2020 Lincoln MKZ

The 2020 Lincoln MKZ is a feature-packed sedan that may put some luxury ones to shame but just having features doesn’t cut it in this cut-throat segment. The Lincoln MKZ comes at a base price tag of $37,750 and goes all the way up to $45,500. The two different drivetrains: FWD & AWD lets one choose a trim that would be suitable for his/her needs. A car needs to be near perfect in almost every category and the Lincoln MKZ isn’t. with rivals like the Kia Stinger, Volkswagen Arteon, and Cadillac CT5 it is going to be difficult for this century-old brand.

We generally see very basic and only necessary features in the base trims of most cars but the Lincoln MKZ has some crazy things to offer. The car comes in 2 trims, Standard and Reserve, there is an optional package called Reserve II as well. The base trim gets Adaptive Xenon headlights, how many cars have you seen in this price range to get adaptive headlights? We are sure that Lincoln wants to attract as many people as possible but now it is too late for all that. Another bonkers feature on the standard trim is the adaptive suspension, like what the engineers are thinking of Lincoln. This feature a few years ago would have killed it in the segment. 

This isn’t it, we generally have to spend more on heated and memory seats even on the high-end cars, at least for the memory function but it's all standard on the MKZ. This feature set is downright insane but as we said, the train has left already. The Reserve trim gets genuine leather upholstery and ambient lighting, another out-of-the-box feature for this segment. The Reserve II trim is crazier than this, it gets ventilated seats and a 14-speaker stereo. You can even get the optional Twin-turbo V6 engine on this trim. This has to be one of the best feature-loaded cars we have come across in a long time.

Optional Packages:

• Convenience ($1800) – 110-volt household-style power outlet, ambient lighting, power-folding mirrors, power trunk lid with soft closing, leather-wrapped steering wheel, voice-activated navigation system.
• 19-inch wheel ($720) – 19-inch machined alloy wheels
• Elements ($720) – ventilated/ heated seats with heated steering wheel 
• Luxury ($2700) – 20-speaker sound system, multi-contour front seats
• Optional Engine ($2700) – 3.0-L, Twin-Turbo V-6 gas engine
• Glass Roof ($1800) – panoramic glass sunroof

We Recommend

The top trim Reserve seems like a lucrative option but see the price difference before anything. If you can live without the cruise control and steering adjustment then getting the base trim with several options is a practical call. You are getting heated and memory seats and with packages they can be ventilated as well and the other remaining packages complete the car, almost.

Lincoln has put up all the possible options for the buyers, the casual drivers, and even the enthusiast will be satisfied with the 2.0L, Turbo engine. The engine produces a respectable 245hp & 275 lb-ft of torque which is more than enough to move this car with ease filled with passengers. But try accelerating too hard or overtake in split seconds, this won’t do it. The standard engine is only made for comfortable driving while achieving a good fuel economy. 

Now the optional 3.0L, Twin-Turbo, V6 engine produces 350hp & 400 lb-ft and it feels like it has too much power for this car. This causes heavy torque steering while quick acceleration, this can be overcome with an AWD setup and that option gets the power bumped up by 50 hp as well. So basically, you get a 400hp car but the driving dynamics are just not great to handle this much power. The 6-speed automatic transmission is standard on all cars and it works great and delivers smooth shifts.

The Kia Stinger even though has a similarly powered engine is the quickest among all the cars. The 2.0L engine on the MKZ is not meant for brutal accelerations but it does fairly well in the segment. The optional V6 engines on all the cars are the point of attraction and in that case, the Lincoln MKZ in the Reserve II trim provides the most powerful among all, 400 hp to be precise. Where all the others hover around 370 hp.

How well does the 2020 Lincoln MKZ handle?

The 2020 Lincoln MKZ does have modern car traits like a numb and light steering wheel providing zero feedback but this also helps to maneuver in the cities. This setup won’t be much appreciated by enthusiasts but for everyone else, it just compliments the luxurious nature of the car. There are driving modes provided in the car but those don’t alter much of the driving dynamics. 

