Car & Driver savages the MKZ BL Hybrid in its latest review for being an overpriced Ford Fusion with poor interior quality and ergonomics with a course and anemic hybrid system that gets bad FE.
Basically the same thing we've always heard about Lincolns, overpriced Fords that lack refinement or justification.
But then they speak about how nice the Lincoln exclusive features are. Whatever.
If there is a list of top 10 cars in any segment in an autorag, Ford or Lincoln generally make it to the bottom but sell at the top (well, except for Lincoln I suppose).
I think it's safe to assume Lincoln will not sort out its fit & finish issues until they are making them in their own factory and spend the money on manufacturing processes that other makers deal with in this category. Black Label is nice but not worth the enormous cost upgrade when the interior design generally lacks good material quality in key areas (specifically the acres of hard black plastic in the center console).
I get so tired of auto journalist calling everything Lincoln makes a dressed up Ford or an overpriced Ford. That's total BS. The new MKC, MKX & MKZ look nothing like their Ford siblings and are beautifully designed vehicles. And I consider Lincoln a bargain compared to Cadillac, Mercedes or Audi. When are they going to starting calling Lexus an overpriced or dressed up Toyota?
I guess since Mercury is no longer around to take the beating their taking it out on Lincoln now.
I don't see how fit and finish issues on a $50k car are evidence of poor journalism? Lincoln deserves their thrashings if they're incapable of getting such obvious things right on such an expensive vehicle.
Really this brings up a secondary issue with being Ford plus, the inability to raise fit and finish levels without causing the cost of building the Ford to increase.
Car & Driver savages the MKZ BL Hybrid in its latest review for being an overpriced Ford Fusion with poor interior quality
...
I think it's safe to assume Lincoln will not sort out its fit & finish issues until they are making them in their own factory and spend the money on manufacturing processes that other makers deal with in this category...
I can't judge re: FoMoCo or other mfgs or the industry as a whole
but these recurring stories trouble me...
...and of course I only see them about FoMoCo cuz that's all I follow
&
I'm fine with this as a separate thread but just pointing out the (f)article was also posted in "...what [BL] SHOULD be"
I don't see how fit and finish issues on a $50k car are evidence of poor journalism? Lincoln deserves their thrashings if they're incapable of getting such obvious things right on such an expensive vehicle.
Really this brings up a secondary issue with being Ford plus, the inability to raise fit and finish levels without causing the cost of building the Ford to increase.
These are the fit and finish issues that you are talking about? Because is the only complain C/D has over MKZ interior... " ill-fitting dash-to-door junctions, a warped rubber liner in the lower center console, and grainy hard plastics behind the headrests and in the cup holders" They are complaining about the hard plastic in the cupholders????????? WTF??????? What material is suposed be the cupholders? Alcantara????????
Bah!....
The other complain is about the ill fitting dash to door junctions....
Maybe in the copilot side the junction between the door and dash lines are not perfect.... maybe...maybe not.... but for me looks perfect. Here the Lexus ES interior... look at the junctions between the dash door and A pillar...
These are the fit and finish issues that you are talking about? Because is the only complain C/D has over MKZ interior... " ill-fitting dash-to-door junctions, a warped rubber liner in the lower center console, and grainy hard plastics behind the headrests and in the cup holders" They are complaining about the hard plastic in the cupholders????????? WTF??????? What material is suposed be the cupholders? Alcantara????????
Cup holders aside, if I'm paying north of $50k, closer to $60k out the door for a BL MKZ I certainly don't expect the other complaints and they should be obvious during manufacturing or at a minimum upon dealer inspection. Hard plastics anywhere you can see or feel on a vehicle of that price is unacceptable. That the door trim does not line up properly with the dash is beyond unacceptable, if they pay so little attention to something so obvious what less obvious flaws also get by?
Lexus succeeded by bringing unparalleled quality to the premium segment, a challenger brand like Lincoln cannot afford to be seen as second rate. This all goes back to Lincoln being a value brand, if Buick is what they strive to be fine, but quit pretending. If you strive to match or exceed Audi then how does the MKZ which has been in production for what, three years continue to have obvious quality issues?
Some of the gripes were a little overboard like the cupholder and headrest ones, but the MKZ just isn't as good as the competition quality wise. And the current MKZ has had issues with build quality and fit/finish since it rolled out. Remember the disastrous roll out it had?
Here's an example of a build quality problem:
See the huge gap between the door and dash? That's unacceptable in a car like that.
