Zephyr, we hardly knew ya: Lincoln introduces 2007 MKZ under $30k
Lincoln has officially changed the name of its entry-level luxury sedan from Zephyr to MKZ, and is reintroducing it for 2007 with a new engine, styling tweaks and the availability of all-wheel drive for the first time ever on a Lincoln car.
The new engine is Ford's 3.5-liter V6 rated at 263 horsepower. The MKZ will be its first application in a car, though it will be used in the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX CUVs, as well. The transmission is a six-speed automatic that, if our memory hasn't failed us, is the one developed in conjunction with GM rather than sourced from one of Ford's suppliers.
It's difficult to see the styling tweaks made to the MKZ, but supposedly they're there. The car's interior, perhaps its most polarizing feature (we liked it when we reviewed the Zephyr), remains in tact and can be had with genuine wood, leather and satin nickel trim.
Finally, the MKZ gets all-wheel drive for 2007. Combined with the potent powerplant and a ride tuned for "luxury performance", the new MKZ should be a much better athlete than its short-lived predecessor.
The 2007 Lincoln MKZ starts below the magic $30k mark with a base price of $29,890 for a front-wheel drive model (just $230 more than the base price of the Zephyr) and $31,765 for the all-wheel drive model. It'll hit showrooms in October with a six-year / 70,000-mile powertrain warranty.
Lots more pics and Lincoln's press release can be found after the jump.
[Source: Ford]
Press release:
2007 LINCOLN MKZ DEBUTS UNDER $30,000: A FRESH DESIGN, MORE POWER, AND AVAILABLE AWD
The new 2007 Lincoln MKZ is the latest example of Ford's Way Forward commitment to deliver greater value to consumers through straightforward pricing, new features and an extended powertrain warranty.
The new Lincoln MKZ midsize luxury sedan gives customers entry into the Lincoln brand at under $30,000.
Powered by a new fuel-efficient 263 hp 3.5L V-6 engine, the Lincoln MKZ starts at $29,890 for FWD and $31,765 for AWD models, including destination and delivery.
Lincoln MKZ is the brand's first all-wheel drive car and one of four new 2007 Lincoln models entering the marketplace.
DEARBORN, Mich., Sept. 11, 2006 - Lincoln is building on the success of its strong-selling Zephyr mid-size sedan with the introduction of the 2007 Lincoln MKZ – a five-passenger luxury sedan that boasts a refined look, a new, more powerful engine, and the confidence of available all-wheel drive. The new Lincoln MKZ features a starting manufacturers suggested retail price (MSRP) of $29,890 for front-wheel drive and $31,765 for all-wheel drive models.
"The new Lincoln MKZ is moving Lincoln to a modern vision of American luxury," says Al Giombetti, president, Ford, Lincoln and Mercury. "It enters the market from a position of strength, following the outstanding success of the Zephyr. With the Lincoln MKZ, we're adding great new features and delivering outstanding value that American luxury customers demand."
Since its debut last year, Zephyr has paved the way for the Lincoln MKZ with a solid foundation in customer satisfaction and quality. It achieved the best performance by a Lincoln nameplate ever with its second-in-segment showing in the 2006 JD Power Initial Quality Study. Its hallmark Lincoln craftsmanship was honored with Ward's 2006 Best Premium Interior Car Award. It also has attracted a younger, more diverse customer to Lincoln and helped position the brand for growth. Nearly half of Lincoln Zephyr customers are new to Lincoln.
The Lincoln MKZ presents a refined interpretation of Lincoln's traditional waterfall grille. Its clean lines, new 17-inch machined aluminum wheels, distinctive lighting and chrome accents create a dynamic, uniquely American interpretation of luxury.
The Lincoln MKZ is powered by Ford's new 263 hp 3.5L V-6 engine paired with a fuel-efficient 6-speed automatic transmission. The all-aluminum, four-valve engine features intake variable cam timing, delivering exceptional refinement and more power than comparable V-6 engines from GM, Nissan, Chrysler and Honda. The engine eventually will power one out of five Ford Motor Company vehicles in North America. With the new engine, the Lincoln MKZ chassis has been retuned to deliver a more athletic driving experience.
Rounding out the performance story is newly available all-wheel drive (AWD), a feature that 50 percent of luxury owners say they want on their vehicle. Lincoln MKZ is the first Lincoln car to offer available AWD, a feature not found among many vehicles in its competitive set. The intelligent AWD system on the Lincoln MKZ is specifically tuned for luxury performance, offering confident all-weather driving. It seamlessly delivers torque to all four wheels as needed. Ford Motor Company leads the industry in delivering AWD capability. The company will have 28 vehicles with this technology this year.
Responding to the explosive popularity of MP3 audio players, the Lincoln MKZ features a standard auxiliary audio input jack. Available SIRIUS™ satellite radio helps customers stay connected and in command.
