Consumer Reports Ranks 2016 Lincoln MKX Best in Class

[ibinubu12]

http://www.consumerreports.org/mkx/2016-lincoln-mkx-review/

 

 

The new Lincoln MKX crossover, however, is ready for prime time—with a regal street presence, superior handling and braking, effortless acceleration, a plush interior, and a suite of advanced technology.

 

How good is the MKX? With a road-test score of 87, the 2016 Lincoln MKX outguns all other luxury midsized SUVs, including the popular Lexus RX 350 and BMW X5.

[akirby]

I agree. We just picked up a FWD Reserve last night. It's a fantastic vehicle.

[exploder48]

I am in shock. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect to see a positive review for a domestic vehicle, much less a Lincoln. I guess all the negative stuff about SYNC has died down? Funny that I never had one of my customers complain about SYNC but everyone CR contacted hated it ....HMMMM> Anyway, great to see we're being positively presented.

[fuzzymoomoo]

I am in shock. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect to see a positive review for a domestic vehicle, much less a Lincoln. I guess all the negative stuff about SYNC has died down? Funny that I never had one of my customers complain about SYNC but everyone CR contacted hated it ....HMMMM> Anyway, great to see we're being positively presented.

The negativity with SYNC basically died overnight when they switched from Microsoft software to QNX software for SYNC 3.

[BORG]

Absolutely love my MKX, although it's too small for me.

[jpd80]

Absolutely love my MKX, although it's too small for me.

Yeah, it kills me to think that an "Aviator" sits in plain sight as a Platinum Explorer and 3.5EB, yet MKT hobbles on.......

 

The MKX looks the goods inside and out, I gather the big wow feature in the review was the 2.7 EB,

nothing sells like ease of performance...but then, I don't need to tell you that, ya lucky bugger...

[aneekr]

The negativity with SYNC basically died overnight when they switched from Microsoft software to QNX software for SYNC 3.

+1

When Ford transitioned from MyFordTouch and MyLincolnTouch to SYNC 3, it immediately went from having among the worst OE infotainment systems in the industry to having one that rivals the very best.

 

CR's road test score for the 2016 MKX it purchased is based on SYNC 3's functionality and design, even though the interior photo in the link ibinubu12 provided shows MyLincolnTouch.

[akirby]

MFT was not the "worst OE infotainment system" at all. If you actually owned a vehicle with it and used it every day you wouldn't say that. It had a few quirks but worked flawlessly for me in 3 vehicles 99% of the time. The only recurring issue I have is when selecting a new playlist it would continue to play the old source for about 5-8 seconds before starting the new one. No freezes or reboots on any vehicle within the last 3 years.

 

That said - sync 3 is fantastic. There is no delay switching menus or making selections. It's lightning fast. It stays on the last screen selected rather than starting on the home screen which is nice. Pinch to zoom on the nav is great. Automatic wi-fi updates should be cool - have to wait awhile to see how that works. Voice commands are immediate. Play song "Hotel California" and it's playing within 2 seconds or so. Haven't tried Siri eyes free yet but apple carplay should be available this fall.

I don't see any room for improvement other than offering multiple appearances/colors, etc.

[aneekr]

That said - sync 3 is fantastic. There is no delay switching menus or making selections. It's lightning fast. It stays on the last screen selected rather than starting on the home screen which is nice. Pinch to zoom on the nav is great. Automatic wi-fi updates should be cool - have to wait awhile to see how that works. Voice commands are immediate. Play song "Hotel California" and it's playing within 2 seconds or so. Haven't tried Siri eyes free yet but apple carplay should be available this fall.

I don't see any room for improvement other than offering multiple appearances/colors, etc.

 

Definitely. I got to try out SYNC 3 in a '16 Ford Edge demo vehicle at the Chicago Auto Show. Ford really did their homework with the new system. I spent about 15 to 20 minutes using SYNC 3, and couldn't find anything that didn't work well. The numerous reliability, performance, and design flaws in MyFordTouch are completely exorcised in SYNC 3.

 

I'm sure that Consumer Reports will bump up road test scores for Ford and Lincoln vehicles as SYNC 3 is incorporated throughout the vehicle lineup. When CR wrote last year that SYNC 3 was worth waiting for, they were absolutely correct.

[BORG]

I was a very early adopter with a 2011 MKX and MLT had really significant problems early on, I had to bring my car in for service 6 times for MLT updates and APIM replacements. I was actually the first person to gripe about MLT on this forum and I got allot of flack for doing so. The system crashed, rebooted, froze, etc. I also had countless failures in my 2013 MKX that caused me too loose my Navigation system on a long road trip. The constant failures were actually very dangerous distractions, Ford should never have let that system out but they did their best to fix it. I do think they deserve the low quality scores for it, it was definitely the most troublesome experience I've ever had with a car. The problems are mostly gone now but it really took 3+ years to sort out. It's still a very slow and twitchy system to use but I learned long ago to use it as little as possible. I would say it's probably the worst system currently out there just because of the terrible touchscreen and slow response of the system, the reliability issues are mostly gone The latest update with Siri Eyes Free is great, I can bypass Sync and go right to Siri which works much more reliably.

 

Sync 3 is much better with a more conventional UI similar to everything else out there. I liked the look and idea of MLT but it wasn't well thought out from a usability perspective, especially in a bouncing car environment.

 

I love my MKX, great quality vehicle with a fantastic ride and effortless power, it's the best Lincoln I've owned for sure. However they chopped the roof down too low and there isn't enough legroom or movement on the steering wheel for me to get comfortable so I will probably look at a taller SUV next time. I knew I was going to have issues when I tested it out, but every time I'm in the car I'm constantly fidgeting to find a comfortable position and I end up driving with a hunched back so I can see through the windshield and reach the steering wheel. I actually feel more comfortable in an MKZ because it's long enough for my legs, even if it's far more claustrophobic. Something is just really odd about the cabin dimensions on the MKX (and Edge) and I can't figure out where the culprit is. It reminds me of the problems I have withe D3 cars.

Edited April 6, 2016 by BORG

[akirby]

Is this what you call "terrible touchscreen and slow response"? This is the way all 3 of mine work.

 

[BORG]

Yes, exactly, you can see how slow it is to bring up each function. Typically what happens to me is that I don't apply the right amount of pressure long enough for it to register a tap. This just happened to me today when i was trying to get the heated steering wheel to click on. This is probably more essential in a Lincoln which locates more of it's optional functions on the screen. I encourage you to interact with other systems, I've tested almost all of them, it's amazing how much faster and more responsive those touchscreens are. Sync 3 fixes this of course. Ford has had the same mushy touchscreen since my 2005 Lincoln LS, Ford has been pretty stubborn about improving that screen, took over 10 years.

 

Is this what you call "terrible touchscreen and slow response"? This is the way all 3 of mine work.

 

Edited April 6, 2016 by BORG

[akirby]

I understand it's slower than some other systems, but it's not slow enough to me that it's really a problem. It's not any slower than the touchscreen we had in our 2003 Aviator e.g. It's certainly not slow to the point most people would complain about it.