2016 MKX Reserve Job #2 1st weeks review

[IggyAZ]

I picked up my 2016 MKX with Sync 3 on Monday Jan 18th.

I have taken a few trips locally as well as on the highway with a total of 450 miles on the odometer.

Everything is working flawlessly and here are a few of my initial observations.

 

1. Sync 3 is worth waiting for and is super fast and works well with all voice commands.

2. Linking my Android was easy and my calls and text msg are now fun and effortless.
3. The 3.7 L V6 in my mind a great solid engine. It is quiet, stable and preforms well at all speeds. I drove highway speeds here in AZ at 75 mph and took it up to 105 mph and still had plenty to go faster but I thought I'd better now for now.

4. Adaptive HID is great and gives out much more light than compared to the All LED headlights.

5. The 20" rims and tires makes the car look mean with their wide stance and are quiet running and grip the road solidly>

6. My Ruby Red with clearcoat is a eye catcher and many people have come by and asked about the car.

7. The Reserve perforated leather seats are comfortable and the basic electric seats in the Reserve is great.

8. The electric steering took a day to get used to as it is different than the old rack and pinion power steering. Great at high speeds.

9. The fit and finish on my MKX is great as I have looked and looked and can't find anything out of place.

10. GPS, Radio, SAT Radio is easy to use with the new Sync 3

11.Gas mileage has been around 22-24 mpg but again I have driven both in the city as well as the open highway at 75mph and higher so I predict my next tank at moderate speeds will do better.

12. Oh the 6 speed transmission started learning over the first few days and is very smooth and responsive to my heavy foot.
I have not tried Sport mode yet.

13. My MKX Job #2 has the menu items to turn on and off the automatic mirror traction if you want.

14. No digital speedometer except when in cruise control.

15. I have installed the Lincoln App on my Android phone and works well. I tested remote start from a distance and that will be worth it in the Arizona summer months when it reaches 110 degrees. lol

 

 

Any questions just ask me.

 Thanks and now to facebook to add this.

 

 

 

So now all I want to do is use it and enjoy my trips more.

 

 

 

[Marshall]

oh oh. really a bad idea taking a brand new engine, <1000 miles , up to and over one hundred miles per hour. Owners manuals typically warn against that. Hope you didn't set that engine up for early failure.

[IggyAZ]

All is well. The engine didn't blowup. It was after running at 75mph for the last 30 minutes prior.

Yes I understand break-in at various speed , no towing etc.

Thanks for caring.

[Marshall]

Never said running it over 100MPH would cause instant engine failure. Rather, that damage was done and will lead to premature failure of internal engine components. I'm not a auto mechanic but have been into cars for 40+ years, read up, and watched plenty of automotive shows (building and rebuilding cars) to believe you will end up having to take the car in for major engine repair (pistons, cylinder  heads) within the first year or 5-10K miles.

[Adam]

I think that, for context, you should indicate what your previous vehicle(s) have been.

 

Also, not sure how you are qualified to comment on how much 'better' the HIDs are relative to the LEDs. Can you clarify that for us?

[IggyAZ]

I have observed videos of the MKX with HID and the LED headlights. Just Google it and you will find many videos for the MKX headlights.

It is a big difference.

[Cosmos36]

Comparing LED & HID headlights, Halcyon Mfg. Co. states that the HID xenon lights provide "superior intensity and light focus", adding that in the " foreseeable future LEDs will eventually surpass the performance of the HID lighting."

 

I have no personal experience with LED headlights, but the MKX's HID xenon projector lamps are whiter, brighter, and better focused (especially the sharp cutoff of the low beams) than the halogen (assumed) projector & bulb lights of my other two vehicles.

[thisguy159]

 

 

 

 

Reserve/3.7 AWD/Climate Pkg/Driver Asst Pkg/Enhanced Sec/Cargo Pkg/Revel 13/

 

 

Going on 4th week, review.

 

1. Sync 3 is definitely worth it.  Need to allow some customization because its a bit plain but I will be okay with plain as long as it works as quickly as it does.  Remote start with the app works great and is a nice bonus.  Do not like the fact that apple has to be connected via the cable to get podcasts at least thats the only way we have been able to get it going.  Android works a lot better.
2. The 3.7 L V6 pleasant surprise.  The trans works great with the engine.  I was worried I didn't go with the 2.7 but I'm glad I saved a couple of grand there.  NEED eco mode besides normal and performance.

3. HID lights are fine...really not much difference between my 11 year old Acura which is fine with me.  Love the look of the LED's couldn't justify the 4400 price tag.

4. My car is black on black, i like the look except wish there was less chrome, brushed look would have been much better.

5. The Reserve perforated leather seats are comfortable and the basic electric seats in the Reserve is great. AGREED.

6. Ride is great adjusting between sport normal and comfort is large enough difference to justify using the different setups. 

7. Fit and finish is good, couple issues I have, my tweeter on passenger side seems blown, will be taking it in, i found a screw under the driver seat, will investigate.  The passenger door rubber surround that goes to the door popped out.  That's it nothing really major and I will be going to the dealer to fix.

8. Siruis/XM sound sucks over the revel 1300 option, i stream spotify and sound is much much better.  The system is great but the lack of adjustability eq etc is well lacking.  It would help if we had the option to adjust those options so that when switching between sources we can improve on the sound. 

