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Lincoln LS sedan amounts to a precise and athletic performer
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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CALISTOGA, Calif. -- Remember to breathe as we tear through gears and trim apexes of so many hairpin curves on California 29, which wiggles around Sugarloaf Mountain in the Coastal Range en route to the Sacramento Valley, where we're heading to a test track at Willows.
Through occasional gaps in sideline tall stands of redwoods you may spy the checkered patchwork of vineyards in Napa Valley far below, but who could look when ripping up to speed on a drive where eyes must focus on the next in an endless series of bends and dips and serpentine strings of this tricky mountain road?
Naturally, we're pushing the test car -- a new mid-size sport luxury sedan from Lincoln -- to the limit of all laws of physics in order to sample its promised sporty personality and agile nature. And, quite frankly, we're flying through the course.
Still, this unusual Lincoln invites more participation: Feed it more throttle, carve out tighter turns, fling it quicker through the dips, race faster up the steep grades.
By the time we wind out into flats of the Sacramento Valley at Williams, we're out of breath, out of energy and out of twisty roads. Yet what comes from this romp through the mountains is a new-found respect for an impressive new sporty sedan from a brand whose car models, at least for the past four decades, have not been recognized for either their sporty characteristics or aggressive performance.
Consider this a new day for Lincoln at the pivot of a new century with a new car which bears a model-year 2000 tag under the name of LS, as in Luxury Sport.
To appreciate the new sedan, you must first dismiss customary images associated with more recent Lincolns -- like big, bulky, floaty land yachts. Instead, for the LS insert new traits -- like agile, athletic and sporty.
In the 80-year history of Lincoln, big boats were not always the rule.
Soon after the company's inception in 1920, the Loche Sport roadster emerged, and in 1936 Lincoln devised the sleek V12 Zepher, which was one of the first streamlined cars in America, featuring a refined quality but half the price tag of previous Lincoln sedans. And in 1940, Lincoln introduced the Continental, which grew out of a lowered '39 Zepher with extended hood and short tail plus an exposed rear tire which would become a hallmark for the brand.
Now, this new LS emerges to kindle a new clientele for Lincoln while challenging the brand's more recent images.
With its sleek yet subtle form and a spacious cabin with four doors and room for five inside, the LS measures to mid-size proportions drawn from a rigid unibody structure which features liberal applications of light-weight aluminum for body panels and suspension elements.
The design for LS revolves around a new rear-drive platform developed by Lincoln's parent, Ford Motor Company, and shared jointly between Lincoln and another brand owned by Ford, Jaguar of England. The two cars, Lincoln LS and Jaguar S-Type, also share some key mechanical components, including a new V6 engine.
Despite these shared elements, the exterior styling for LS, treatment of the cabin and the car's active personality remain exclusive and unique to Lincoln.
We logged more than 400 miles of seat time in various executions of the new sedan, including versions rigged with V6 or V8 engine plus a manual stick for the V6 as well as an automatic five-speed automatic transmission with SelectShift clutch-less shifter. This collective experience produced a surprising general impression of the LS which added up to an athletic, even aggressive image tinged by the flavor of firm and responsive European sports sedans.
On the closed-loop test track at Willows, which contained a series of high-speed straightaways and tricky off-camber chicanes draped over rolling hills, that athletic image for the LS was measured against performances of a number of mid-size German and Japanese competitors. Through these comparative trails, the LS revealed it has all of the right ingredients to edge ahead of the others in terms of agility, stability, inherent power, plus rider comfort.
The car's chief designer, Helmut Schrader, describes the exterior styling as an elegant understatement of classic proportions with brief overhangs, exaggerated wheelbase and wide track. Taut body forms, accented by wide wheel openings and a graceful arch over the cabin, forge an athletic shape.
Inside, the tailored cabin has an international flavor in a leather-lined layout with twin front bucket seats followed by a rear bench with twin sculptured spaces.
&&& Bolstered buckets feel firm like fine German seats and adjust infinitely with power controls and optional memory settings. Glossy wood trim lines dash and doors and console, while classic analog instruments -- including a tachometer -- mark the instrument panel.
Engines for the LS use either six or eight cylinders.
The 3.9-liter, aluminum V8, derived from a Jaguar engine but modified and assembled at a Ford factory in Ohio, features dual overhead cams with variable camshaft timing. It produces 252 hp and is capable of propelling the LS from zero to 60 mph in less than eight seconds.
The new 3.0-liter, 60-degree V6, constructed at Ford's engine plant in Cleveland, O., also has twin cams and four valves per cylinder, with a chain camshaft drive and electronic sequential port injection system.
Its output reaches to 210 hp.
&&& Either engine links to a new five-speed electronic automatic transmission, with optional H-gate SelectShift clutch-less controls.
&&& In addition, the V6 mixes a Getrag five-speed manual stick shifter in a package for sporty performance. Availability of a manual transmission at Lincoln marks a sporty milestone because it's the first manual transmission offered since the 1951 Lincoln Cosmopolitan.
Speed-sensing variable-assist rack and pinion steering and four-wheel disc brakes with computerized anti-lock controls and electronic brake distribution enhance maneuvers of the LS. Further, Lincoln's AdvanceTrac dynamic stability control system, which applies brake and throttle automatically to correct potentially dangerous yaw behavior, is available.
&&& Pricing for the new Lincoln starts at $32,450 for the base LS with V6 engine, automatic transmission, 16-inch wheels and tires, and leather trappings. The sport package at $31,250 brings the manual stick, 17-inch wheels and European suspension tuning. A V8 automatic LS tallies to $35,225, with options for convenience and sport packages, a moonroof, AdvanceTrac controls, hands-free cellular telephone and an in-dash six-disc CD changer.
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| Vehicle Specifications: |
| 2000 LINCOLN LS Specs |
| Description: |
Mid-size sports sedan
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| Model Options: |
Mid-size sports sedan
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| Wheelbase: |
114.5 inches
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| Overall Length: |
193.9 inches
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| Engine Size: |
DOHC 3.0-L V6
DOHC 3.9-L V8
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| Transmission: |
V6: Manual/5, Auto/5,
opt. SelectShift
V8: Auto/5,
opt. SelectShift
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| Drive: |
Rear
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| Braking: |
Power 4-disc/ABS/TCS
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| Airbags: |
2 (front) + 2 (side)
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| Gas Mileage: |
V6: 18/25 mpg
V8: 17/23 mpg
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| Price: |
$ 31,250 to $ 40,000 |
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