2019 Lincoln Continental Road Test and Review

2017 Lincoln Continental hero ・ Photo by Lincoln

In the annals of the American luxury car, few models have the historical significance of the Lincoln Continental. The very first Continental was designed to be Edsel Ford’s personal car, and so you can imagine how special it was. The custom model was so beautiful and so coveted that Ford Motor Company decided to put it into production. With its famed “Continental kit” — the exposed, rear-mounted spare tire — it became an instant classic.

Fast-forwarding to present-day, things are much different for the Lincoln Motor Company brand, the American car industry, and society as a whole. Edsel Ford is not viewed as a visionary car executive, which he was, and his given name is now regarded as a synonym for failure. Into this far more challenging era rolls the 2019 Lincoln Continental, which might be described as one of the best cars few people seem to care about.

Luxury in the American Idiom

While the current Lincoln Continental is not the breakthrough that its original namesake was — that’s a high mark to attain — it is a very good-looking vehicle. In show-car form, it knocked the smartphones out of the hands of the world’s automotive press at auto shows around the world. And while its “productionized” design isn’t quite as dramatic, it is still an uncommonly good-looking sedan.

Its bold grille is festooned with a sizable Lincoln emblem, at once looking modern and paying homage to Continentals of years past. In profile, its most distinguishing features are its high-mounted pull-type door handles that also harken to a bygone era of American luxury. What the current Continental fails to bring to the table is the sheer size of its predecessors. At 201.4 inches long, it is almost like a mid-size sedan wearing full-size styling.

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Serene Interior

While some luxury sedan interiors are designed to impress you with their abundance of luxury features, the Lincoln Continental takes a different approach. Its cabin is deceptively simple, with a serene rather than involving experience its goal. The controls and displays are intentionally minimal so they don’t assault you with choices. Instead, the warmth of the interior’s genuine wood accents and the simple beauty of its leather trim makes the interior comforting and visually soothing.

The Lincoln’s Perfect Position Seats are inspired by the seats in private jets. The patented design, which adjusts 30 ways (or about 29 ways more than my body adjusts), enables the seat to better accommodate individual body shapes from portly and short to tall and thin. One unusual feature is that the thigh cushions adjust independently, allowing one leg to remain at rest while the other engages the pedals. Rear-seat passengers enjoy generous legroom and, depending upon equipment, can experience features like audio and climate control, adjustable sunshades, and reclining, heated, cooled, and massaging seats.

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Sophisticated Infotainment

The theme of elegant simplicity extends to the Lincoln Continental’s infotainment. It uses Ford Motor Company’s Sync 3 system, but the operation has been streamlined for this application. Through an 8-inch infotainment screen, the system concisely presents audio, phone, heating and air-conditioning, and navigation data. Those systems can be controlled via the screen or, in some instances, by redundant knobs and buttons. Steering wheel-mounted controls and voice commands allow the driver to place and answer calls as well as control music from different devices. Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, and USB connectivity are all included.

Those seeking a top-of-the-line sound system will find it in the available Revel audio that was developed to work in concert with the car’s interior design and acoustics. It offers three distinct listening modes — stereo, audience, and on-stage. The 19-speaker Revel Ultima audio system uses Clari-Fi music reconstruction technology to enhance digital sources.

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Technologically Forward-Looking Powertrains

The Lincoln Continental offers the choice of three engines. The base engine is a naturally aspirated 3.7-liter V6 that delivers 305 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of peak torque. One level up is a 2.7-liter twin-turbocharged V6 that offers 335 horsepower and 380 lb-ft of torque. On the top shelf is the 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 that churns out 400 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque.

All three engines channel their power through a six-speed automatic transmission that is equipped (inexplicably) with paddle shifters. Standard drive configuration is front-wheel drive, with all-wheel drive as an option. The Continental with the 400-horsepower V6 is only available with all-wheel drive. The AWD system is equipped with torque vectoring that transfers torque to individual rear wheels to enhance handling.

