Having been thoroughly updated for 2016, Lincoln isn’t letting any grass grow with its MKX luxury crossover. These are the first spy shots of what will likely be the 2019 MKX, and though it wears heavy camouflage on the front, we can see the redesign will ditch the current two-piece grille for a single affair similar to the new Continental. It also appears the manufacturer is going with a two-tier lighting arrangement up front, not unlike what we’ve seen on the Jeep Cherokee and the new Hyundai Kona.
The rest of the prototype suggests few other exterior changes, save for something in the works with the tail lights. Interior updates are likely to be similarly subtle, with Black Label editions almost a certainty. Power wise, the new MKX should continue with its EcoBoost V6 engine options though a new four-cylinder choice isn’t out of the question.
Whatever lurks beneath the hood, it will turn either the front wheels or all four, and General Motors might even step in with a jointly developed nine-speed automatic transmission replacing the current six-speed gearbox.
Lincoln would love to step up its presence in the luxury crossover segment. Though MKX sales have bumped up ever-so-slightly thus far through 2017 it still trails far behind the Cadillac XT5, not to mention German competition from BMW and Audi, the latter of which continues to enjoy record sales while other manufacturers are struggling. As crossover sales continue to expand, the segment is quickly becoming a key battleground area for manufacturers looking to stake a claim and Lincoln badly needs a win if it wants to remain competitive.
Lincoln will likely unveil the updated MKX later this year, or possibly in 2018 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Hmm, there are some Navigator details in that grille like the squarer/taller shape and LED light fixtures just below the headlamps. The headlamps also seem to follow the taller swepted-back shape of the Navigator as opposed to the thin and low shapes we have now. Should give the whole fascia a much more prominent upright SUV character...which might be at odds with the rest of the body...but we'll see.
I'm curious about the Edge update, that face needed an update the day it came out.
I don't think they are actually redesigning these features at all, they are just covered up by vinyl camo. They are not critical cosmetic features, they don't need to be exposed for testing. Like the MKZ I think the updates are centered entirely around the front-end.
OK, so I have seen the upgraded MKX several times now as well as the MKC, and I have to say, I am getting used to them. I was critical at first of the MKX, mostly because I really like the X front end. Personally, I was not a fan of the C front end, so this is an improvement imo. Verdict is still out for me on the X, but it is growing on me.
One of the things that I find encouraging about the back is that unless they've filled everything in with camo padding, it looks like they have filled in the lift-gate so it has a more wrap-around design which would be a huge improvement over the conflicting surface it has now. If they fix that design gripe and remove the acre of red plastic on on the rear fenders, I might be able to feel better about the business up front which I suspect I won't love. The MKX has had many ugly fascias however when you look back at it, my least favorite is still the 2011, but I have to admit they didn't look that ugly at the time. At least they keep iterating.
Anyway, enough about grilles, lets talk powertrains.
2.7L will be no more, and 400hp 3.0L will soon be top shelf engine. Which transmission is available at launch? I hope the 8 speed. Nice.....
The drivetrain upgrades will certainly make up for any design quibbles. The drivetrain, black label, and option upgrades will also help to get MKX to $70K at the top-end. I assume the Continental's expensive HUD upgrade will make it here as well.
I can't tell if the rear bumper is different or not. The bottom doesn't look different, but the character line/crease that sits above the lower reflectors looks as if it runs more horizontal rather than sweeping upward toward the taillight in the current model.
400hp 3.0T + torque-vectoring 9speed is expectible
but
imho-harder-to-figure is WHAT ELSE for entry-level...( hybrid? if-not-PIH? )...
...I checked & 2018my has 3.7 & 2.7T both in Fwd or Awd
I doubt Ford is making a Lincoln exclusive transmission since they redesigned it to make it "better". Using the 9-speed in a Lincoln is an admission that it's not and the optics would make Ford look bad and Chevy good.
So... I've been thinking (which is never good) and I am wondering now if the C and X will debut side by side possibly at LA?
If they knock those 2 out then the lineup will FINALLY be uniform with grilles. (MKT doesn't count for obvious reason)
There is a tweak to the corner lines in the rear bumper which seems to be done to match the redesign up front which loses a similar character line from the last design. The lower fascia is otherwise unchanged, the MKC update has a similar scenario, they retain the lower front fascia trim even if the design above it has been changed, probably saves a couple million in re-engineering the sensors and fixtures.
Lincoln is a mixed bag on tech, it's certainly not an innovator but it's not missing much for the price. They've also done a good job smoothing out the 6-speed, this MKX is the first time I've ever liked this transmission so they finally sat down and did something about it. But they smoothed out the transmission by retarding the power as it shifts gears so much of the engine performance is actually being lost through that push/pull of the confined transmission tuning. A more modern transmission should solve much of this.