Cup holders aside, if I'm paying north of $50k, closer to $60k out the door for a BL MKZ I certainly don't expect the other complaints and they should be obvious during manufacturing or at a minimum upon dealer inspection. Hard plastics anywhere you can see or feel on a vehicle of that price is unacceptable. That the door trim does not line up properly with the dash is beyond unacceptable, if they pay so little attention to something so obvious what less obvious flaws also get by?
Lexus succeeded by bringing unparalleled quality to the premium segment, a challenger brand like Lincoln cannot afford to be seen as second rate. This all goes back to Lincoln being a value brand, if Buick is what they strive to be fine, but quit pretending. If you strive to match or exceed Audi then how does the MKZ which has been in production for what, three years continue to have obvious quality issues?
Is unacceptable hard plastic in the cupholder?????? I dont understand. Maybe my english is worst than i believe.... The cupholder is the hole to put cups, bottles, coolers, or not? if the answer is yes, the cupholders must be made with hard plastic. Very hard plastic to comply with their function... or maybe i am wrong.
Whatever...... i think this "article" was writing with a great bias against Lincoln. Where you have read complains about the cupholders material in a car before this article? :facepalm:
Is unacceptable hard plastic in the cupholder?????? I dont understand. Maybe my english is worst than i believe.... The cupholder is the hole to put cups, bottles, coolers, or not? if the answer is yes, the cupholders must be made with hard plastic. Very hard plastic to comply with their function... or maybe i am wrong.
Whatever...... i think this "article" was writing with a great bias against Lincoln. Where you have read complains about the cupholders material in a car before this article? :facepalm:
Some of the gripes were a little overboard like the cupholder and headrest ones, but the MKZ just isn't as good as the competition quality wise. And the current MKZ has had issues with build quality and fit/finish since it rolled out. Remember the disastrous roll out it had?
Here's an example of a build quality problem:
See the huge gap between the door and dash? That's unacceptable in a car like that.
Some of the gripes were a little overboard like the cupholder and headrest ones, but the MKZ just isn't as good as the competition quality wise. And the current MKZ has had issues with build quality and fit/finish since it rolled out. Remember the disastrous roll out it had?
Here's an example of a build quality problem:
See the huge gap between the door and dash? That's unacceptable in a car like that.
That's within normal tolerances, the problem happens when those lines are uneven and they clearly are not.
The interior of the MKZ is really impressive when you sit in it, the smooth flowing surfaces are really striking even if the predominant material element is hard black plastic on the center console. The MKZ's interior design will probably change significantly with a more angular design similar to the Continental from which the update draws inspiration (or was at least designed in tandem). The new switchgear will also add much more brightwork to the center stack and hopefully the rest of the interior will come in from the 90's and loose the wrap-aound bathtub design. I do think Lincoln needs to get rid of the push-button transmission, it's visually cheap and not that comfortable to use anyway. I'm surprised it's still in the Continental, and probably too close to the critical functions of the car. I get a feeling Lincoln doesn't have ergonomists working with the designers who seem to have free reign to the point they had to recall a car because of the design. Turning a chrome knob or handling a leather wrapped shifter is a better tactile experience than reaching for the dashboard to push on some hard plastic buttons like you're changing a radio station, that cheapens the luxury car experience and seems to be a holdover from an outmoded design language.
Wih the lead into the article "2015 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid Eye-watering price for a Fusion in fancy duds."
The expectation for the tone of the article is quite obvious IMO, biased to the hilt.
I just do not see this Fusion in fancy duds comment to be valid any longer.
The only points made that appear to have some merits are the fit & finish concerns, which seem to be repeated over and over by pretty much every review I have read since the MKZ launched.
Those are both entry level compact luxury sedans that start at a similar price to the MKZ, but are built better and have impeccable fit & finish.
I can't say I'm surprised that the MKZ in the test had poor build quality. Remember how the initial rollout went, and how poorly some of the cars were built?
Hermosillo just doesn't pay enough attention to detail at the end of the day, which is sad because the MKZ is a great car otherwise, and all other Lincolns outside of the MKS are built very well. The MKC and MKX are solid, as is the Navigator.
Lincoln can (and does!) do better. And we should expect better from them.
That's within normal tolerances, the problem happens when those lines are uneven and they clearly are not.
