to Lincoln in terms of length and height is the Cadillac XTS. In terms of wheelbase, the Genesis has 118.5 inch which is biggest in the segment meaning high on interior space.

Exterior Features

• BI-Functional HID’s with LED DRL
• Active grille shutters
• 10-spoke alloy wheels
• Lincoln badge grill

The car comes equipped with pretty decent safety features like a rear-view camera, post-collision safety system, and front and rear airbags. Some of the standard safety features that come with Lincoln continental are:

• Auto Delay-Off Headlights
• Dual Front And Dual Rear Side-Mounted Airbags
• Engine Immobilizer
• Traction Control
• Post-Collision Safety System
• Front And Rear Ventilated Disc Brakes
• Passenger Airbag Occupant Sensing Deactivation
• Rear Center 3-Point Belt
• Child Safety Locks
• Rear Multi-Adjustable Headrests
• Turn Signal Mirrors
• Blind-Spot And Lane Departure Warnings Accident Avoidance System

The car, however, fails to add more good features like lane assist, adaptive cruise control, and blind-spot monitoring as standard which could’ve made it a lot better than the rivals.

IIHS ratings

Moving onto safety ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety the Lincoln Continental scored the highest rating in every one of the tests making it top safety pick. It is important to remember that active safety technologies are only available on reserve and black label as a part of 4200 tech pack.

Crashworthiness
Small overlap front driver side	Good
Small overlap front Passenger side	Good
Moderate overlap front	Good
Roof strength	Good
Head restraints & seats	Good
Head restraints & seats	Good

 

Crash Prevention and Mitigation
Frontal Crash Prevention	Superior
Headlights	Good
Child Seat Anchors	Acceptable

NHSTA Ratings

The 2018 Lincoln Continental has performed excellently in the safety tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The car received 5-star ratings in 11 out of 12 safety tests conducted.

Overall Rating	5 Star
Overall Frontal Barrier Crash Rating	5 Star
Frontal Barrier Crash Rating Driver	5 Star
Frontal Barrier Crash Rating Passenger	5 Star
Overall Side Crash Rating	5 Star
Side Barrier Rating	5 Star
Side Barrier Rating Driver	5 Star
Side Barrier Rating Passenger Rear Seat	5 Star
Side Pole Rating Driver Front Seat	5 Star
Combined Side Rating Front Seat	5 Star
Combined Side Rating Rear Seat	5-Star
Rollover Rating	4 Star

 

Genesis G80 vs Lincoln Continental 

Between these 2 luxury saloons, the Genesis G80 has an upper hand. For the enhanced safety of passengers, the Genesis G80 offers Anti-whiplash front head restraints, height adjustable seatbelts and pre-crash pre-tensioners which are not available in Lincoln Continental. With an excellent engine and fuel economy paired with a brilliant 8-speed auto transmission in the Genesis G80 makes it a better package than Lincoln Continental.

Lexus GS350 vs Lincoln Continental 

Lincoln Continental might be the largest in terms of dimensions but Lexus has a lot to offer. As a brand, Lexus is known to make cars that last a lifetime whereas we can’t say like that for the Lincoln. In terms of reliability, Lexus is preferred. With an 8-speed automatic transmission and a high revving V6 engine, it gets decent fuel economy which turns the tide in favor of GS 350. Lincoln might be priced cheaper than GS 350 and has a slight edge in passenger space but Lexus GS 350 as an overall package is a better saloon.

Cadillac XTS vs Lincoln Continental 

The Cadillac XTS and the 2018 Lincoln Continental are pretty much comparable in terms of their engines, transmissions, dimensions etc. Even the passenger space is almost identical in the two. But there are key differences also. The trunk of Cadillac is larger than that of the Continental. XTS also offers an optional automatic rear load leveling suspension to keep the ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. Also, in terms of maneuverability, Cadillac has an edge over the Lincoln. Fuel Economy wise, Cadillac has 2 MPG more than Lincoln.

Lincoln Continental tries to relive the glory of the past as a large, imposing luxury sedan with presence. It has loads of space and a good level of technology and safety with plenty of optional packages to make your continental a custom one. Performance is also good with the choice of 3 engines and comes with front-wheel-drive as standard across all trims. For the AWD, you will have to spend $2000 extra which should not be a problem for people who was both comfort and performance in their car. However, Continental lacks the interior features, performance and also it isn’t a fuel saver which its rivals offer better.