Lincoln — Ford’s luxury car division — no longer sells cars at all.
Lincoln is now Ford’s luxury SUV division, embodying a general trend away from cars that’s become a kind of SUV tsunami.
This is understandable. SUVs and crossovers (which are basically light-duty SUVs built on car-type platforms) offer more for the money, literally. An SUV or crossover always has more cargo room than a car of the same length, and often more room for passengers, too, in the form of an often available and sometimes standard third row of seats.
That is something no cars offer.
Lincoln’s Corsair doesn’t have that. But it does have about four times as much cargo-carrying capacity as a car the same size.
It offers some other things you might be interested in as well.
What It Is
The Corsair is a compact-size luxury crossover SUV based on the Ford Escape.
Being a Lincoln rather than a Ford, the Corsair comes standard with the Escape’s top-of-the-line 250 horsepower engine and offers a stronger plug-hybrid powertrain that enables the Corsair to travel about 28 miles (at normal road speeds) on battery-electric power alone. In addition, the Corsair is available with an adaptive suspension system that’s not available with the Escape and a new self-driving system Lincoln calls ActiveGlide.
Prices start at $38,690 for the Standard trim with front-wheel drive. AWD can be added as a stand-alone option.
The top-of-the-line Grand Touring comes with the plug-in hybrid powertrain and a full-length panorama sunroof, among other upgrades.
It stickers for $53,385.
What’s New
The Corsair gets a styling refresh as well as larger 12.3-inch LCD main instrument panel and an even larger 13.2-inch, Tesla-like secondary infotainment screen. The previously available 2.3-liter turbocharged engine has been dropped, making the plug-in powertrain the Corsair’s strongest powertrain.
What’s Good
Plug-in hybrid option allows electric-only operation without being tethered to a power cord.
Lots of cargo room versus a car the same size.
Back seats are roomy.
What’s Not So Good
Much more expensive than the Escape it’s based on.
Hybrid uses only slightly less gas than the standard model.
Hands-free driving tech arguably encourages eyes-off-the-road driving.
Under The Hood
The Corsair’s standard engine is the same 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that’s optional in the merely Ford Escape. It produces 250 horsepower and is paired up with an eight-speed automatic transmission. Front-drive is standard, with AWD available optionally.
This setup gets the Corsair to 60 in about six seconds — and gets you 22 mpg in city driving and 29 mpg on the highway.
The Corsair’s optional powertrain is a plug-in hybrid setup that pairs a 2.5-liter engine with a lithium-ion battery pack and electric motor. The combo delivers 266 horsepower and 34 mpg in the city driving and 32 mpg on the highway.
On The Road
Lincoln may not be making cars anymore, but the SUVs that carry the badge have the feel.
The Corsair isn’t in a hurry because that’s contrary to the point of enjoying getting there. It does not try to be sporty — because why be what almost everyone else is trying to be? Instead, it succeeds at being plush, which is the quality that used to be sought after by those in search of luxury.
They will find it here.
You feel it before you drive it — once you sit in it. The seats are … plush. And so is everything you touch. Softness abounds, accentuated by gentle curves rather than harsh angles.
It calms you down before you start the engine.
Once you do — and drive off — the plush theme continues. You feel it in the seat of your pants and the small of your back. Or rather, don’t feel it. The Corsair’s suspension is set up to be … plush.
It operates like a mute button for potholes.
At The Curb
The styling refresh for ’23 is subtle, in terms of the exterior. The grill is larger. The side lights have been changed. But the most noticeable changes are inside, where there are now two large LCD touchscreens — one in front of the driver and a second one built into the center stack.
Although the Corsair is about the same length as a compact-size sedan such as a Honda Civic, it has about four times as much space for cargo — 56.2 cubic feet with its second row folded forward — than a Civic-size sedan (which has 14.8 cubic feet in its trunk). Even with its second row up, the Corsair has about twice the cargo space — 26.9 cubic feet — and more usable space, too, on account of the much larger opening of a liftgate versus a trunk.
The Rest
Lincoln offers a self-driving system called ActiveGlide that allows hands-free driving in what are called Blue Zones, which are sections of highway that supposedly have the necessary data point cues to allow the system to work. This includes hands-free lane changing, too.
The catch there is expecting people to keep their eyes on the road when their hands aren’t on the wheel.
Lincoln says keep your eyes on the road at all times —and you should — just in case there any miscues.
The Bottom Line
It’s not a Continental, and it doesn’t have suicide doors. But it’s still very much a Lincoln at heart.
View the Lincoln Corsair this week.
Eric’s latest book, “Doomed: Good Cars Gone Wrong!” will be available soon. To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
View the Lincoln Corsair this week.