The adaptive suspension setup makes driving the MKZ a relatively sporty experience while keeping the seating comfort to the max and road/ wind noise to a minimum. It feels composed in most driving conditions and never ever feels like it will lose control. The weight of the car is the culprit in not being more agile but this isn’t the point here. The MKZ is made for comfortable and relaxed driving and it does that just fine.

2020 Lincoln MKZ Braking Performance

The 2020 Lincoln MKZ comes with relatively smaller brakes in the segment with 12.4 inches of rotors in the front and 12.6 inches of rotors behind rear wheels, but the brake pedal is very communicative and does give a confident braking performance. The response and feel of the brake pedal make it very easy to use even in stop-and-go traffic. The setup brings the car to a complete halt in 113 feet while cruising at a speed of 60 mph.

The Lincoln MKZ may not be the lightest vehicle in the segment but its braking system does its job perfectly and makes this car stop under 113 feet while cruising at 60 mph, whereas the Volkswagen Arteon and Cadillac CT5 stop within 114 feet while having a somewhat lighter chassis and bigger rotors. The rotors size of Kia Stinger GT-Line and Cadillac are corresponding to each other but the lighter chassis of Kia should grant it an upper edge and should provide this vehicle a greater braking ability than others.

The Lincoln MKZ is a mid-size luxury sedan and once they mention luxury everything starts feeling expensive for no solid reason. The fuel economy on this car is fine but the rivals are offering much better numbers. The base engine returns 24 MPG combined. The optional V6 engine takes this further low with 18/27/21 city/highway/combined. The fuel tank on the base trim is smaller compared to the 18-gallons on the V6 trim. Lincoln has really put some thought behind their every action.

The power figures of Lincoln are decent and fall just between the specs of Cadillac & Kia, while the performance of Lincoln MKZ isn’t up to the mark and it’s even the worst in this category. As per its power and performance figures, the Lincoln MKZ does stand up to its economic numbers and just like its performance, it also disappoints us in this section too. Whereas the most powerful Volkswagen with the best performance also succeeded with the fuel efficiency of 25 mpg in combined conditions, on the other hand, Cadillac CT5 leads the list with 26 mpg.

This could probably be the weakest spot in this car. Even though it says luxury sedan it doesn’t feel like one at least in the standard package. The dashboard design is way too old considering the kind of interiors we get nowadays. There isn’t any floating infotainment screen or any high gloss panels, everything feels like made to take a beating. One good thing about this cabin is that it doesn’t feel cluttered with switches and knobs, everything is well centered on the dashboard and the switches are rather bigger than on most cars.

The seats are upholstered in vinyl leather and are comfortable with more than enough power adjustability on offer. The optional contoured seats with ventilation and massage functions make this car feel luxurious. The optional ambient lighting and leather upholstery do make things a lot better and suit the luxury nomenclature. The second-row ingress is a little tight due to that sloping roof and smaller than usual doors but once inside the overall space is good. Yes, some people might have some issues with the headroom but just scoot down a little and you’ll be fine.

The interior of these rivals’ cars is much better than on the Lincoln. Especially on the Volkswagen car the straight lines and shapes make it more appealing than the usual curvy dashes we see. Kia Stinger has taken some notes to form the new Mercedes interior as you yourself will say the exact same thing at first glance. Only the Cadillac and Lincoln feel out of date in terms of the design and feel. Standout interior features are:

• Ambient lighting
• Multi-Contour seats
• 20-speaker sound system
• Leather upholstery
• Heated/ventilated/massaging seats

How intuitive is the infotainment system?

The standard infotainment unit on the Lincoln MKZ contains an 8-inch touch screen and an 11-speaker Lincoln Sound system. smartphone integration with Android Auto & Apple CarPlay is standard for all cars. The Reverse trim gets a better 14-speaker sound system with voice-activated navigation.

