REVIEWS AND ROAD TESTS

Missed the mark

At the moment when the Lincoln name is in ascent, the survival of the Continental remains questionable. In spite of its technological advancements, this sedan remains unrecognized. Should it simply disappear, like so many Ford products have recently?When you take a close look at the Continental, the design revisions from three years ago didn’t change this model’s appearance as much as Lincoln would have liked consumers to believe. There’s no question that the rear is the best part of this model, mainly because of the taillight design, very evocative of what you see on models manufactured by Jaguar, currently owned by Ford. After a while it’s equally obvious that while it’s easier to load baggage into the trunk (although the ingenious original storage drawer has been eliminated), the extra space comes at a cost to rear seat passengers, who have a few centimetres less for their knees. On the other hand, front seat passengers will appreciate extra headroom and side air bags. The interior design has changed and ergonomics have improved, but the steering wheel is in the same sightline as several instruments, including the speedometer, and the gear shift lever is anything but smooth (a word of advice to the design team: take a look at the Jaguar’s).While shorter than it once was, the Continental’s hood still covers the Intech V8, which notably has a significant amount of extra torque thanks to changes made to its camshafts. The four-speed automatic transmission transfers the engine’s 260 horses to the front wheels and shaves a few tenths of a second off the previous model’s acceleration time, which was 100 pounds heavier. Lincoln gives you the pleasure of using the assisted steering control as much or as little as you like. The significant turning radius is less pleasant, however. After Lincoln made a few changes to front-end design without making it any sturdier, the adjustable suspension is now part of the options list. As a result, the Continental still has a more than cushy ride and the chassis sways on curves as the car understeers with not the smallest sign of shame. Thank goodness drivers can count on four disc brakes and an antilock system. Although esthetically more refined, the Continental does little to improve it ’ s regal image. It’s too bad that efforts to improve technological features are somewhat ruined by the use of a few ridiculous gadgets, particularly while its little sister, the LS clearly proves that it is possible to do better.

PROS
Technological improvements
Smooth and powerful motor
Comfortable ride

CONS
Deceiving appearance
Notable turning radius
Lack of rear space

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