Lincoln pitches it as the “most fuel-efficient luxury sedan in Canada”. After a week of living with this upscale ride, I’m happy to accept that claim as credible, especially in terms of city driving. I don’t think that any true luxury car I’ve driven throughout my years has returned real-world, ‘in-town’ economy under the 6.0 L/100 km threshold—until now.
The hybrid setup
Unlike the eAssist technology that Buick has added to its LaCrosse line-up, the MKZ utilizes a full hybrid setup. The latter technology enables the MKZ to be propelled by battery power alone or in conjunction with the vehicle’s 2.5-litre, Atkinson-cycle I4 gas engine, which incidentally was named one of Ward’s ten best engines for 2010.
The MKZ can travel at speeds up to 75 km/h exclusively under battery power. Of course, such a feat requires a flat road surface and a feather touch on the accelerator. Nonetheless, that’s quite a remarkable achievement. In fact, I was nicely surprised to find myself flowing with traffic in the 70 km/h range without the assistance of the gas engine.
Naturally, the battery depletes fairly quickly in such circumstances, but it felt damn good while it lasted to know that I was travelling emissions-free, for free. The combined gas and electric power sources generate 191 horsepower in synchronous harmony.
Prior to propelling the MKZ’s front wheels, the sum of the forces flow through a continuously-variable automatic transmission. Working as a collective, the MKZ’s hybrid powerplant returns exceptionally attractive economy, which has been officially rated at 4.6 L/100 km and 5.4 L/100 km city and highway driving, respectively.
As mentioned, I managed to keep my tester’s average fuel economy in the 5L range during combined city and highway driving. This required subtle use of the throttle to achieve, but it was certainly doable. To fully exploit the vehicle’s thriftiness, Ford has equipped it with their SmartGauge, EcoGuide instrument cluster.
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| Lincoln pitches it as the “most fuel-efficient luxury sedan in Canada”. (Photo: Rob Rothwell/Auto123.com) |
The hybrid setup
Unlike the eAssist technology that Buick has added to its LaCrosse line-up, the MKZ utilizes a full hybrid setup. The latter technology enables the MKZ to be propelled by battery power alone or in conjunction with the vehicle’s 2.5-litre, Atkinson-cycle I4 gas engine, which incidentally was named one of Ward’s ten best engines for 2010.
The MKZ can travel at speeds up to 75 km/h exclusively under battery power. Of course, such a feat requires a flat road surface and a feather touch on the accelerator. Nonetheless, that’s quite a remarkable achievement. In fact, I was nicely surprised to find myself flowing with traffic in the 70 km/h range without the assistance of the gas engine.
Naturally, the battery depletes fairly quickly in such circumstances, but it felt damn good while it lasted to know that I was travelling emissions-free, for free. The combined gas and electric power sources generate 191 horsepower in synchronous harmony.
Prior to propelling the MKZ’s front wheels, the sum of the forces flow through a continuously-variable automatic transmission. Working as a collective, the MKZ’s hybrid powerplant returns exceptionally attractive economy, which has been officially rated at 4.6 L/100 km and 5.4 L/100 km city and highway driving, respectively.
As mentioned, I managed to keep my tester’s average fuel economy in the 5L range during combined city and highway driving. This required subtle use of the throttle to achieve, but it was certainly doable. To fully exploit the vehicle’s thriftiness, Ford has equipped it with their SmartGauge, EcoGuide instrument cluster.
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| The combined gas and electric power sources generate 191 horsepower in synchronous harmony. (Photo: Rob Rothwell/Auto123.com) |