Road Tests: Long-Term Test

Just as an early February thaw had signaled that this particularly long, cold Michigan winter was beginning to lose its grip, Detroit Editor John Clor and family took delivery of our long-term Lincoln LS with eager anticipation. After back-to-back stints in SUVs (first the Jeep Grand Cherokee and then the Nissan Xterra), Clor was looking forward to driving a car — especially one with such sporting (dare we say award-winning?) credentials.

Though our Lincoln LS spent a fair amount of time this month on the transporter that carried it from Edmunds.com's Santa Monica headquarters to Clor's suburban-Detroit home office, it was pressed into family transportation service the moment it hit the ground in the Motor City. First impressions are usually lasting ones, and the LS certainly scored well in this regard.

One can't help but notice the Lincoln's clean, sleek lines and tidy overall size. Its appearance is graceful and offers a nice balance between American and European styling cues. There's an unmistakable Euro feel to the cockpit, as well, with seam-fitted dash components and textured matte-black surfaces mimicking the style found in expensive German sedans. If BMW was indeed the benchmark for this car, then Lincoln did a fine job appealing to those buyers.

But the real proof of its European intentions is in the driving, so Clor set out on a couple of local jaunts to see just how close Ford engineers were able to dial-in some of that fabled BMW-like road and steering feel. He reports that at first blush, at least, they nailed it.

When you think of it, that should come as no surprise. Inside word on initial delays in getting the Lincoln's DEW platform to market had Ford product bigwig Richard Parry-Jones sending the suspension team back to the drawing board each time he logged track time for a sign-off. What could be better than having a European boss who knows his way around a racetrack as the guy in charge of evaluating European suspension tuning? And that's a good thing, too, as the DEW platform is also the basis for the Jaguar S-Type as well as Ford's new Thunderbird — and likely the next Mustang to boot.

Clor also found favor with the Lincoln's smooth and purposeful V8, which delivered brisk acceleration on demand, should the much-discussed five-speed automatic decide to cooperate. Our disenchantment with the LS automatic transmission is well documented in our long-term reports, but inside word is that Ford is busy trying to work out the bugs with this new auto box.

Just as many of the other design and feature complaints with the 2000 LS have been rectified in the 2001 model, you can expect further development of the LS powertrains until Lincoln gets it right. Too bad that it may sour both would-be and current owners on Lincoln quality, right at a time when the company needs consumer buy-in most. Remember that old adage about not buying a car in its first year of production? Modern manufacturing processes were supposed to render such thinking obsolete. The LS tranny woes are a real shame, because this is otherwise a very fine car.

Features such as the rain-sensing wipers and auto-delay headlamps are already well appreciated in the Clor camp, although the two teenage hockey players claim rear-seat legroom is on the cramped side (but be aware the 12-year-old is a 180-pounder and that the 14-year-old is 6-foot-5). Trunk space isn't exactly plentiful for this family of four, but looks to be able at least to accommodate grocery-shopping duty, which Clor feels happens more often than is reasonable.

A nice engine note, firm ride, taut handling and stout brakes keep Clor entertained driving the LS. He reports the cabin is squeak- and rattle-free, and that the car feels solid and substantial — very Germanic. "Ford of Europe couldn't build a more Germanesque car," Clor insists. And if you look at market share and sales estimates for the major European manufacturers, that's got to be a big plus for Lincoln's future — if only they can find a way to get things right from the get-go.

All in all, the initial few hundred miles have proven satisfying, but Clor must now shop for tires as his first order of business, as tread life is nearly expired. We'll report on that process in the next update, as well as how well this firm-riding Lincoln sport sedan absorbs Detroit's potholed, frost-heaved roadways. Behind the wheel of the LS, spring just doesn't seem that far away.

Current Odometer: 24,043
Best Fuel Economy: 19.8 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 14.7 mpg
Average Fuel Economy (over the life of the vehicle): 17.2 mpg
Body Repair Costs: None
Maintenance Costs: None
Problems: None