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Stately Driving With an Edge

The Lincoln Continental presents an interesting blend of old and new. With its stately bodywork, you might expect the 2019 Continental to be as exciting as your grandmother’s paisley shawl. But while it won’t challenge a BMW 5 Series for fun-to-drive honors, it is far more rewarding than its boat-like predecessors. In its 400-horsepower incarnation, the Continental more than gets out of its own way.

If it had more bulk and sheer size, the Continental would resemble a traditional American luxury car — soft, compliant suspension paired with tons of torque to deliver effortless acceleration. This isn’t a combination that is being used by today’s auto engineers, but for a sizable luxury sedan, it is a good formula. For those unwilling to splurge on the highest-horsepower, all-wheel drive Continental, the 335-horsepower version is a good compromise.

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Safety and Driver Aids

The Continental is bestowed with all manner of electronic driver aids. Lincoln Drive Control offers a choice of three settings — comfort, normal, and sport —  that adapt steering and suspension to deliver appropriate ride and handling. Continuously controlled damping helps isolate passengers from the effects of road imperfections. Optionally available adaptive cruise control automatically slows the Continental in stop-and-go traffic and resumes the pre-set speed when traffic clears.

Blind-spot monitoring with a rear cross-traffic alert, automated emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, and pre-collision assist with pedestrian detection are all available but typically bundled into fairly expensive packages. For those intimidated by parallel and perpendicular parking, the Continental has an optional automated parking system that uses ultrasonic sensors to help locate an appropriate parking space, then automatically steers the car into it. Drivers only have to operate brake and gas pedals, which presumably they can handle.

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Interior Space, Cargo, and Fuel Economy

The Continental sedan exudes luxury, but it is not as indulgently roomy as American luxury sedans of the past. Still, it offers an ample amount of passenger space for five. The Continental boasts an interior volume of 106.4 cubic feet. The sizable trunk provides 16.7 cubic feet of cargo space.

Fuel economy for the front-drive 3.7-liter Continental is 17 mpg in the city, 26 mpg on the highway, and 20 mpg combined, significantly lower than the Chrysler 300 with its naturally aspirated V6. With all-wheel drive, the 3.7-liter's ratings are 16 mpg city/24 mpg highway/19 mpg combined. The 2.7-liter delivers 18 mpg city/27 mpg highway/21 mpg overall. For the 3.0-liter twin-turbo-powered Continental, the EPA numbers are 16 mpg city/24 mpg highway/19 mpg combined.

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Trim Levels

The Continental is offered in four different trim levels: Premiere, Select, Reserve, and Black Label. There is also a Livery trim intended for fleet buyers like limousine companies. The Premiere trim is luxurious, despite being the least expensive of the levels. It offers the 3.7-liter naturally aspirated V6 engine, and among the standard items are 10-way heated front seats, multi-zone automatic climate control, and 18-inch alloy wheels.

In the Select trim, the 2.7-liter twin turbo is optionally available. That engine is the base power plant in the Reserve trim, and the 400-horsepower 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 is optional. We have to believe the Black Label trim is what the Continental’s designers were envisioning as they created the car. In addition to the 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged engine and standard all-wheel drive, it offers three designer themes — Chalet, Thoroughbred, and Rhapsody — each tailored for a different buyer mindset.

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Pricing and Value

Rather than aping the European luxury sedans, the Continental is an American luxury car. Its overall quality is impressive, and its ownership experience is innovative, as demonstrated by partnering with Clear to get its customers through airports faster.

The Continental Premier has an MSRP of $46,145. If you add all-wheel drive, it jumps to $48,145. The Reserve has a base price of $59,710, and all-wheel drive bumps that up by $2,000. Finally, the Black Label will enable you to get nearly a bespoke edition of the car for an MSRP of $72,045. (These figures exclude the $995 destination charge.) Certainly, you can follow the moneyed herd and purchase an imported luxury sedan, but the 2019 Lincoln Continental gives you the opportunity to drive in a different direction.

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