Honest Luxury
The golden age of piracy gave rise to all manner of colourful characters like Edward Teach (Blackbeard), Captain Jack Sparrow and Anne Bonny. These corsairs, if you will, were typically characters of ill repute with little motivation beyond their base needs; plundering, murdering, eating limes and singing sea shanties. Unlike the pirates of old though, this Corsair by Lincoln is far more honest in its intentions.
How many cars can you think of that bear sporty badges, despite their clear and obvious lack of sporting intent? Looking at you, BMW and Lexus. But they certainly are not the only guilty ones. Just the first two I happened to think of. You might also recall the Dodge Grand Caravan Sport back in the early 2000s. The Corsair is refreshingly clear of such dishonest badging. It’s a luxury brand embracing what it’s always been about – opulence, comfort and class.
If the exterior of the Corsair doesn’t do much for you (it is admittedly understated), the interior will likely change your mind. I get the sense Lincoln’s design team spent a lot of time on the layout and aesthetic of the cabin. Aside from the typical black or beige option, you’ll also have four beautiful two-tone options including the unusual – but not unappreciated – ‘beyond blue’ tone. Ours was finished in the scrumptious Ebony/Cashew combination with the optional Pinstripe Aluminum Appliqué. Our tester was jam packed with tech goodies too – which is perfect for a brand desperately trying to shed its geriatric image. Those include a wireless charging pad, WiFi hotspot and a smartphone app that can let you use your phone as a key, lock and unlock doors and provide other functions.
But back to luxury. Lincoln’s ‘Perfect Position’ seats are some of my favourite seats in the entire industry. They’re better than some of the seats on cars that cost nearly $200,000. The 24-way adjustable chairs can be manipulated in seemingly infinite ways. It’s almost overwhelming just how much tweaking you can do with them, but once you find that sweet spot, it’ll damn near ruin any other seat in the Corsair’s class. If you’re shelling out for a Lincoln, it’s well worth the upgrade. They also feature a half decent massage function, and of course, heating and cooling.
The Corsair replaces the outgoing MKC. And unlike the more ‘affordable’ Lincoln SUV’s of the past, this one isn’t just a rebodied Ford. Even though it rides on the same platform. The Corsair is a fair price, starting at just under $44,000. But many of the luxuries I praised are optional – and those options add up quickly. But you might save a little cost knowing that, at the very least, your premium car doesn’t need premium gas. Our tester was fitted with the perfectly adequate 2.3L turbocharged inline-4 engine found in the Ford Focus RS and V6 Mustang. It’s responsive, torquey and just enough for the Corsair. We averaged around 9 L/100km, making zero effort to drive it efficiently.
I do have to mention one thing though. Earlier I harped on other brands for festooning their cars with unnecessary and misleading badges about sportiness while praising Lincoln for their efforts to avoid doing that. They’re mostly guilt-free in this regard. Mostly. One of the corsair’s available driving modes is almost akin to a ‘sport’ mode. They call it ‘Excite.’ What it does is make the suspension a bit stiffer and make the throttle response more sensitive. It’s a pretty mild change to be honest. I also have to praise Lincoln’s efforts to move away from vague model names like MKX and MKC. Corsair sounds cool. Nautilus sounds badass. Aviator sounds regal. Good stuff.
My biggest beef with the Corsair comes down to price. This car has some incredible features and comforts. But to reach that stage quickly negates any meager aspect of affordability present in the car. With the right options ticked, this thing could easily push past $70k. For an entry level luxury SUV, that’s just not right. But they are just that – options.
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