2013 Lincoln MKZ

This started out as a relatively straightforward story about the 2013 Lincoln MKZ and whether we think the MKZ is up to its Herculean task of convincing the car-buying public that it’s more than just another warmed-over Ford. Then the following four words came into play: Michelin Pilot Super Sport. So what are sports car tires doing on an entry-level luxury sedan like the MKZ? Good question, but whatever the reason, the sticky rubber certainly helped generate some damn impressive test numbers. Try 106 feet to stop from 60 mph (1 foot better than the 2013 Mustang GT!), 0.91 g on the skidpad (just 0.03 g shy of the Mustang!), and a 26.5-second time in our figure eight.

While its sub-110-foot braking figure can be attributed in part to the cheater tires, the MKZ’s handling number isn’t that inflated. We recently tested a 2013 Ford Fusion Titanium AWD with the same 2.0-liter EcoBoost turbo-four with 240 horsepower and 270 lb-ft of torque mated to a six-speed automatic as the MKZ we just tested. While the Ford didn’t come with the fancy Lincoln Drive Control chassis system (it actively adjusts the suspension, steering, transmission, and traction and stability control), the Fusion managed a solid 0.84 g on the figure eight on more pedestrian Continental ContiProContacts. The Super Sports also helped the 200-pound-heavier Lincoln slightly beat the Fusion’s acceleration figures with times of 6.6 seconds in the 0-60 sprint and 15.0 seconds through the quarter mile. Of course, there’s a downside. In this case, excessive tire noise. Had Lincoln fitted our MKZ with more conventional tires -- our friends at Tire Rack list the Michelin Primacy MXM4 as the MKZ’s standard rubber -- the ride would certainly have been quieter and the test results more conventional. Still, the AWD MKZ is easily the best-driving Lincoln in some time, and possibly ever. It’s no BMW 3 Series or Cadillac ATS, nor should anyone expect it to be, given its luxury cruiser leanings, but the suspension has a good amount of front roll stiffness and the steering has more weight to it than expected, though there’s not much feel to it.