mint05LS said:
Sloban,now that you own an LS, what is your opinion on it? I always liked these cars,and when I went new car shopping,I drove a new Caddy for schitz and giggles.I have not had any second thoughts,have you? As for ghetto,obviously this kid has never been to N.Y. . You name it, someones sportin' a fancy car in the slums, cars that cost alot more than ours.Not to mention those dubs,rims or whatever the hell they call them.
Sorry, but this got kind of long. You're asking about one of my favorite subjects: my LS!
I love the styling of the LS, especially lowered. The ride is very refined while still handling quite well in corners. Those are the two best things about it for my taste.
The manual shift mode of the automatic is great. Some of them (like in the 2004 Maxima SE I'm coming off of) treat your gear selection like it was a general suggestion and go ahead and do whatever they want anyway. The LS's seems to do what I say.
The power and acceleration are good enough for my purposes, although it would benefit from a little firmer shift and quicker throttle response, but again, I'm coming off of a V6 and manual throttle linkage. Steering response at speed is spot on, but in the parking lot I have to move the wheel a lot more than I'm used to.
The interior control layout is, to me, almost perfect. Even during the first test-drive, I could easily use the climate control, stereo and lights without hunting around. The ones in the BMW and Maxima were just awful, I thought.
A couple of nits to pick: No heated steering wheel, which is not so much something I'll miss in southern California, than it something that seems like it should be there. The front seats could be 3/4" wider, but then, I'm somewhat well-endowed in the posterior department.
Finally, my biggest nit, is with the Nav/THX screen controls. For navigation, the touch-screen is sweet to use, much better than a stupid joystick control. But the presets for the stereo! There are no physical buttons for the presets, so you have to have the Audio screen displayed to change presets. But if you're using the Nav, that means you have to select the Audio mode, select the preset and then return to the Map mode. Annoyingly, the voice control has Seek Up/Down, but no command for Presets. Pffft!
I've owned around 80% Fords and Mercurys in the 31 years I've owned cars. This is my first Lincoln and I'm very pleased with it for the $37222 that I paid. It just fits me and my driving style nicely and compares favorably with other cars in the price range. I would not have bought it at MSRP however, there are better cars in that price range.
Oh yeah, I just thought of one other complaint, but it's definitely NOT unique to Ford/Lincoln/Mecury ... the factory paint jobs that I've seen on new cars this time around are shameful. Hey guys, you're supposed to AVOID orange peel, not STRIVE FOR IT!
