Gadgetory

it's the only hybrid out there that doesn't charge you more because it is one and it's far away getting the most buzz of anything in the Lincoln lineup but is there enough of it let's drive this 2014 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid and check the tech so what is an MKZ this one is based on a Ford Fusion but Lincoln swears up and down from about the shin level up it shares no parts i'll take them at their word because it doesn't look like a fusion in fact in 2013 they got this dramatically new face' and run by the unscientific poll on the street says that pedestrians and valet parking dudes have told me it's a good looker now when you get into the MKZ it's a familiar cabin we've seen that instrument panel before there are a number of subtle improvements I'm impressed with first of all the touch response is suddenly much quicker on this my for what they call my Lincoln Touch and it's ever been before I'm able to hit things once and have them work that says enough right there in the past my Ford or my Lincoln Touch did not do that beyond that the map interface and the way you enter destinations has not changed so if you're familiar with that you've seen this before one thing I want to point out about my Ford and my Lincoln touches it's a very much if you see it you can touch it interface there's almost nothing on here that you can't touch to act on everything here is very direct and I got to give him kudos for that something's there unusual only on this hybrid are this energy flow screen you will not have seen this on another my Ford or my Lincoln Touch non-hybrid and like Audi for example Ford uses a four corner logic upper riders nav upper left is communication lower left is entertainment lower right is climate then you get two screens like this you go to settings and you go down here to your wireless and Internet and then you go what who put that in a car I've seen routers that are simpler to configure than this so they're still kind of drinking the kool-aid your media choices are many on these systems from USB drives you have two of those my ipod and my USB driver connected bluetooth streaming of course SD card am/fm NHD satellite radio still got an optical disk in here so this is a really really multi-headed Hydra that works well for all your media on the other hand kind of a paucity of apps really aren't any because the irony with Ford products is that if you get the high-end my touch interface you don't get the broad support for apps that you get with sync at a lower level that's been a weird schism in the Ford layout and it still continues here now another thing they've improved dramatically finally are these two touch ribbons for volume and for fan now it works really well volume goes up and down smoothly the fan goes up and down smoothly the first time other controls here can be a little nebulous I mean you just touch on the actual bezel here to do things like temperature raise and tuning and changing climate mode push button shifter over here I have a gripe with these they all feel and operate the same way and that may sound obvious but that means that they don't have a unique personality which i think is important for drive controls it seems a little little too easy for me to change modes now of course by not having a shifter here and moving it to these buttons you pick up some more console space and of course we've seen the mini screens over here on the sides of the speedometer the most interesting one I want to show you is the one that is a driver momentum coach they'll coach you into how well you're modulating your acceleration your braking even your cruising to maximize fuel efficiency and recharge the battery which is right next to it the sport normal and comfort mode is oddly buried here in a menu evie plus mode kicks in when the car knows you're near one of your typical destinations it learns those and puts itself more into electric mode as you approach one eco cruise dials back the power during cruise control so you may actually drop below your set speed but save energy of course there's blind spot and cross traffic alert sensing and a forward collision warning technology that clashes a big light in the windshield before you rear-end someone but as otherwise mostly passive automatic parking is something Ford brand's pioneered at low cost and on the MKZ it works really well but a near-future model might have Ford's next level of this tech which would also control the throttle in the brake not just the wheel okay the engine bay of our hybrid is hybrid two-liter four-cylinder lean-burn Atkinson cycle engine is your combustion component that's combined with a 70 kilowatt electric motor so what is all adapt to 188 total system horsepower ford quotes the torque as 129 wimpy foot-pounds concerns me because 129 foot-pounds is about the same as me on a bicycle this car weighs almost 3800 pounds it's not a lightweight yet it still delivers 45 45 mpg there's your payoff and zero to 60 is fine at eight point eight seconds one choice only on the drivetrain of course front wheel drive only no all-wheel drive available on this guy automatic transmission there is no manual ok on the road the first and the biggest shortcoming of this vehicle comes across and that is just a lackluster powertrain get on the pedal and things start to rev but the power doesn't arrive and the car almost never runs in even mode which is very nice when it works torquey silent that's a cool thing about some hybrids this one doesn't do that the engines almost always on and it sounds like the grinder they use at Starbucks now I'm calling BS on that 129 foot pound rating that just can't be right because this car gets up out of its way quite well just not in a way that's exhilarating you hear that I'm stepping on the gas the engine's going up and down and up and down and the car's not moving in relation to that it's just a real rubbery and disconnected that said the ride quality is quite good all MKZ is I understand it have an adaptive suspension this one certainly does the steering's over assisted as well at all speeds it just didn't do a good job tuning that if they are going after a sort of a precision import feel you don't get that this is like an old Lincoln feel ok pricing our MKZ hybrid here's the big headline this is the only hybrid on the market that does not cost any more than the non hybrid version of the same car so about $37,000 delivered but there's quite a bit to add to go seen that style 53 75 is the big one for the preferred package including the backup camera and sensors HD radio navigation blind spot and cross traffic alert a power trunk the bigger wheels heated seats thx audio and more then another 20 200 or so from the technology package that includes adaptive cruise control the automatic forward collision prevention and braking lane departure warning active and passive and that very good automatic parking technology finally for 1,200 bucks you can get a standard glass roof like we have I'm going all the way though 29.95 I know it's a lot to get a panoramic glass room they do a nice job on these cars it's a nice looking car it's got some vastly improved cabin tech and Lincoln's come quite a ways but not far enough to make the argument to pick this over much else sorry to say it but this is a car that still needs another leap forward Oh