2017 Continental test drive

[brucelinc]

http://www.applevalleylincoln.com/new/Lincoln/2017-Lincoln-Continental-5ba627070a0e0a17335d16bd2d3be6c7.htm?searchDepth=1:68

 

I spent the last 2 hours or so looking at every nook and cranny of a new Continental and taking it for a test drive. The car was the base Premier series with the standard 3.7 engine but it did have AWD. Being the base model, I couldn't evaluate the 24 or 30 way power seats, the turbo engines, the cinching door locks, upgraded sound system, etc, but I did get a good feel for many other aspects of the car. I had recently test driven a couple of different MKZ's and my current daily driver is an MKS ecoboost so I could make some good comparisons.

 

First of all, I found the overall fit & finish to be excellent. Although the seating is not real leather on the base model, it felt very soft and very high quality. Panel gaps were tight and consistent. Even with just the 10 way seats and power tilt/telescope wheel, I was able to get quite comfortable. The only aspect of the interior that perhaps didn't exceed my expectations was that the dash top was not quite as soft as I would have expected. The door panels are very nice but the top of the dash is rather hard by comparison. The e-latch doors are very cool. Touch the button and the doors open seamlessly. Although the car I drove did not have the cinching doors, they do close with a very nice "thuck," much better than the MKZ. Rear seat room is great - much better than the MKZ or MKS.

 

They have done an excellent job of noise isolation in this car. I started it and adjusted the ride control, dash layout, seats, etc. and if not for for the fact that I KNEW it was running, the engine could not be heard of felt. Likewise, driving the car over choppy city streets or smooth freeway, the silence is notable. It is much quieter than the MKZ or my MKS. Tire thump is nearly absent and there is virtually no wind noise. I tried the Comfort, normal and sport modes and really found the ride to be very smooth in all of them. Sport firms things up but it is not harsh at all and the noise level remains very muted. Although the car is larger than an MKZ, it doesn't feel ponderous at all. While roomier inside than my MKS, it actually drives smaller and is more nimble.

 

Frankly, being used to a tuned Ecoboost, I expected the 3.7 to be a bit of a dog. However, I was pleasantly surprised at its acceleration and pleasing sound when prodded. It would likely please a good number of buyers and is much more refined and powerful than the 2.0 Turbo in the MKZ. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if the lower level series Continental steals some sales from the MKZ. The Sales Manager with whom I was dealing had just returned from San Francisco where he drove several different Continentals and he assured me that the 2.7 and 3.0 are even quieter and more refined than the 3.7 and are vastly more powerful.

 

Overall, I was very impressed with the new Conti. I think it will be a hit with the older clientele as well as younger buyers. It looks very sophisticated, if a bit conservative. There really isn't a bad line on it but I can't really say it breaks any new ground in the styling department either. I think a fully loaded Reserve series with the 3.0 would look just fine in my garage, though

 

 

[BORG]

Nice write-up! Definitely not a fan of that black and glossy wood interior combination, but that suits their traditional audience perfectly. I know allot of Town Car fans will be happy with the Continental. I definitely don't feel the styling, it's just not for me. I have deep pockets but the Continental style is just too livery for my taste and as much as I like the luxury they have to put it into something that has allot more style and excitement. If this is the direction all their products are going, I'm just going to lose interest. But I hope they find much greater success with it.

Edited September 19, 2016 by BORG

[brucelinc]

Currently the color and grain of the wood is dependent upon the interior color choice. It would be nice if the customer could choose whatever wood type they want with the interior color of their choice.

 

I agree that the exterior design is conservative. Personally, I prefer that to Cadillac's busy looking design. In fact, I think the front end of about any Caddy is hideous.

 

On Lincoln's facebook page, there are a number of posts from people wanting them to bring back the Town Car. Those people should love the Continental. My hope, for Lincoln's sake is that it appeals to more people than just the Town Car folks. I think it will.

[BORG]

Currently the color and grain of the wood is dependent upon the interior color choice. It would be nice if the customer could choose whatever wood type they want with the interior color of their choice.

 

I agree that the exterior design is conservative. Personally, I prefer that to Cadillac's busy looking design. In fact, I think the front end of about any Caddy is hideous.

 

On Lincoln's facebook page, there are a number of posts from people wanting them to bring back the Town Car. Those people should love the Continental. My hope, for Lincoln's sake is that it appeals to more people than just the Town Car folks. I think it will.

 

 

The Caddy is closer to what I'm looking for but far from the Audi, Mercedes, or BMW I would definitely prefer. But I'm primarily looking at Crossovers anyway so the sedans matter less. If I were to buy a sedan, Lincoln is the last place I would go, but their Crossovers are great and a little more stylish, for now anyway. I know they'll be toned down for the more conservative family look pretty soon which might work out well, we'll see...definitely doesn't float my boat on the Navigator concept. I lost my A-Plan anyway so now I don't feel the 'bargain' drive anymore to stay at Lincoln.

