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What drive mode do you guys drive in normally?


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I don't get to spend a lot of time in the wife's Nautilus but when I do I think I finally have set myself on 2 modes. I've gravitated away from D in Comfort mode to Normal mode as it seems almost as forgiving of a ride as Comfort mode but doesn't seem so floaty-boaty and more road responsive. When the caffeine kicks in I hit I use Sport mode with it set to full performance in S. It's great when you just all of a sudden feel like driving like a... um..?.. sportier riding kinda guy. It almost seems like Sport mode in D is almost a wash, you get the firm ride without the more instant response and higher shift points in S. Wondering what you guys think of the drive modes and what's your norm in your Nautiluses or other Lincolns that have said modes.

 

I really like the fact that the Lincoln drive modes seem distinct. In our ex-Jag, it was so subtle to me I really didn't know if I was feeling a change or not other than throttle dynamics. ?

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We have had a '19 MKC Reserve 2.3 AWD for a year now and like you have settled down with using Normal mode with an occasional Sport mode selection given the driving situation. Bought this car for my wife replacing her '15 Escape Titanium. Unlike your spouse it's definitely an overkill since she is not a "car girl." I get to drive it on occasion and am impressed with its performance. The size for us replicates the Escape but adds many amenities like Adaptive Cruise Control and AWD. If I needed to go bigger I would have considered the Corsair or possibly the Nautilus. Kind of prefer the Lincoln brand now after years of GM, and most recently an '18 Audi Q5, which last month I traded straight across for a '19 MKC Reserve 2.0 FWD. More nimble than the 2.3, good acceleration and better gas mileage. Great around town car so far. Sport mode does not adjust the suspension but its standard setup is very good, and it really does change the feel of acceleration. Use it occasionally as in the 2.3.

Edited by TxTom
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I grew up riding in 70s - 80s Continentals, when you could hit a speed bump and not know it. ? So I prefer comfort mode for daily driving and full sport for twisties. 

 

The MKZ is pretty much transformed when you hit S, suspension and steering stiffen up and it stays flat in the corners, trans downshifts when you hit the button which spools up the turbo, and off you go.

 

It's more subtle in the MKX, I'm sure if we had the 2.7 it would be more noticeable.

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Thanks for the replies. All I know is if I would have bought the smaller engine, the wife would have never forgiven me... just going to the coffee shop and store.. ?

 

That being said, today is blue moon day - she's off to the beach to see her sister so that's a 3 hr drive and the first time she's going to be driving her new car for any length of time. I think she's going to come back tomorrow even more impressed with the car especially with the stereo blasting the whole way. She's a rocker.

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We have a  ‘18 Navigator and it’s normally in the default ‘Normal’.  In the mountains by us I’ll switch to ‘Excite, because the engine braking really helps on the twisty downhills and the high shift points help going up.  I have piddled around with the few other 4x4 modes but so far have found that the regular 4x4 is enough for the off road situations I’ve been in.  We are picking up a overland trailer in a couple weeks so I’m curious to see how these other modes fair while towing off road.

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I drive in Comfort mode with the Continental unless I want to manually select and hold specific gears.....which is not very often.    I have my shifter sport mode set to Normal.    The Sport suspension mode is so stiff that it just seems out of character for this type of car.   If I am feeling "sporty," I drive my Mustang.  

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In my Nautilus, I used to drive around town almost exclusively in S/sport, using D/normal for highway driving. Recently, I've been trying out D/sport for around town going for S/sport when I feel particularly sporty. When I am doing highway driving I change it to D/normal. 

 

Here's why: normal is fine generally, and is nice for rough roads and short shocking speed bumps. But increasingly where I live in Maryland they are putting in tall speed humps, which react very differently with the suspension in normal and cause the car to float and bounce a lot more. Dialing the suspension to sport avoids that while still providing what to me is still a comfortable smooth ride. I switched from S to D for two reasons. First, I actually like the start/stop feature and it is the default in D. I also like that there is less down-shifting when coming to a stop. OTOH, I like that in S you always have strong torque instantly available for passing or starting quickly. D is also nice for the extra 2 mpg I typically get out of it (combination of start/stop and shifting earlier to higher gears). I'm still going back and forth, and might still settle back into S/sport as my default drive.

 

As others have noted, there are substantial differences among S/D and sport/normal/comfort, much more so than in other cars I've owned. Switching among them transforms the vehicle's driving characteristics. It is nice to have the options.

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3 hours ago, Gurgeh said:

Here's why: normal is fine generally, and is nice for rough roads and short shocking speed bumps. But increasingly where I live in Maryland they are putting in tall speed humps, which react very differently with the suspension in normal and cause the car to float and bounce a lot more.

 

Yikes! Sounds like even all the way across the US where you live, the city politicians are making life miserable for us with seemingly exponentially increasing speed bumps as they are here in Portland. In both places I used to live on those "trendy" streets, there's all new speed bumps which really suck. And on every street that they don't want you to drive on, big round whatever things pop up in the intersections. I'd really hate to be a bus driver around all those things, everyday, all the time dealing with that. I can't help but wonder if they took the  the budget for all those things and invested it, they could help so many in need.... But I guess there's that one Honda CRX with the loud tailpipe going by that makes them want to spend the money to slow that guy down.... I find it funny that I never see speed bumps around schools though... they think the flashing lights are all they need in that case ...?

 

Edited by Deafsoundguy
not sure why my post got into previous quote
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12 minutes ago, ANTAUS said:

I really wish there would be one single button I can switch between, rather than having to go thru the menu and sub-menu and sub sub-menu, to change it.

 

You have a choice of two modes with the shifter.    That is just one button.   I realize that the "sport" button does other things besides changing the suspension mode, though.

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 Nothing to do with drive modes but has anyone noticed how perfect the armrests are in the Nautilus (and most likely all the other Lincolns)? I swear every new car I've bought in the last 20 years either me or my wife or both of us has had a complaint about the armrests - too short from the door, too much angle where your arm wants to slide off, weird angle sloping downward, or being at the wrong place for one particular driver. The Nautilus is perfect for me like exactly perfect. And my wife says it's "fine" so that's a first for us... a little thing but on a long drive it's irritating as heck when your arm wants to slide off - that was the deal on our FPace. How can you screw that up? So really liking that small but appreciated thing.... not as annoying though as sunvisors that don't slide over. Thank God American cars do that, as all imports we had didn't... unforgivable. ?

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Speaking of sunvisors, one thing that I would like to see is a second thin visor behind the primary one.   Sometimes, it would be beneficial to have the primary one for the side window and the 2nd one for the windshield.     Back in the '80s I had a Taurus company car that had that.    Apparently, It was such a good idea that they abandoned it.   LOL.

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4 hours ago, brucelinc said:

Speaking of sunvisors, one thing that I would like to see is a second thin visor behind the primary one.   Sometimes, it would be beneficial to have the primary one for the side window and the 2nd one for the windshield.     Back in the '80s I had a Taurus company car that had that.    Apparently, It was such a good idea that they abandoned it.   LOL.

 

They used to do that.

 

It's a way to cut costs.

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