9.Gas mileage is SHIT!  I get 18 mixed with city/highway.  Its cold here in Chicago between 0 and 32 degrees but I find the mileage awful. On highway alone I got 18.7 over approx 140 miles @ 70-80 mph.  Insult to injury and my BIGGEST complaint is the stupid 18 gal tank.  I wouldn't care about getting 18 mpg if I could go 500 miles on a tank. Any other comparable SUV Lexus/Acura have much better economy

10.  I really enjoy the remote start and the adaptable heating that automatically adjust to the temp outside.

11. Interior is a nice place to be.  There are questions about edge vs MXK, it really isn't a comparison, MKX is a much nicer place to be.  I don't really get why anybody would have an issue with the push button trans, its a nice space saver and it looks nice where its at.  Its a very conservative interior, you can look at it as a negative or positive, but looking at competition Lincoln is a couple years behind.  I don't mind it but also wouldn't mind something more modern.

 

Complaints

1. Interior, I know it would change the layout but there should be a 10 or 12 in wide screen in the middle, have a little more pop.  If Lincoln wants to go after a younger buyer they need to rethink the styling.  I'm 35 years old and I like conservative but would also like a little pop.

2. I hear a lot of ppl talk about digital speedometer, I think it should be an easy enough update.  Really what I would like to see is the screens utilized a bit better.  For example, i think its nice that it tells me when I navigate that i have to turn left or right but it would be much nicer if it gave you a small map.  My dads Porsche has a round one don't think its much bigger and it looks nice.  My eyes are still fine so if you are one of the older Lincoln buyers you could switch to the large turn here arrow.

3. Fuel economy is shit and so is the tank size so since neither of those two things can be changed really, put in (I can't believe i'm saying this) an ECO mode as one of the options.  I have been really pleased with the performance of the 3.7 and 6 speed but there are times when I want to speed up on the highway and I don't need the trans to downshift.  I sometimes put it in sport and use the paddles to keep it in 6th gear as long as i don't press on the gas paddle to hard...wish I didn't have to do that.

4.  Column stalks feel and are cheep, leave it for ford get something nicer in a lincoln.

5. Fuel Tank is crap 18 gal.

6. Carpet, it looks nice, can't really talk about the wear of it but its thin, could use more insulation underneath it and could be mounted better, I put husky mats in it this weekend and the carpeting was loose around the paddle, not a huge issue but then again $53k i would like it done better.

7. Color/interior options. I don't like the chrome to much and I thought the selection of colors was a bit poor, I didn't have the black label.  Wish the interior could have more options for wood finish when selecting black interior. 

8. Wind buffeting when the sunroof is open is a bit obnoxious.  There needs to be a fix from Ford.

9. The raised 1 pillars above the front windshield should be flushed or needs to have a rubber insert.  When driving on an open highway and there is cross wind it adds to the noise...unnecessary.

New 10. I have the safety package so 3 cameras, I know its not 360 but I wish they gave me all 3 cameras when I'm parking, really just a software upgrade i'm sure.  Can't blame them for charging extra for that option but.

New 11. Speaking of cameras lane keep assist is cool, i hope the continue to refine the algorithm so that i'm not bouncing from line the line, just keep me in my lane. 

 

I think that's it.  I'm honestly please with my purchase, I am surprised I went with a Lincoln but I really enjoy the car.  I wanted xc90 but it was a bit to pricey for me and MDX as nice as it was, didn't have some of the nice extras the Lincoln offered.  I keep my cars for 10 or so years usually and am really hoping that Ford made a solid car here the looks are classy enough to last that long..  The car looks good and is not as obnoxious as RX for example where it will look even more stupid in 5 years time. 

Edited January 25, 2016 by thisguy159

[thisguy159]

oh oh. really a bad idea taking a brand new engine, <1000 miles , up to and over one hundred miles per hour. Owners manuals typically warn against that. Hope you didn't set that engine up for early failure.

If it was a 1960/70/80 lincoln or any car i would agree but not these days.  Thats like saying your engine needs an oil changed every 3 k miles, those days are over with.  Everything is built to such high tolerances it would be shocking if anything would happen.  Besides your engines RPM are not that high at 100 mph.

Edited January 25, 2016 by thisguy159

[elijahbird7]

As far as gas mileage goes, negatives leading to poor mileage are: new engine, winter blend gas, remote start, and any speed over 65. My 14 AWD will get around 19.5 to 20.5 just running errands in warmer weather, with summer blend gas, and about 22.5-23.0 on road trips as long as I stay around 65. I have about 8800 miles on mine, and with winter driving, winter blend gas, and some remote starts, get around 18.8 running errands and right at 20.5 on longer trips. (NE Illinois).

[akirby]

If it was a 1960/70/80 lincoln or any car i would agree but not these days.  Thats like saying your engine needs an oil changed every 3 k miles, those days are over with.  Everything is built to such high tolerances it would be shocking if anything would happen.  Besides your engines RPM are not that high at 100 mph.

 

Absolutely correct.   At the factory they take brand new vehicles to WOT right off the line.   The only thing to avoid during break-in is running the engine at the same speed for a long time (cruise control on the interstate e.g.).    High speed or fast starts are perfectly fine.