2011 Lincoln MKX - Detroit Auto Show

What looks like an ordinary sheetmetal refresh on the outside of the 2011 Lincoln MKX camouflages revolutionary changes inside. With the Lincoln product line moving toward more dynamically curved styling and away from the chiseled granite homage to the iconic Mad Men-era Lincolns , the MKX was due to have its appearance brought into line with the rest of the family.

And so it has been, with an angry hawks-beak of a grille, menacing headlights and swoopy taillights replacing the guitar string-taut horizontal features on the old model.

But open the driver's door and the MKX reveals its true improvements; a raft of new technologies that fall under the rubric "MyLincoln Touch." The MyLincoln gadgets build on Ford's signature Sync technology which has been credited with contributing to the Ford Focus’s best-seller status.

First meeting the driver's gaze is an instrument panel lifted from the nifty Ford Fusion Hybrid that has a pair of 4.5-inch LCD displays flanking the central analog speedometer. These can be configured to show the information the driver prefers, using the steering-wheel mounted five-way controllers. They are those buttons that can be clicked up, down, left and right, plus a central "enter" function, like those on mobile phones.

The left controller and display highlight vehicle information such as fuel economy, mechanical status and safety features, while the right ones handle infotainment and climate control functions.

The middle of the dashboard is anchored by an 8-inch LCD touch-screen display, which employs a carefully designed interface that aims for customers to be able to quickly catch on to its conventions. It groups functions by category, with each quadrant of the screen dedicated to either phone, climate, navigation or infotainment functions. Menus for this system and for the Sync voice command system have been flattened into fewer layers which each contain a larger selection of options, which should simplify consumer interaction with the computer.

Finally, the dashboard beneath the large LCD screen has been wiped clean of moving buttons, switches and knobs. All functions in the MKX are handled by slick-feeling touch surfaces which are controlled by fingertip swipes. Movement across their surfaces, which control the stereo and climate control, is mirrored by white lighting which provides feedback that the action registered.

The effect is cool to behold and should play well with customers who use similar gestures. However, vehicles like the MKX see service in cold conditions where drivers wear gloves, and the difficulty of manipulating the touch surfaces when gloved against winter cold could prove to be an annoyance to northern drivers during the winter. What price, art?

 

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About the Author
Dan Carney is a veteran auto industry observer who has written for MSNBC.com, Motor Trend, AutoWeek, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Popular Mechanics, Popular Science, Better Homes and Gardens and other publications.  He has authored two books, "Dodge Viper" and "Honda S2000" and is a juror for the North American Car of the Year award.  Carney covers the industry from the increasingly strategic location of Washington, D.C.