Lincoln Corsair AWD: Oakville Drives

My car reviews for 2020 start off with the all-new Lincoln Corsair that replaces the Lincoln MKC and related to the 2020 Ford Escape. The name “Corsair” is not new to the automobile industry and I have included some background history of the Corsair name.

1938 Phantom Corsair

Back in 1930’s, there was a gentleman by the name of Rust Heinz (from the H.J. Heinz family) with a background in naval architecture and designing sleek speedboats. In 1938, he joined up with a Maurice Schwartz to design and build a concept car. Their efforts produced the Phantom Corsair – a two-door sedan with a very futuristic design. The chassis was based on the Cord 810 from the Auburn Automobile Company. That provided the Phantom Corsair with front wheel drive, independent front suspension and a 4.7L V-8 powerplant. Unfortunately, financing challenges prevented the car from ever entering production. For readers interested in more about this Corsair, I recommend https://heacockclassic.com/articles/1938-phantom-corsair-from-the-national-auto-museum/

1958-1959 Edsel Corsair

Edsel Corsair | Photo credit: Reinhold Möller | Reinhold Möller

The Ford Motor Company had a very short two-year production run of this vehicle. In its first year, it was based on the Edsel platform but the following year, it moved to the narrower Ranger platform from Ford. It was not a marketing success.

1963-1970 Ford Consul Corsair

Produced by Ford of Britain as a long wheelbase and new bodied Cortina. Available in both 2, 4 and 5 -door versions in both hardtop and convertible body styles. Some of these are exceptionally rare today.

1989-1992 Ford Corsair (UA, Australia)

Photo Credit: Charles01

Produced by Nissan Australia as a Ford labelled Nissan Pintara to replace the Mazda based Ford Telstar. This model was not a huge success.

The Lincoln Corsair is a 5-passenger compact luxury crossover replacing the MKC. The two available turbo-charged engines carry over from the MKC – either the 2.0 L or the 2.3 L, matched with an 8-speed automatic transmission. Both engine configurations come standard with all wheel drive. Similar to Lincoln’s Navigator, Nautilus and Aviator line up, the interior of this Corsair is upscale and comfortable. Competition in this compact luxury class will be from the Audi Q5, Mercedes GLC and BMW X3.

Performance, Handling & Comfort

My test vehicle was the Lincoln Corsair Reserve with the 2.3 L 295 hp engine with just about every option available.

Corsair Lincoln AWD 2020 Interior | Photo Credit: R.G. Beltzner | R.G. Beltzner

Sitting in the driver’s seat for the first time, it becomes apparent that it takes some time to become familiar with all of the available controls. The driver’s seat itself has 24 possible adjustments so it takes some time to find just the right combination.

For those not familiar with the layout of Lincoln controls and knobs, it helps to refer to the summary owner’s manual to educate oneself with the functions and where they are. Many functions such as seat massage settings and auto start/stop are only available through the 8” LCD screen.

Others such as some of the climate and audio controls are conveniently included on the center cluster. Of course, many of the audio and navigation controls are voice activated as well. Note that the transmission selection is through a piano style key at the top of the cluster.

Corsair Lincoln AWD 2020 Centre Control Panel | Photo Credit: R.G. Beltzner

Of interest is the positioning of the voice command switch inserted at the 10 o’clock location in the leather wrapped steering wheel. The remaining driver activated function to take note of is the position of the adaptive cruise controls that are located on the both undersides of the steering wheel.

I had the opportunity to drive the Lincoln Corsair AWD for over 700 km during the week, including two 3-hour non-stop stretches. I find these longer drives provide me with the opportunity to really experience the level of comfort, responsiveness and usability of the vehicle. I also took the Corsair to go shopping to try out those tighter parking spots as well as storage space. Here’s what I found:

The 2.3 L turbo charged 4-cylinder engine with 295 hp is more than adequate even for spirited highway driving. What is noticeable on the open road is how smooth and quiet the Corsair is. The interior finish is pleasing – perhaps with the exception of the aluminum dash trim. The center armrest is also well positioned for comfort.
The 8-speed automatic transmission with available paddle shifters can be a bit slow in responding on both upshift and downshifts. Of the available drive modes, I found that the “excite” mode results in a slight improvement to the timing of gear changes. I enjoyed the responsiveness and handling on snow/ice covered roads (note that the vehicle came equipped with proper winter tires all around).
I achieved 9.8 L/100km – over 738 km with a mix of city, highway and country road driving. This compares exactly to the advertised 9.8 L/100 km.
The location of the paddle shifters interferes with the turn signal and wiper control arms. The adaptive cruise control switches are not well located, and I found it all too easy to select an incorrect switch at times.
Visibility and sight lines are is excellent. My test vehicle came equipped with heads-up display – one of the best features to keep your eyes up and away from the dashboard displays. LED headlights are great, and the auto high beam function works exceptionally well during those long evening drives back from the country.
I found that the many safety features worked well. AWD, traction control, emergency braking and restraint systems were all reasonably tested.
Entering and exiting the vehicle is comfortable. Driver and front passenger seating is luxurious – with the available massage features. The rear seat space and comfort was properly tested by three of my adult friends as five of us drove for a lunch. No one complained, even on the drive back after lunch. The foot motion activation for the rear hatch works well. Rear cargo space is adequate.
Turning radius, especially for parking is good. The overall size of the vehicle makes it easy to maneuver into tight spots.
The various camera views are very helpful. However, the rear camera lens gets obscured all too easily in poor weather. As a result, it often becomes next to useless when backing up.

Summary

The Lincoln Corsair lives up to its claims as a 5-passenger compact luxury crossover. It is both pleasing to look at, pleasing to drive and comfortable. When considering whether to choose the base model or upgrade to the Reserve, note that both come with AWD and many of the desirable luxury and safety features with the usual options available to upgrade. Only the Reserve is available with the larger 2.3 L engine which is my view, makes it a more sensible choice, albeit at a much higher cost. The fully loaded Reserve will cost you close to $75,000 (taxes included) – which is expensive for this class of vehicle.