The interior of the MKZ is really impressive when you sit in it, the smooth flowing surfaces are really striking even if the predominant material element is hard black plastic on the center console. The MKZ's interior design will probably change significantly with a more angular design similar to the Continental from which the update draws inspiration (or was at least designed in tandem). The new switchgear will also add much more brightwork to the center stack and hopefully the rest of the interior will come in from the 90's and loose the wrap-aound bathtub design. I do think Lincoln needs to get rid of the push-button transmission, it's visually cheap and not that comfortable to use anyway. I'm surprised it's still in the Continental, and probably too close to the critical functions of the car. I get a feeling Lincoln doesn't have ergonomists working with the designers who seem to have free reign to the point they had to recall a car because of the design. Turning a chrome knob or handling a leather wrapped shifter is a better tactile experience than reaching for the dashboard to push on some hard plastic buttons like you're changing a radio station, that cheapens the luxury car experience and seems to be a holdover from an outmoded design language.
I disagree. That panel gap wouldn't look out of place in a Malibu. The MKZ's interior has a striking design, but it's all for naught when you have build quality issues that shouldn't happen on a car like the MKZ.
I'm a fan of the push button transmission. It's something different and I think it makes Lincolns unique.
Hermosillo just doesn't pay enough attention to detail at the end of the day, which is sad because the MKZ is a great car otherwise, and all other Lincolns outside of the MKS are built very well. The MKC and MKX are solid, as is the Navigator.
Lincoln can (and does!) do better. And we should expect better from them.
The problem they have is needing to push out 300k plus Fusions while running the MKZ down the same line, they cannot take anymore time to assemble the $55k+ MKZ than they do the $20k Fusion. I'm curious does the Lexus ES roll down the same line as the Toyota Avalon? If yes why have we not heard of similar issues?
Actually the ES has been panned for having cheap interior bits. CR actually stated the switches feel like the ones from a $16k Yaris and the center console is as rock hard as any Toyota SUV.
It has less to do with the assemblers and more to do with the engineering. You can't make gaps smaller if they are intended to be bigger. The same goes with the parts. If they are bad quality then the assemblers can't fix that. What they should do is not let the car go with bad parts.
I will say that Lincoln's continuous wrap around dashboard in the MKZ brings the joint between the dash and door farther back which changes the interaction between the door and the dash. I know everything is carefuly considered and engineered and there is a need for some tolerances. What they probably should do is change the design so it's less conspicuous. This is where design and engineering don't see eye to eye. That's why wraparound dashboards like this typically don't have this sort of joint anymore. This is part of the problem I detect at Lincoln, it's run by designers and not engineers.
As for comparing Lincoln interiors to the Germans, remember that Lincoln's are still value oriented so you get far more tech and comfort for the same money. I encourage people to actually shop and price the competition before judging. I've done it many times and I always come back to Lincoln, no matter how expensive they get they alway seem to be a relative bargain.
It has less to do with the assemblers and more to do with the engineering. You can't make gaps smaller if they are intended to be bigger. The same goes with the parts. If they are bad quality then the assemblers can't fix that. What they should do is not let the car go with bad parts.
I will say that Lincoln's continuous wrap around dashboard in the MKZ brings the joint between the dash and door farther back which changes the interaction between the door and the dash. I know everything is carefuly considered and engineered and there is a need for some tolerances. What they probably should do is change the design so it's less conspicuous. This is where design and engineering don't see eye to eye. That's why wraparound dashboards like this typically don't have this sort of joint anymore. This is part of the problem I detect at Lincoln, it's run by designers and not engineers.
As for comparing Lincoln interiors to the Germans, remember that Lincoln's are still value oriented so you get far more tech and comfort for the same money. I encourage people to actually shop and price the competition before judging. I've done it many times and I always come back to Lincoln, no matter how expensive they get they always seem to be a relative bargain.
I agree. We looked at pretty much every make/model that was of similar size and had similar features. Each of the luxury vehicles we built had less features for a much higher cost and each of the non-luxury vehicles had most of the same features, but either didn't look anywhere near as nice or they were only marginally less-expensive than the Lincoln.
I encourage people to actually shop and price the competition before judging. I've done it many times and I always come back to Lincoln, no matter how expensive they get they alway seem to be a relative bargain.
The problem they have is needing to push out 300k plus Fusions while running the MKZ down the same line, they cannot take anymore time to assemble the $55k+ MKZ than they do the $20k Fusion. I'm curious does the Lexus ES roll down the same line as the Toyota Avalon? If yes why have we not heard of similar issues?
The next problem is that building luxury cars next to entry level sedans is not a good idea. After that, they can get rid of the hard plastics.
One issue I have with both articles is the slander of the gas mileage in these cars. Granted, if you get worse than that, you're probably spending too much time in jail as a result of your driving, but my own experience with a MKZ Hybrid netted nearly 40 mpg.
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