Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

 More comparison shopping; The 2018 Lincoln  MKZ.

This color really highlights the design.
Asking price is 11,460.00 with 128,000 miles.

What can I say, I like to look at cars.

First off, why couldn't they have given this thing a real name?

Well, it used to be called the Zephyr. 

These, along with the MKS, and the even shorter lived Continental, were the final versions of Lincoln's concept of the luxury sedan. Changing tastes in the marketplace led to a narrowing of the sedan market. Luxury coupes had already died, almost twenty years ago. 

I was a die hard luxury coupe fan for many years. I preferred them over sedans, but now I have to say that I prefer the luxury SUV over the sedan. There is just so much more added functionality and utility to that type of vehicle. 

But I already have a couple of large SUV/CUVs. I will probably keep my Flex for many more years. However I'm interested in finding something that will return better fuel economy.

I am somewhat curious about the smaller SUVs with the turbo four engines. I test drove a Lincon MKC, and I was pretty impressed. 

The MKZ uses a turbo four similar to the MKC as the base engine.
Iv'e read that it can get 30 mpg.

I once had a vehicle that regularly returned over 36 mpg. consistently. It could even be feather footed to return 42 mpg. on occasion. This was a brand new vehicle at the time, a '90 Honda Civic SI coupe. I don't think that there are vintage cars that could come close to this fuel economy.

It would be kind of silly to add an MKC to my fleet, that would make three SUVs, so I think that I'll consider an actual car this time.

The MKZ was not as popular as the Cadillac CTS or XTS, and it has been out of production for several years, so this has lead to quite a bit of depreciation, as most people don't want to buy an "orphan." But Ford built plenty of Fusions, the MKZ's platform mate, so mechanical parts supply is assured. 

Of course, they don't "make" any 2018's anymore, for that matter, so every used car is kind of an orphan.

I really like the sleek fastback roof line.

The rear view is clean and daring.

I have been doing my research, watching video reviews on YouTube. Styling is a personal thing, but I've always liked the sleek design of this car. Especially the roof line and the cool, futuristic looking rear end and tail lamp. In 2017 Lincoln gave it a Continental style grille, which added a lot of appeal.  

I will often mistake these for a Continental
 when I see one in traffic.

The interior is rich looking, but is more subdued looking compared to a Cadillac. Understated would be the best description.

I've come to terms with the pushbutton transmission controls.

The interior is nice but not flashy.

I always think of this car as being kind of small, but it is actually mid sized, (194 in.) and only six inches longer than my '06 Mustang, (188 in.). It is 13 inches shorter than my '97 Riviera, which still fits comfortably in my garage.

Anything is better than a Mustang back seat.

Again, better than a Mustang.

There is plenty of room in the back seat. The rear seats also fold down to increase luggage space. Much more useful than my Mustangs. It's not a convertible, but is available with a standard or panoramic moon roof. I'd prefer the standard sunroof option on an older car.

A moon roof adds a lot of light.

Being a newer car it has lots of nice stuff; navigation, back up camera, HID headlamps, and more. I hate to say that I've gotten used to having those items. It also would be very quiet and smooth riding, unlike my Mustang. This example has what I think are some really cool looking wheels, no need to add aftermarket custom rims! 

I like 'em!

The car is full of nice touches like that. Note the side running light integrated into the wheel opening.

This would be a very comfortable long distance cruising car, exactly what I appreciate. 

I just returned from a multi day, 600 mile trip with my Wife in my '06 Mustang. First, we went up to Sebastopol, to drop off some donated materials at a quilt store that my Wife likes. The trunk and back seat were completely crammed full! Then we back tracked down US101 to catch 80 eastbound to head up to Lake Tahoe. We cut across to Highway 50 to reach Lower Lake Tahoe. It had gotten late, and after passing Placerville, the remainder of the trip was made in darkness. Luckily the Mustang has pretty good headlights, and it handled great on the twisty road. I am somewhat familiar with this road, but it looks different in the dark! My old eyeballs were not as good, and I used the high beams as much as I could to follow the road. This portion of the trip was pretty tiring. 

The exhaust note, which is usually not objectionable, also got to be a bit much. The stiff ride also didn't contribute to my relaxation. If I had finished the trip during daylight hours, I probably wouldn't have minded the rough ride and exhaust note so much. Gas mileage averaged a bit over 23 miles per gallon. 

Would the MKZ have been a more relaxing ride? Probably. Is the MKZ an old man's car? 

Yes, but then again, I am an old man.

Maybe I'd just like something newer and nicer. Hopefully something that I would have to do any work to.

 

2014 XJL Would I ever buy another Jag?

The MKZ reminds me of the last of the Jaguar XJ sedans. The styling is very similar, very swoopy, but the Jag's rear end is a lot heavier looking. But there's no comparison when it comes to reliability. The Lincoln is no Lexus, but it's miles ahead of the Jaguar!

While bigger, it looks a lot like the Lincoln.

Both share a big chrome grille.

That's why this beautiful 2014 Jag is priced only a bit over the MKZ at 16,000 dollars with 48,000 miles.

Of course, I'm only window shopping. It would take some selling and financing to finagle a newer car like the Lincoln. I happen to have some free time this weekend, I think that I'll go take an in person look at the Lincoln, and maybe even the Jaguar. I may be old enough to know better, but sometimes I still feel young enough to do it anyway!