2020 Lincoln Continental

While the latest iteration of the Lincoln Continental may have a style that evokes nostalgia for a bygone era where enormous land cruisers were the epitome of status and class, everything else about it is as modern and high-tech as you could ever want a luxury sedan to be. With a standard safety suite that leaves almost no advanced driver-assistance features out, the Continental certainly warrants its place in the luxury sedan segment. Nevertheless, it is remarkably affordable with a starting MSRP of $46,305, a pittance more than you would have paid for last year's model. However, the Lincoln struggles to compete with its so-called class rivals like the Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7 Series, which offer much more powerful engines than the V6s you'll find under its hood, be they standard or turbocharged. With a maximum output of 400 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque on its highest trim, the Continental seems better suited to compete with the midsize sedan market. But even when it matches up more favorably on power, the large sedan is a gas guzzler and offers surprisingly little cargo space for such a large vehicle.

The Lincoln Continental has a price that fits its premium status. Getting behind the wheel of the entry-level Standard or the fleet-only Livery will cost you $46,305, while the Reserve sees the bill rise by a whopping $13,565. The top-tier Black Label makes you pay for its good looks and premium luxury features, with a hefty price tag of $70,205. If you want the most powerful engine option on the Reserve or Black Label, you will need to shell out an additional $7,015, which also covers the upgrade to all-wheel-drive. While they were created only as a limited-time special order, you might still be able to pick up a Coach Door edition with suicide doors, which debuted for $115,470. These prices are MSRP and exclude US tax, registration, licensing, and a destination charge of $995.

While it may claim to compete with the high-performance BMW 7 Series or Mercedes S-Class, the Continental lacks the athleticism of the illustrious German cruisers. It might be able to keep up on long, straight roads, where it can cruise once up to speed, but when you invite the transmission and mediocre handling dynamics to the party, things quickly turn to gumbo.

While many luxury sedans opt for extremely light electronically assisted steering, the Lincoln once again shows its old-school charm by presenting a steering wheel with a bit more heft to it, a welcome change to the new tradition. Sadly, it sticks to popular trends when it comes to feedback, which is to say there is none. And while the stately sedan seldom loses its composure, it lacks any sense of grace, understeering all too readily when taking corners quickly. More refined and well-rounded luxury sedans don't make this mistake.

The Continental offers a relatively comfortable ride, and the seats combine with the adaptive suspension to mitigate most road imperfections. But, yet again, the suspension isn't as refined as what you'll find in the more premium sedans. The poor build quality of the cabin doesn't really make itself apparent at lower speeds, where wind and road noise are dampened well enough, but the significant increase in noise over rougher roads reveals this weakness.

The current iteration of the Continental has never felt truly modern, and the lack of any significant changes for the new year only serves to strengthen this opinion. But that isn't necessarily a drawback; the retro-styling and nostalgia-inducing interior have a charm all their own for those who remember the heyday of large luxury sedans.

But while we may be willing to overlook the design choices on this American cruiser, we can't excuse the lack of updates when it comes to the mechanics and tech below the surface. To say the Lincoln boasts a powerful V6 engine is misleading when you consider the far more capable V8 and V12 engines under the hoods of its so-called rivals, namely the Mercedes-Benz S-Class or BMW 7 Series. Even smaller luxury sedans seem to hold their own against the Continental and they still beat it in several key areas, like cargo space or tech features.

What the American luxury sedan has going for it is affordability; the base and even mid-tier trim are significantly cheaper than German rivals' similarly sized sedans, but the low-budget materials and questionable build quality might not be worth the savings. Despite the enormity of the car, the Continental provides buyers with only moderate trunk space, and below-average fuel economy, although it uses regular gasoline instead of premium. To get the most out of the Lincoln Continental, you will need to aim for its priciest options, and when you're paying as much as you would for Merc S-Class or BMW 7… why aren't you just buying one of those instead?

The Lincoln may have an appealing price tag, but if you want a luxury sedan at the same level as those the Germans offer, you will end up spending almost the same as you would if you simply bought a foreign car, and you'd have a lot more disappointment. The Continental isn't as fuel-efficient, doesn't have the same refined tech features, uses lower-grade materials, and doesn't feel as well-built. Add to this the subpar trunk space and less-than-stellar driving dynamics, and you really have to ask yourself why you aren't driving away from this relic of a bygone era as fast as you can in your new BMW or Merc.

If you're looking at Lincoln sedan, you probably want a car that balances luxury with a modicum of affordability. Ergo, we would recommend the Reserve trim. As standard, it gets the peppier 2.7-liter twin-turbo V6, which makes driving around town or on the highway far less tedious. We don't recommend opting for the 400-hp V6 unless you really don't care about your mileage figures. The mid-tier Reserve gets comfortable leather-appointed seats with 24-way power heated and cooled front seats, as well as all the safety features available to the range, including the head-up display and surround-view camera. The Reserve is quite a bit pricier than the Standard model, but it would be even harder to justify the $70k price tag on the top-tier Black Label.

Each of these luxury sedans has more in common with one another than they do with the cruisers coming out of Germany or Japan, which are significantly higher-quality cars. Like the Continental, the Cadillac CT6 offers a selection of engines, with an available 550-hp turbo V8. Where the CT6 really does a number on its rival, though, is with its far superior ten-speed automatic transmission. The extra speed provided by smoother gear shifts pairs well with the more athletic handling dynamics of the Caddy. The CT6 doesn't beat the Lincoln's cargo capacity, with only 15.8 cubic feet, but passenger space is just as generous. Unfortunately, even the cheapest model is going to set you back close to $60k, which may deter buyers who want luxury without the luxury price tag. But if your wallet can handle it, the Cadillac CT6 is definitely the better buy, and more fun to boot.

Sharing many of the same underpinnings as the large luxury sedan, the MKZ is basically a smaller sibling to the Continental. But size isn't the only thing smaller about the MKZ; it also gets a less impressive 245-hp four-cylinder engine. However, this reduction is power does equate to savings in fuel economy, which is where the Continental really suffers. The smaller sedan is also far more maneuverable than its hefty brother, although it is held back by the same clunky six-speed automatic transmission. For the $10k reduction in cost on the base model, the MKZ doesn't present quite such a luxurious interior as the Continental, but it remains spacious for its size and doesn't skimp on trunk space either. Overall, the smaller sedan looks to be the smarter buy from a value perspective; but, if money isn't an issue, you may as well splurge on the luxurious Continental.