Edited September 19, 2016 by BORG

[brucelinc]

One other little tidbit: The Sales Manager who was in SF recently at a Lincoln event told me that they had a Mustang GT on hand to compare its acceleration with the 400 HP Continental. The video attached is my Sales Manager driving both.

 

Although they didn't video it, he told me that they did do a side-by-side drag race. The Continental beat the Mustang up to about 60 MPH and the the Mustang pulled ahead. I love dealership personnel who do the things I like to do!!

 

https://www.facebook.com/applefordlincoln/videos/737505356391610/

[silvrsvt]

I know allot of Town Car fans will be happy with the Continental.

 

Um most of the Town Car buyers are either dead or not driving any more because of their age.

[BORG]

 

Um most of the Town Car buyers are either dead or not driving any more because of their age.

 

 

Well, most Town Car Drivers are used car buyers but you hear from them ALLOT in the comments around Lincoln postings. But technically I think a substantial portion of Continental sales will be for livery or fleet duty and the Continental is perfectly designed for that (designed for passengers rather than drivers). But the Continental is very much a old-person car so it will attract the same clientele which is great since it's been an under serviced customer. The Continental is clearly designed not to appeal to younger affluent customers who typically buy German, it's very distinctly American old-school retro luxury with sedate and pillowy designs that scream 'soft and comfortable' instead of trendsetting or technical. I don't think there is anything wrong with Lincoln building a significantly older audience, that's their core brand image and I know they are trying to focus on that which is ultimately unique in the industry at this time. This will also work well in China which is where the brand's future really lies. And the great thing about these audiences is that they aren't interested in sophisticated and expensive chassis dynamics. They want the simplest form of Luxury, amenities and silence. This allows Lincoln to hide a cheap Ford chassis behind lots of isolation and focus the rest of the budget on the costumer facing amenities which is the brutal truth, but the customer ultimately sees far more value especially since dynamics aren't revealed until the car is pushed..which these customers won't do.

Edited September 21, 2016 by BORG

[MKII]

"cheap Ford chassis"??

[tbone]

Borg, you have made many assumptions about the car before you have even driven it. You seem to imply that the chassis wasn't good to start with. It's hard to say anything about the driving dynamics without much information out there. I'm not personally in the market for a car like this, but I do like it. If I had to complain about something, I would have liked to have seen a bigger screen in the center stack, and a higher gear count in the transmission, just for the optics of it. However, I don't think this will have a significant impact on its sales.

 

As an obervation, I don't believe 30 somethings are looking for full-size luxury cars, so isn't it safe to say that this car is probably targeting the right audience?

[brucelinc]

I also wonder how many luxury car buyers push their cars to the limit of its chassis dynamics. I suspect the AWD version with DTV and the summer tire option will more than satisfy all but those looking for a true sports sedan.

 

Most of the people I know with LS 460s, S Types, or 7 series wouldn't know an apex from applesauce. The Conti is not in that class, anyway.

[BORG]

"cheap Ford chassis"??

 

 

The Continental is built on the Ford Fusion platform and most of the cab is built upon a resized or strengthened version of the Fusion, no exotic materials or forming to keep the Continental light on its feet (other than lots of glue). Lincoln is also able to take Fusion chassis components and apply electronic dampers and controls to improve the experience while using the same hardware. It really is a brilliant and very low cost way of differentiating Lincoln which use to do this with much more bespoke components like Airbag suspensions or exotic materials like Magnesium for weight reduction. And the end result is the most expensive Lincoln developed in decades while still using all Ford underpinnings.

Edited September 21, 2016 by BORG

[tbone]

I don't believe the vast majority of buyers have any idea what chassis underpins their vehicle. Only enthusiasts know and/or care about such things.

[Trailhiker]

I think Lincoln really stepped up their game with the Continental, and will be fully entrenched in the large luxury sedan market this decade.

This may not seem so important now, with so much of the market heading to CUV/SUVs, but if we look 15 years out, I think the market will start to shift back again. By that time, all types of vehicles will be on, or going to AWD, electric, and assisted drive. With gas out of the equation, I believe more people will forgo small cars as their efficiency will not be such a strong selling point. The need to ride high in a SUV will also be negated by new technology allowing full view and all the techno-nannie systems. Keeping a strong presence in the market now, will only benefit Lincoln when the market shifts again.

[silvrsvt]

I don't believe the vast majority of buyers have any idea what chassis underpins their vehicle. Only enthusiasts know and/or care about such things.

 

Which why Lexus is so successful...I don't see anything innovative about their cars...which nearly all of them are underpinned by a cheaper Toyota or haven't had a major update in 10 plus years...

