Lincoln’s Corsair Plug-in Hybrid – A PRESIDENTS DAY SALE

Lincoln’s Corsair Plug-in Hybrid

A PRESIDENTS DAY SALE

As I see the sweet spot in the aging process, you’re old enough to remember…while still young enough to remember. And so it is with the Lincoln Motor Company and your writer, born in 1953. In the 25+ years following World War II, there was no domestic carmaker that better defined luxury and elegance than Lincoln. Obviously, GM’s Cadillac delivered both, but Cadillac design veered toward the overstated, while Lincoln – in most instances – skewed more understated. The Continental MkII could be seen as a legitimate alternative to a Bentley or Benz, while the early ‘60s gave us perhaps the most elegant interpretation of a 4-door convertible; it was perfect when navigating Camelot, less so when driving through downtown Dallas. 

Sixty years later the big Lincoln sedan is gone. In its place Lincoln prospects can enjoy a broad selection of crossovers and SUVs, beginning with the subject of this review, the Lincoln Corsair. Based on the Ford Escape, Lincoln product planners have done an outstanding job in reducing the impression of an entry-level crossover. The sheetmetal is softly organic and decidedly upscale, and while the front overhang communicates the platform’s front-wheel drive roots, the overall look is balanced and, well…pleasant. There isn’t the visual dynamic found on Lincoln’s larger Aviator, but if navigating a tight parking lot – or restrictive garage space – there’s a lot to like with the Corsair’s more minimal footprint.

Inside, you’ll quickly get comfortable with the Corsair’s ‘comfortable’. Front seats are generously proportioned and upholstered; they’re perfect for those of us with generous proportions of our own. The dash is a blend of traditional and of-this-century appointments; the win, for me, was the conventional switches for audio, and an almost intuitive take on heating and cooling.

In the rear, reasonably wide doors and a low floor make access easy, while generous head, leg and shoulder room provide a rear seat extremely comfortable for two. Although there’s room for a middle passenger, the rear cushion does its best to make that space suitable for lunch, less so for a long weekend. Behind the rear seat is a well-shaped 27 cubic feet. And more, of course, if the Corsair’s rear seat is folded.

Under the hood Lincoln offers its plug-in hybrid with 2.5 liters of 4-cylinder supplemented by two electric motors, giving you a total of 266 horsepower propelling the Corsair’s 4,500 pounds. Putting this to all four wheels via a CVT transmission, the result is more than adequate but, ultimately, less than satisfying. With up to 28 miles of all-electric driving this is a viable way to reduce your carbon footprint, but that’s about all you’ll get in the way of emotional gratification. And if your trip takes you beyond those 28 (or so) miles, figure about 33 miles per gallon in conventional, we’re-now-drinking-gas mode.

Selectable driving modes give you ‘normal’, ‘snow’ and ‘excite’; the more ‘exciting’ of the three does sharpen throttle responses and handling inputs. But don’t confuse this with Porsche’s Macan or the Genesis GV70; this platform leans – figuratively and literally – into ‘Boulevard’ and not ‘Nurburgring’. If you want connectivity with the asphalt buy a good road bike and strap it to the Corsair’s roof. 

As much as I wanted to like the Corsair and its upscale trappings, the complexity of the plug-in, its added weight and a $66K window sticker leads me to think there are better choices on Lincoln’s own showrooms. Online I ‘built’ a conventional Corsair Reserve, adding just all-wheel drive and a towing package. The MSRP was $48K, and available incentives brought that down to just under $44,000. You won’t have the plug-in efficiency, but when behind the wheel you’ll have – I’ll bet – more driving satisfaction.

If you have over $60K to spend and need more space, consider Lincoln’s Aviator. It also shares a platform with a Ford cousin – the Explorer – but provides an upscale footprint fully appropriate to Lincoln’s DNA. And if the executive team at Lincoln wants to return to alphanumeric tags, they could call it…DNA.