Back in the spring of 2010 when Ford announced that it was finally going to euthanize its Mercury division, the company also announced a renewed commitment to restoring Lincoln to its former glory. Part of that included refreshing, redesigning and expanding the Lincoln lineup including a new C-segment model. At the time, most of us assumed we would get a production version of the 2009 Concept C, but four years later what we got instead was the 2015 MKC crossover.
Looking at where the premium market has gone over the past five years, adding a compact CUV to the Lincoln range, was probably the best decision that product planners could have made from a business perspective, but for those of us that appreciate the dynamic qualities provided by the best of what Germany has to offer would probably have preferred a competitor for the Audi A3, BMW 2 Series or Mercedes-Benz CLA.
So how well did Lincoln execute on its first effort in a new segment? As usual, there is no simple answer to that question but given what the designers and engineers were given to work with, it was certainly a worthy effort.
Lincoln has taken a lot of criticism over the decade since the demise of the LS for not having any unique platforms, essentially just selling gussied up Fords. While that is technically true from a platform standpoint, every new Lincoln since the MKS debuted in 2008 has actually had completely unique sheet metal from its Ford siblings. The engineers could also do a lot worse than starting from most recent Ford platforms.
In the case of the MKC, it does in fact share its bones with the Ford Escape, which is one of the best examples of a compact crossover and has much to recommend it on its own. Park the MKC and Escape side by side though and you’d never know they were related other than sharing the basic configuration of a five-door crossover.
The horizontal character lines over the wheel arches combine with the new horizontal bar iteration of the split grille to give the Lincoln a more athletic, broad-shouldered stance than its sibling. At the back, a wraparound clamshell tailgate emulates the look of Audi’s Q5 and Q7 and provides still more distinction from the Escape. This is easily the most handsome execution of the current Lincoln design theme to date.
One of the details that distinguish the Lincoln MKC from its Ford Escape sibling is the clamshell liftgate.
Mechanically, the Lincoln basically starts where the high-end Escape Titanium leaves off with a turbocharged 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder as the base engine with either front or all-wheel-drive.
The MKC I drove had the optional 2.3-liter EcoBoost which is essentially a long-stroke version of the 2.0-liter. The longitudinally mounted version of the 2.3 in the new Mustang generates 310-horsepower and 325 lb.-ft. of torque. The more restricted transverse packaging environment of the MKC means it has less optimal breathing than the Mustang keeping the output down to a still ample 285-horsepower and 305 lb.-ft.
The extra power of the larger engine comes in handy because like its primary competitors, the Acura RDX, Audi Q5, Lexus NX and others, the MKC is no featherweight. All of the features that customers expect in today’s premium vehicles such as heated and cooled seats, panoramic glass sunroofs, power liftgates and more add a lot mass to a vehicle. Each of these crossovers weighs in the neighborhood of 4,000 pounds. Despite the MKC’s heft, the broad flat torque curve of the 2.3-liter turbo provides more than adequate performance.
However, moving two tons of steel, glass, leather and wood around requires a lot of energy. In lighter vehicles, a light touch on the accelerator can extract some very impressive fuel efficiency from a turbocharged, direct-injected engine like the EcoBoost. In the first-generation MKC that hasn’t yet seen the benefits of lightweighting technology, even going easy on acceleration requires a surprising amount of fuel.
Like other recent Ford vehicles, the MKC moves away from touch controls to physical switches
The base front-drive 2.0-liter MKC is EPA-rated at 20 mpg city and 29 mpg on the highway. Adding all-wheel-drive and the larger engine drops those numbers to 18 and 26. My week with the MKC saw an early cold snap with temperatures down to the 11 degrees which always hurts efficiency. Nonetheless I was surprised to only manage 18.5 mpg in a mix of city and highway driving. Even cruising on a flat, dry highway the MKC didn’t get much past the low 20s.
Fuel economy aside, the cabin of the MKC is a very pleasant place to spend time. Like other recent Lincoln and Ford models, the MKC features Ford’s new global seat architecture which provides an excellent blend of comfort and support. In this loaded Lincoln, the seats are wrapped in leather and feature multi-way power adjustment with three memory positions for different drivers as well as both heating and cooling. I didn’t try the cooling in our frigid conditions but the heaters were welcome.
High quality materials and excellent fit and finish abound in the MKC cabin
The rest of the interior is swathed in premium leather and wood veneers creating a very premium environment. Like the MKZ, Lincoln has opted for push button controls for the six-speed automatic transmission. While eliminating the traditional shift lever frees up space in the console for more storage, the positioning of the buttons in a vertical stack to the left of the eight-inch touchscreen was less than optimal and left them partially obscured by the steering wheel.
Speaking of the touchscreen, it was the only touch control in the MKC. Like other vehicles launched by Ford in the last year or so, the designers have migrated away from the capacitive touch controls of the first MyFord and MyLincoln Touch systems and back to physical switches. This is definitely a welcome change. However, there is still work to do on the screen interface.
MyLincoln Touch was at least stable if not speedy
Ford has issued at least two major software upgrades for its troubled infotainment system and I experienced no stability issues or crashes during a week of driving. However, the interface still seems underpowered and didn’t respond as quickly to control inputs as systems from other manufacturers. Screen transitions also took longer to redraw than competitors like Cadillac CUE. Hopefully, the next generation system will address these last niggling issues.
Underway, the Lincoln MKC was a remarkably serene place to spend time and a great place to decompress on the way home from work. I think a significant proportion of the extra 300 pounds the MKC carries around compared to the Escape must have gone into upgrading the structure and adding more sound deadening material. Despite the quiet cabin, just enough feedback from the outside world is allowed in so that you don’t feel totally isolated.
The driving dynamics follow a similar approach that builds on foundation of the Escape. The addition of Lincoln’s adaptive continuously controlled damping system helps keep the body motions to a minimum even over the roughest pavement while soaking up the worst of it. Anyone looking for a premium, contemporary driving experience won’t be disappointed in the MKC.
As the smallest Lincoln ever, the MKC is a handsome and fully competitive entry into a new market segment for the brand. At a starting price of just over $33,000 and $49,265 for this fully loaded example, the MKC is a good value relative to the competitors from Germany and Japan. With oil prices on the decline and expected to stay low for the foreseeable future, the disappointing fuel economy may not be that much of a factor for potential customers. For those looking to keep their carbon footprint and monthly payment to a minimum, the front-wheel-drive 2.0-liter might be a better choice. There are also several competitors from Audi, BMW and Lexus with either diesel or hybrid options in this segment that will save you at the pump.
Click here for full specs of the 2015 Lincoln MKC
