THE PROS & CONS
-
- What’s Best: Super smooth, comfortable and luxurious ride
-
- What’s Worst: I don’t know if it was this particular car, but the driver’s seat seemed to get easily stained.
-
- What’s Interesting: The continental name badge is one of the oldest in the industry having been around since 1939.
It seems hard to believe that it’s been 15 years since the Continental name disappeared from the Lincoln line up.
It was retired in 2002 after declining sales in its 50th year.
Here we are in 2017 and the Continental has returned with a bang.
The all-new tenth generation is stylish, luxurious and this Reserve model comes with a punch under the hood as well.
The new design has shaken the “old man” styling of its past and is now modern, sleek and attractive with a slight hint of Jaguar at the front end.
The long body is accentuated with floating side mirrors and door handles that are nicely incorporated into the chrome window trim making them disappear into the lines of the car from the side.
The tail end seems stretched with a strong stance and deep trunk and made even more attractive by the long light bars stretching the width of the car.
Up front the new Lincoln grille and LED lighting gives the Continental a strong and muscular stance.
You know that the Continental is something special when you first approach it. The LED lighting in the lower front body and taillamps subtly light up. A luminous Lincoln welcome mat appears beneath the front doors and the interior lights illuminate the cabin.
The intelligent door latch opens with a slight touch of the button. The first thing I noticed was the front seating. The 30-way seats are more plush leather panels independently located inside a hard frame. Each panel moves independently making it impossible not to find a comfortable seating position – irrelevant of your height or weight.
The interior is very spacious and is enhanced by the optional panoramic moonroof. The fit and finish is what you would expect of Lincoln’s new flagship vehicle with attention to detail obvious throughout the cabin.
The dash is easily read with most infotainment functions being controlled by the latest SYNC 3 system with steering wheel mounted buttons or from the large centrally mounted touch screen.
This Continental came with the optional Revel audio system that has been specifically tuned to the cars interior acoustics, turning the cabin into a personal amphitheatre with three music settings through the use of its 19 speakers.
The rear cabin is just as luxurious as the front, offering lots of leg space and comfortable seating for three adults. There is also individual heating/cooling and audio controls.
The trunk is massive in the new Continental. This car could easily manage the entire luggage of any Hollywood Diva and still have some room for their assistants’ bags as well.
This Continental Reserve came equipped with a 3.0-litre twin turbo V6 engine that produces a very healthy 400 hp and 400 lb/ft of torque and is matched up to a six-speed SelectShift automatic transmission.
All-wheel-drive is standard on all Canadian models with Dynamic Torque Vectoring, which directs grip under cornering to the appropriate rear wheel.
Selecting a gear is now by a push button shifter which is now located next to the centre display making the dash uncluttered with ease of use.
On the road the Continental is super quiet, the 400 hp engine isn’t noticeable even when pushing it hard, the lack of exterior sound is also enhanced by Active Noise Control and acoustic-laminated glass.
It seems to float over any road surface with rough and potholed roads feeling nothing more than a slight vibration through the seats.
There are three driver settings – comfort, normal and sport – adapting steering and suspension setups to tailor ride and handling.
Although a big car like this isn’t really designed to be thrown hard into corners, but the Continental stays surprisingly flat with steering remaining crisp.
Acceleration, even when being aggressive, remains smooth and quiet without any real increase in cabin noise or feeling.
This Continental Reserve came with all the expected safety features including Pre-Collision Alert, Pedestrian Detection with radar and camera, adaptive cruise control that can automatically slow it in stop-and-go traffic – resuming speed when traffic clears and lane keep assist and electronic stability control.
On a long drive I found the 30-way seat was easy to readjust my seating position as certain muscles became tired. The seat massage is really kneads your lower back and upper legs and is certainly one of the best of any car in the market.
I wasn’t really expecting much from the Continental, but after spending a week in it, I must admit that I did really enjoy it.
The V6 engine was way more responsive than I expected and had just as much get up and go as any V8 and was certainly just as smooth and quiet.
The fit and finish and luxurious interior combined with a very competitive price certainly takes the Continental back into contention in the luxury sedan market.
2017 Lincoln Continental Reserve AWD
BODY STYLE: Full-size luxury sedan.
DRIVE METHOD: Front-engine, full-time all-wheel-drive, six-speed SelectShift automatic
ENGINE: 3.0-litre twin turbo, direct injection V6 (400 hp, 400 lb/ft)
FUEL ECONOMY: 14.4/9.7/12.3L/100 km
CARGO: 473 litres
PRICE: Base $60,500 As Tested $76,950 (Includes $1,900 destination charge)
WEB: www.lincolncanada.com
Show Comments
Keyword: The Lincoln Continental is Reborn – WHEELS.ca