The touch screen is responsive and intuitive to use and is much better than older MYLincoln touch systems. Standout infotainment features are:

• 8-inch touch screen
• 11/14-speaker sound system
• SiriusXM
• Bluetooth
• Satellite radio
• Android Auto & Apple CarPlay

We didn’t like the interior of this car much but now the exterior design is really appealing and looks modern enough. You might be able to find some design cues from the Ford Fusion overall in this segment the design language of most cars is pretty similar except a few. The front end of the MKZ looks classy with that big grille and a headlight housing that isn’t playing around with shapes. Being a luxury car there is some chrome cladding around the fog lamps and some on the lower bumper. 

Lincoln has opted for that low-slung roofline just like Sportback and that does make it look sportier from the side profile. The rear end of the car is quite edgy looking with that Dodge-style tail light setup and the trunk lid protruded out a bit. Overall the Lincoln MKZ is a mixture of elegant styling at the front and sportiness at the back.

The 2020 Lincoln MKZ is the heaviest one in the house while the 2020 Kia Stinger GT-Line is the lightest but all three Kia, Cadillac, and Volkswagen fall under the same weight range of around 3625 pounds. Lincoln MKZ is also the longest and widest which ensures superior cabin space than others while its shorter wheelbase of 112.2 inches grants it a better turning ability at corners while the wide stance keeps the body roll to a minimum. Volkswagen Arteon may have 111.7 inches of wheelbase but the higher ground clearance and slightly less width than Lincoln won’t avoid the body roll. Standout exterior features are:

• Chrome window sills and front fascia
• Super wide tail light
• Xenon headlights
• 19-inch wheels

The crashworthiness of the Lincoln MKZ is great as the NHTSA has given it a 5-star rating for overall safety. The front crash ratings are at 4 stars overall and 3-stars for the passenger but the driver side has survived the crash with full marks. The car has got full 5-stars in the side crash tests as well. The MKZ missed the Top Safety Pick by just a little due to Marginal/Poor headlight ratings. Those adaptive headlights didn’t help it get through it seems. The rest of the categories have received Good ratings including an active safety system suite. Standout safety features include:

• Automatic emergency braking
• Lane departure warning
• Lane keep assist
• Blindspot monitor
• Adaptive cruise control
• Adaptive headlights

2020 Lincoln MKZ vs 2020 Kia Stinger GT-Line

The Kia Stinger is almost a sports car on a budget, the design language itself screams high performance all over. The interior on the Kia is much better compared to the Lincoln, our luxury sedan. At the base trim, both cars come with a 2.0L engine for fuel economy and both cars can have a V6 engine as an option as well. The Kia Stinger is cheaper to start with but has a superb sporty appeal whereas the Lincoln MKZ is more aimed towards families who don’t have any specific needs.

2020 Lincoln MKZ vs 2020 Volkswagen Arteon

Every inch of this Volkswagen sedan is pretty both inside and outside. The design language of European cars has always been successful in keeping them timeless. The cabin of the Arteon is futuristic yet doesn't look like it's ahead of its time. Both the cars come with adaptive suspensions and both of them feel compliant to drive. but the steering wheel on the Arteon is more precise than the Lincoln so if you want a better handling car then the Volkswagen Arteon might fit your criteria.

2020 Lincoln MKZ vs 2020 Cadillac CT5

The Cadillac CT5 is a close to muscle car experience, not for performance but for its brawny looks. In terms of handling the Cadillac is set for comfort and the suspension setup is soft and that translates into not-so-accurate driving dynamics overall. The CT5 triumphs in the fuel economy but the rest of the package is quite similar to the Lincoln. If you want a big, muscular car that happens to be very economical as well, look no further than the Cadillac CT5

Time has slipped past for Lincoln now and no matter how hard they try it's difficult to resurrect their product. Lincoln has managed to design a pretty-looking car that also has many features but the fact that the future of this machine has been decided already makes it harder to recommend. Some might wonder what’s the logic behind not buying a car that's gonna be discontinued, but it's all in the buyer's head and the future discontinuation of this car will surely affect its sales. If you don’t believe in such things then the 2020 Lincoln MKZ is quite a luxurious offering with a pretty affordable price tag.