2017 Lincoln Continental – Test Drive, Review, Ratings, Specs

Elegance on Wheels

Nowadays, good looks and feel just doesn’t cut it when you’re out to compete in the luxury arena. Primarily dominated by the European market, the Germans and the like are offering road performance on top of soft leather and sleek looks. That’s why Ford is putting all its marbles on the table to bet that the Lincoln Continental’s got the goods to meet the high demands of the rich crowd.

A Gentlemen’ Wardrobe

It’s some form of classical elegance with a futuristic touch and the dress form is gentlemen’ maturity. You get the Bentley-style mixed in with a Jaguar’esque front grille with swift chrome lines gently embodying its scrumptious exterior. The sharp corners along with its bulged front hood and compressed rear calls for a visual specimen that assures sportiness with a hint of aggression. Adding to that is a series of precision grade emblems and unique badges that make no mistakes of its authoritative identity. It really is a thing of unique beauty that will greatly please those with attention to detail.

If ten way seat adjustability isn’t enough, how about 30? That’s right, the front Lincoln Continental seats will let you to adjust your seats pretty much to any possible position in 3D space via 15 switches mounted on the door panel. oh yea, it’s even got customizable lumbar and lateral support and it can even offer massages through an air-inflated bladder built into the seats for added comfort.

Quality leather stitching is evident anywhere you touch within the cabin space, and the raw wood grain used on the door panel along with polished mahogany panels on the center console adds a nice interior accent in both looks and feel. The entire center console is tidied up with its gear shifter represented by a vertically stacked button set. As cool as it sounds, the experience was more of a cheap thrill with its springy and long travel button travel feel that also lead to lack of assurance in which gear I actually selected. Attention to detail on that part would’ve elevated the driving experience.

A Lust for Power

Our tester gets a glorified twin turbo 3.0L V6 engine that produces 400 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque. The power is certainly felt when launching off of standstill, but in some cases, there’s just too much power for it to handle. There were instances where there was chugging when putting too much accelerating pressure on the Continental.

Drivers are provided with three drive modes that include comfort, normal and sport where each mode adjusts its suspension damping rate and steering efficiency to best suit the drive mode it’s selected.

Overall, if not pushed too hard, the Continental is a pleasant driving experience. There’s excellent noise insulation and its adaptive suspensions do a pretty decent job in filtering out road chatter. And the Revel Ultima 19-speaker audio system really does adds a nice touch towards an enjoyable ride with crisp and clear sound of your favorite tunes.

Price wise, expect to pay top dollar. Our tester comes priced in at $77,650 with all said and done. Fuel economy is what you would expect from a performance oriented V6 with EPA ratings at 16/24/19 mpg in the city, highway and combined. The Lincoln Continental is also available with a 2.0L or a 2.0 Hybrid model if smaller engine and better fuel efficiency is what your heart calls out for.

Specifications

• Vehicle : 2017 Lincoln Continental
• Vehicle Type : Sedan
• Seating Capacity : 2+3
• Powertrain Configuration : FWD
• Engine : 3.0L V6
• Transmission : 6 speed automatic
• Fuel Economy: 16/24/19 mpg city, highway, and combined

Pros

• Elgant and sporty exterior styling
• Aggressive acceleration
• Unique styling

Cons

• Ride comfort not optimal
• High price tag for luxury item