[akirby]

 

Which why Lexus is so successful...I don't see anything innovative about their cars...which nearly all of them are underpinned by a cheaper Toyota or haven't had a major update in 10 plus years...

 

All of the volume sellers at least (ES/RX/GX). The LS and GS and probably IS being the exceptions but they're relatively low volume.

[630land]

Isn't the new Continental on the full size Taurus platform, not Fusion?

 

And it is still a Ford Motor Co product, so don't expect completely "unique" everything. As someone above said Lexus does fine using Toyota components. Same with Audi and VW. Benz and Beemer are 'pedestrian' in Europe, btw.

 

And used car buyers contribute 0 cents to profits, so they can complain all they want, but retail new car buyers' opinions count.

Edited September 28, 2016 by 630land

[BORG]

The market won't shift back to large sedans in any meaningful way, at least in the US, but in China that market is growing, especially as livery vehicles. As a whole, the car market never regresses because it typically evolves into new categories which take over, SUVs have been a 'trend' for 30 years. I do think that most of the future for luxury sedans is in larger products, otherwise Crossovers will be chosen over smaller sedans. But I don't think Lincoln should have more than 2 or 3 sedans and the rest should be crossovers or something else. Lincoln has a harder time selling smaller cheaper products because that doesn't interest their customers who associate Lincoln with spaciousness and comfort instead of performance, and ultimately people don't buy Lincoln because of the brand name like you see with the Germans. Lincoln ultimately has a very confined customer reach and doesn't have the same growth potential of the other marques. I do think Lincoln will peak around 120,000 vehicles a year in the US once we hit the end of the decade, the rest is up to China.

 

The Continental is based on Taurus, which is a stretched Fusion.

Edited September 28, 2016 by BORG

[92merc]

Every indication is both the Continental and MKZ are on the Fusion platform. Continental is a stretched version though.

 

The D4 platform looks to be dead man walking. No official word as to its demise, but the writing is on the wall.

[akirby]

It's on the NEW Taurus platform (the one that's only going to China right now) which is the same platform (CD4) as the current Fusion, MKZ, Edge and MKX. It was enlarged for Continental and Taurus.

[akirby]

Explorer is moving to a new platform (presumably CD6) along with a new Aviator. Current Taurus for NA, Flex and MKT appear to be dead. D4 might continue for a short period for PIs and PIUs only but I expect those to also move to a new platform.

[BORG]

I think once Explorer moves to CD6, all D4s will be dropped. But it looks like all the D4 cars will be here for as long as 2020 which is when next-gen Explorer is expected. As long as D4 Explorer is in production, there is probably no reason to pull the plug on the other products which seems a little messy to me. But the MKT does get a new grille insert for 2017...it's REALLY cheaply done but it's something.

Edited September 28, 2016 by BORG

[fuzzymoomoo]

Isn't the new Continental on the full size Taurus platform, not Fusion?

 

And it is still a Ford Motor Co product, so don't expect completely "unique" everything. As someone above said Lexus does fine using Toyota components. Same with Audi and VW. Benz and Beemer are 'pedestrian' in Europe, btw.

 

And used car buyers contribute 0 cents to profits, so they can complain all they want, but retail new car buyers' opinions count.

No it's CD4 and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

[BORG]

It is a Fusion platform with a lengthened rear passenger floorplan, additional structural reinforcements in the rear, and a different mix of stronger and lighter steel with more adhesives. It's not as simple as saying it's a Fusion underneath but for the most part it's a very simple conversion and the rest is in the stuff that bolts to it. Compared to competitors in this class, Continental is definitely unique for it's fairly basic low cost underpinnings which will make it interesting to see what that platform can do.

Edited September 28, 2016 by BORG

[Sonny Van Sickle Jr]

Isn't the new Continental on the full size Taurus platform, not Fusion?

 

And it is still a Ford Motor Co product, so don't expect completely "unique" everything. As someone above said Lexus does fine using Toyota components. Same with Audi and VW. Benz and Beemer are 'pedestrian' in Europe, btw.

 

And used car buyers contribute 0 cents to profits, so they can complain all they want, but retail new car buyers' opinions count.

Used car buyers indirectly have influence . Once a new car comes off lease or is traded in the dealer has to sell it again. If the vehicle is a slow seller used, its price goes down until it is sold.Lower resale values result and this drives up the new car depreciation percentages. Some people use depreciation as a factor when purchasing a new vehicle. on the flip side, high used car prices can convince a used car buyer to purchase new . For example, why buy a used Lincoln when one can buy a comparably equipped new Ford for the same money and get the new car warranty.

My nephew has a used car lot. Average lot time for an Edge is 2 weeks at most, the same year Lincoln sat there for 2 monthes.

[BORG]

People concerned about deprecation typically don't 'buy' luxury cars anyway. Depreciation on luxury cars is significant, especially on non-SUVs.