When it arrives in showrooms next month, the Lincoln MKZ will offer Lincoln's no deductible, fully transferable extended powertrain limited warranty of six years or 70,000 miles along with complimentary roadside assistance. It's also expected to have a strong 36-month lease-end residual value of nearly 50 percent when it goes on sale, comparable to recently launched vehicles like the 2007 Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator.
The Lincoln MKZ is available in a single series, featuring a full complement of standard premium equipment along with select options, making it easy for customers to order.
Key standard features include:
- New 263 hp 3.5L V-6 with 6-speed automatic transmission
- Luxurious interior, with genuine wood, leather, and satin nickel trim
- 17-inch machined and painted aluminum 8-spoke wheels
- LED tail lamps
- Dual-zone electronic air temperature control
- New MP3 audio input jack
- 10-way power adjustable driver/passenger seat with power lumbar and recline
- Front Wheel Drive (FWD)
- Excellent NVH characteristics and unique suspension
- Heated front seats
- Driver memory seats and mirrors
- Intelligent AWD
- SIRIUS™ satellite radio
- THX II-Certified ® audio system with 14 speakers, a six-disc player compatible with normal audio, MP3 compressed or text format CDs
- DVD-based navigation system with a 6.5-inch-wide screen and text-to-speech technology for travel directions aloud in English, Spanish or French. Includes THX II-Certified ® audio system.
- High Intensity Discharge (HID) headlamps designed to produce more light, last longer and use less energy than typical incandescent headlamps
- 17-inch 8-spoke chrome wheels
- Perforated premium leather cooled front seats
- Power moonroof
- Interior satin nickel trim in lieu of wood on doors, console and IP
The 2007 Lincoln MKZ is one of four new models joining the Lincoln showroom this season, along with the all-new Lincoln MKX crossover, the redesigned Navigator and the all-new Navigator L extended length full-size SUV. The next major step in establishing Lincoln as America's luxury brand comes in 2008 with the debut of the Lincoln MKS full-size flagship sedan, based on the concept vehicle first shown at the 2006 North American International Auto Show.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Jamie 2:07PM (9/11/2006)
Boring dud. Even boring Lexus is better styled.
Start competing with the Europeans before it is too late please. What is FWD? Why do you still have it?
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mark f 11:46AM (9/11/2006)
Lincoln? They still make cars? Why?
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DJ 11:48AM (9/11/2006)
I can only hope the interior looks better in person than in the photos. Too many different textures, finishes, colors, conflicting styles and that steering wheel looks like it belongs on an eighteen wheeler.
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JB 11:51AM (9/11/2006)
Looks pretty much the same to me. Should stay the Zephyr. No one aspires to own a MKZ.
The LED taillamps were supposed to be on it from day one, but fell victim to cost cutting. Still has bulbs in the decklid though, looks kinda cheap, especially when you look back to the Mark VIII's decklid lamp, but that was when Lincoln pushed the limit in lighting technology.
I personally liked the show car's full-width lamp, as it drew from the Mark VIII and other lincolns. Some will say it looks cheap, but if you can get people to recognize a car from behind, at night, as a Lincoln, then that is something. Now everyone has round lights, boring.
I still think the new Lincoln cars look like Infinits, good or bad.
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K 12:15PM (9/11/2006)
Except for the renaming mania it looks as if Lincoln has the made right move here. This car badly needed the added power.
The $ for all-wheel drive look good too. Ford should drop the option-to-death pricing model. Make the base model desirable with only one upgrade package offered.
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Rob 12:13PM (9/11/2006)
can't see any resemblance whatsoever to an infiniti... this car is too square and old-school looking to be confused with something like the (new) infinitis (except the big armada look-alike) which are rounded and sleekish.
i also understand the whole idea of making the interior look 'retro' and funky at the same time but it just doesn't do it for me. it obviously worked well for the mustang but i expect my luxury car to be funky-fresh not just funky period :)
i hate the taillights and will hate them even more on the new navigator...i am quite disappointed in lincoln's designers as of late..
i would much rather wait for the new CTS.
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john 12:18PM (9/11/2006)
call me crazy, but a $30k+ car should have a remote-opened fuel door.
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PiCASSO 12:23PM (9/11/2006)
"The LED taillamps were supposed to be on it from day one, but fell victim to cost cutting. Still has bulbs in the decklid though, looks kinda cheap, especially when you look back to the Mark VIII's decklid lamp, but that was when Lincoln pushed the limit in lighting technology."
So these are pre-production pics, with rear LED's:
http://www.lincoln.com/zephyr/img/main_ext_16.jpg
http://www.lincoln.com/zephyr/img/main_ext_5.jpg
Oh well...
