Touch the Future Now at Staples
CNET editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 06/06/2007
The design of the 2007 Lincoln MKZ incorporates a subtle boldness we appreciate from an American carmaker. Too often, a company produces homogenous products designed to offend no one, which end up appealing to no one either, especially when that company is drowning in red ink. But the Lincoln MKZ drops a retro grille among a thoroughly modern-looking front end, a look that some might find cacophonous, but we like.
Lincoln throws in a few other odd features that end up being high points in what otherwise might be a very mundane sedan. First, it has the best factory stereo of any car on the road. Second, all-wheel drive gives it surprisingly good handling. Oh, its engine might not have the throttle response we would like, and Lincoln hasn't entered the world of Bluetooth hands-free calling yet. But this car makes itself interesting.
If you've never heard of the MKZ, that's because it used to be called the Zephyr. Still confused? The Zephyr was launched as a new sedan for the 2006 model year, with its platform mates the Ford Fusion and the Mercury Milan. (And if you're thinking that the Lincoln Zephyr was originally launched in 1936, kudos to you for your knowledge of automotive history.)
Test the tech: Is it live, or is it THX?
As we considered the audio quality from the MKZ's THX-certified stereo, we thought of the old advertising slogan, "Is it live, or is it Memorex?" We decided to rephrase that slogan as "Is it live, or is it THX?" In other words, we wanted to see if the THX sound system could break a wineglass. As we mentioned above, this stereo is the best factory system on the road. It has 14 speakers powered by a 600-watt, 12-channel amplifier. The system uses digital signal processing (DSP) to balance the sound through all of the speakers.
The experiment is pretty simple--we got a wineglass and determined its resonant frequency by tapping it and recording the sound. We used Audacity, an audio-editing program, to analyze the frequency and reproduce it as a tone. We burned the tone onto a CD and put it in the car stereo. For backup, we also got a tone generator and ran it into the car's auxiliary audio jack.
We were sure this audio system had the power to destroy all sorts of wineglasses, so we called up Laurie Fincham, chief science officer at THX, to find out what went wrong. He explained that the DSP in this system is programmed to fade back anomalous sounds, like our steady tone, so as not to damage the speakers or the eardrums of the car's occupants. The stereo could easily play music well past the 120 decibels needed to shatter a glass, but it tamps down odd noises like we were using.
In failing to break our wineglass, the system actually proved its excellent engineering and refinement. And we were quite happy to stop playing annoying tones through the system and put in some actual music.
In the cabin
With wood accents, leather seats, and faux brushed-aluminum panels, the Lincoln MKZ strives for a sense of luxury that it mostly achieves. The interior holds the appearance of luxury, but it doesn't feel quite as good as the BMW 328xi, for example. We like the array of buttons on the steering wheel, which not only control audio and cruise, but also temperature and fan speed. Likewise, cooled and heated seats are a very nice addition.
Instruments come through with wonderful clarity. We listened to a CD by the Black Keys and were considerably impressed by the way the Hendrix-like guitar riffs came through. The system keeps the brightness tamed with the same technology that kept it from shattering a wineglass. In fact, we enjoyed the music so much that whenever we traveled under route guidance we found ourselves wishing the audible turn instructions would shut up so we could go back to listening to the music.
Although the speakers and amps portion of the sound system is incredible, some aspects of the stereo head unit let it down. The head unit is impressive in its array of sound sources, using an in-dash six-disc changer to play MP3 and regular CDs. It's also equipped for satellite radio and has an auxiliary jack for an MP3 player. But we would like to see better navigation options for MP3 CDs, as it only lets you go from folder to folder, without letting you seek through artists or albums. Also, a hard drive for music storage would be a nice addition, considering the sound system. Options to adjust the audio included the standard bass, treble, mid, balance, and fader, along with settings to focus the sound on the driver, the front seats, or the entire car.
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