Interested to see how this turns out. I do think it should adopt the 3.0L. I also think that going forward Lincoln should do the E-Latch on all of their cars--at least on the interior. I wonder if they will do a more drastic change with the interior and make it look more like the Navigator with the tablet style infotainment screen?
I like the E-Latch to synch the doors closed, but I don't favor the button actuated latches over a nice quiet door pull mechanism. I think Continental got a little carried away but it does give the car some character.
MCEs typically don't make big changes to interiors anymore. We will probably see an update similar to the MKZ which preserved the design but added the new Lincoln Switchgear and beefed up the trim.
Taking a closer look I think this prototype has the big door handles only for redundancy while they test the e-latch. Seems like the camo is trying to hide something I've circled below.
@AM222 I'm not suggesting it is a similar system to the Continental. Something similar to Tesla or even an older Vette, using the sane touch pads used on the Continental no doubt. @rmc523 we don't know that such considerations weren't made when this vehicle was designed, which wasn't that long ago. Wouldnt be surprised if they just wanted to debut fancy doors on the Continental.
I don't know though. Just saying there is a notable anomaly in the camo exactly where an e-latch type device would be.
Or simply ran out of time - and the gadget XYZ was simply deemed not worth a delayed launch ... Which happens more often that us in product like to admit.
If e-latches were going added to the MKX they would have to do it with the existing door stampings, they never change these out since it's far too expensive for an MCE budget and I'm sure it's not that important to them.
Exactly. So sure, it's possible they could make the handle fixed (with the inner pull like on the Conti) and have them be electronic, I just don't see it happening until a full redesign. Especially when it's evident that only the front/rear are changing, with no changes to the doors.
I think it's more that the top part is out further because of the squarer, more upright grille, not that the front actually sticks out further (the camo adds some length too).
Now looking at the rear, I wonder if Lincoln will make it more like the concept, without the upward curvature on the sides, since the front end will lose the curvature with the split wing grill going.
Notice the upsweep line at the rear bumper that connects with the tail lights, which mimics the upsweeping line attached to the current front grille.
With the current grille leaving, and the front end looks like it will be more horizontal, the rear lines need to adjust as well. Which will give the MKX a more athletic look.
I think it's also worth pointing out that these images were snapped in early Spring, which probably means it took awhile for an outlet to buy them up. But this is farther along than we think.
RE: side profile .. Continental has similar "woosh" character line (at times Lincoln sway a little too close to Buick for my tastes) and it works fine with the new front.
RE: side profile .. Continental has similar "woosh" character line (at times Lincoln sway a little too close to Buick for my tastes) and it works fine with the new front.
I think you can still have an e-latch in the existing door handles but I think the e-latch was done primarily to solve a design challenge similar to other products with unconventional door handles. Unless the car door opens and closes for you I don't really see the need outside of the design consideration.
I am not saying Lincoln copied modern buicks. I am saying I dislike the bubbly buick styling and that woosh is a bit to curvy for my liking -- I do not like it on buicks, I do not like it on lincolns.
Buick and Lincoln have similar aesthetics, although I would say Lincoln is more conservative and rolling back some of the trendy looks more synonymous with Ford or other mainstream manufacturers. Lincoln seems to be more interested in upscale architecture closer to the Europeans and developing a more prominent and stately design that better communicates the car's 'class' and 'status'. To me it's definitely too retro and stuffy and I don't like the 'softness' of their overall aesthetic, but it perfectly encapsulates their identity better than any Lincoln design has since the 70s even if it doesn't actually resemble any Lincoln we've seen before. I understand their inspiration (Audi/British Design) but it could use some more progressive and exciting character. But at this time I think they just want to give fewer reasons for people to avoid their products, and a me-too aesthetic instead of the 'look at me' form of the previous design is probably the right target.
I definitely think the new fascia is more upscale and does look more like the cars I actually admire (Audi in particular), although it has been crossed with British-like ornamentation so it's much softer around the edges and bit more sculptural and posh which doesn't really float my boat personally. I think they did the right thing but I don't think Lincoln has the same mass appeal of global luxury brands, but who knows what will happen after a few decades of plugging away at this.
When I mean 'retro' I just mean traditional luxury design with boxier surfacing and proportions to highlight large dimensions, square prominent grills, and a non-sporting character. I prefer the Audi approach which is to take those visual ideas and execute them in a more progressive and technical way, but then it really wouldn't be Lincoln.
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