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PiCASSO 12:27PM (9/11/2006)
Weird... the Zephyrs found on eBay all look like they have LED taillights:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Lincoln-ZEPHYR-ZEPHYR-2006-LINCOLN-ZEPHYR-10K-MI-CLIMATE-SEATS-SUPER-CLEAN-V6_W0QQitemZ120028301381QQihZ002QQcategoryZ6306QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Lincoln-Navigator-4-DR-SEDAN-LINCOLN-ZEPHYR-2006_W0QQitemZ270026018312QQihZ017QQcategoryZ6303QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Or were these LED's replaced by bulbs?
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Greg 12:32PM (9/11/2006)
The body looks the same as the Mercury Montego and the Ford 500.
The Ford company has really done injustice for the Lincoln Mercury brand over the years, and this is just another kick in the groin to Lincoln Mercury dealers and their sales teams across the nation.
Chrysler made a bold move with the 300, and it is was a success.
Lincoln needs to take a look at their products of the 60's, 70's and 80's and put something together that won't seem retro but will reflect a retro look.
All wheel drive is fine by me for a Lincoln, in fact it would help their sales out.
Looking at the photo's up above, I will close with the same thing I said in the beginning, this MKZ looks like a new Mercury Montego and a Ford 500.
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JT 7:51PM (9/12/2006)
I'm 34, and test drove a Zephyr with the light-wood and satin-nickel interior, and I have to say it looks much nicer in person than in photos. Definately give the interior two thumbs up in that scheme-- it looks classy and elegant as opposed to the inoffensive soulless interiors than adorn every other car at this price point. It really requires you to sit in it rather than judge based just on the photos. I was turned off by the photos, and then walked away really liking the new interior after sitting in it. I liked how the Zephyr drove, but have have been waiting for the 3.5L and new Ford/GM 6-speed auto vs. the Aisin 6-speed. Feedback on the Ford/GM speed has been very positive.
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infinihertz 12:37PM (9/11/2006)
Greg, I disagree about the appearance (I don't think it looks like many other cars), but if that's your assessment then Ford has a bigger problem than you think, because the MKZ is based off the Fusion/Milan, not the Five Hundred/Montego.
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Dr. Woo 12:49PM (9/11/2006)
The interior materials look to be of exceptionally poor quality. Why anyone would pay $30k for one of these over an Audi A4 or even an Acura TSX, both of which are higher-quality (the A4 much more so) is beyond me. I guess the horsepower number might tempt the single-minded.
I foresee these selling only at steep discounts, because without the price advantage, these MKZs have nothing substantial.
Another disgrace to a proud automaker with a rich history.
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Migo 12:49PM (9/11/2006)
looks like some additional images were posted to the web.
http://www.lincoln.com/reachhigher/default.asp?section=mkzhome&intcmp=B_ReachHigher_LMainImage_RHMKZHome_20060907
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Dr. Woo 12:59PM (9/11/2006)
After Migo's post, I checked out the MKS. If that thing makes it to production looking like that concept...then simply "wow."
The appearance and apparent quality of that car will MORE than make up for the MKZ's shortcomings.
http://www.netcarshow.com/lincoln/2006-mks_concept/
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art greenberg 1:02PM (9/11/2006)
Dr. Woo. Have you actually seen the interior? It happens to be very well crafted and uses gunime wood and/or aluminum. The interior has won accolades and won best in class at Ward's auto interior show this year:
http://www.autoblog.com/2006/06/08/wards-names-industrys-top-interiors-features/
You forsee these selling at steep discounts? Time to do some research again. Lincoln dealers have been selling all the Zs they can get with very small incentives. Residuals on this car are quite high.
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Michael Karesh 1:09PM (9/11/2006)
So, are people judging the quality of the interior from the photos?
When test driving the Zephyr, I had a much larger issue with the styling of the instrument panel than the materials it was made of. But this is purely personal preference, just seemed too old-fashioned to me.
The price of the MkZ is quite good for a luxury sedan with 263 horsepower and all-wheel-drive. I'll get this pricing into my database so we can see how it really stacks up against cars like the A4 and TSX.
http://www.truedelta.com/models/Zephyr.php
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Mark 1:11PM (9/11/2006)
Nice exterior, looks really good in black. But, I don't think I could live with that interior, best in class or not.
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Dr. Woo 1:16PM (9/11/2006)
art,
The Chevy HHR also won its category (with the Mazda CX-7), which forces me to look at these awards with great skepticism. I will admit that there are several things about this car's overall design that pass my initial "cheapness" test.
All I can say is: This car must have an H2-sized profit margin.
Michael,
No, only I am. :-)
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G 1:52PM (9/11/2006)
In addition to being Lincoln's first AWD car, is this also it's first FWD car?
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