Put all of the old jokes you have heard about Lincoln and Cadillac aside. Yes, I know you are thinking that the two rides are best left to the geriatric set (a.k.a.- your parents) to transport them from their Florida subdivision to the early-bird special restaurant. Clearly Cadillac has done a fine job in recent years changing its brand image from stodgy to luxury. Lincoln- notsomuch… That is why my jaw hit the ground when I was able to review both vehicles, especially the Lincoln. To let the cat out of the bag, the Lincoln has the most sophisticated infotainment device of any vehicle I have reviewed to date. Sync 2.0 kicks ass and takes names, and the THX sound system is sublime. But first the Caddy…
CADILLAC CTS
The Cadillac CTS is no slouch either when it comes to technological horsepower. The 306 horsepower direct-injection engine mists just the right of fuel into the cylinders to get you 17 city / 26 highway MPG. When you open up the door, you are greeted with heated and ventilated seats and LED ambient interior lighting that really helps set off the mood. But any E-Gear reader who is thinking of purchasing this car must opt for the Premium Luxury Collection. Then you will be getting such niceties as remote start, heated windshield washer fluid, and rear parking assistance (that will thoughtfully beep at you in case you are about to hit something from behind), and a special large dashboard display- more on that later.
OnStar has also been enhanced- although Bluetooth is not an option this year (Cadillac officials point out the technology will be matriculated into the new 2009 models), you can still take advantage of hands-free calling via OnStar. Voice Recognition Software places the call. Also, OnStar Vehicle Diagnostics will e-mail you a report card of the CTS every month to help you keep track of maintenance. The system check includes OnStar looking for fault codes in the powertrain, emissions, airbags, antilock brakes, and tells you the next time you need an oil change based on your driving conditions right to your inbox. For those who particularly hate dealing with the service writers at your local dealership, this service can be a godsend. Even if you are car ‘uninclined,’ the OnStar diagnostics will explain any vehicle faults to you in plain English via e-mail.
So that is all well and good, but how about the driving experience? It is truly world class, and definitely on par with its German competition (including the Audi A4, Mercedes C-Class, and BMW 3-Series). And the in-car tech does not disappoint. When you sit down, the center console looks like a clean design with a small radio display surrounded by sapele wood. However, press the start button and the small face radio deploys an eight-inch diagonal, high resolution full VGA infotainment display.
The navigation system includes 3D imaging of more than 800 major landmarks in 39 U.S. cities, voice recognition and real-time traffic and weather data provided by XM NavTraffic data. For iPod lovers the center console of the CTS is tailored for the ubiquitous device as well as MP3 players or other digital music storage devices. The iPod can be charged via a USB port, which also enables playlists to appear on the car’s touch-screen, and steering wheel controls can be used to advance tracks. A 40-gigabyte hard drive allows pausing and rewinding of live radio, as well as ‘ripping’ tracks from CDs. The hard drive enables 60-minute ‘buffering’ of the car’s radio, meaning you can pause a live broadcast in order to take a phone call, or even leave the car to run an errand and simply rewind to listen again. All this comes through a Bose 5.1 Cabin Surround audio system that is very good (but not among the best) at producing concert-quality sound.
LINCOLN MKS
The Lincoln MKS is the brand’s new flagship model and it shows. For those in bad weather climates, it is available in both front and all-wheel-drive (I sampled the AWD version; if you don’t need it you can pick up an extra MPG on both the city and highway). The most substantial design element is the double-wing grill- a style element taken from Lincolns of yore. Although it is a large car, it pays off in interior space. In fact, the MKS has the largest rear cabin in its class in every important dimension, including head, leg and shoulder room. And the Lincoln tends to passengers’ comfort with standard heated rear seats, an overhead skylight, and a motorized sun shade for the rear window.
One of the coolest new exterior features is you can go to the gym and lock the keyfob in the car. When you return, there is a hidden keypad that seamlessly blends itself into the exterior B-Pillar that automatically illuminates when it feels your touch. The keypad shares its technology with the iPod and iPhone, using the same supplier, Quantum Research, for the processors and algorithms. In fact, there is a docking station for the keyfob in the glove compartment if you don’t want to carry around any keyfob whatsoever!
But when you hit the inside of the Lincoln MKS, that is where the elderly stigma really ends and the tech begins. The billboard marketing campaign even states ‘Starships can Drive.’ The center stack is dominated with an oversized 8” smudge-resistant touchscreen that is the command center for the SYNC system. As good as some of the joystick-controlled units are in other cars (such as BMW’s iDrive, Audi’s MMI, or Mercedes CONTROL), nothing beats the simplicity of a well-organized touchscreen. The best thing about SYNC is its seamless operation.
Once you do the quick chore of linking your cell phone to the vehicle, everything comes up on the vehicle display as you would expect it to. Getting your address book or delving deep into the music catalog of songs stored on your phone using A2DP are simple tasks via voice command or a well-designed GUI (Graphic User Interface).
The voice activated navigation system comes with a six-month subscription to Sirius Travel Link, a feature that provides users with access to up-to-the-minute information and entertainment content through the SYNC control unit. You can get current gas prices from an estimated 120,000 filling stations; local real-time traffic information for 78 markets; coast-to-coast weather conditions with five-day forecasts; sports scores and movie listings. I was really impressed to get information on ski conditions in Colorado. Travel Link works through the existing SIRIUS satellite and repeater infrastructure- offering uninterrupted, coast-to-coast coverage.
Another tech trick the MKS has to offer is forward parking assistance. It works like rear parking assist, but can be particularly helpful protecting you from that nasty crunching noise the undercarriage makes while scraping against parking blocks you can’t see pulling into a space. There are automatic rain sensing windshield wipers that work via an infrared beam that ‘reads’ the surface of the glass and sends information to a sensor mounted in the vehicle.
Automatic High Beams take care of dark twisty roads without having to do anything- the system, derived from sensing technology developed for NASA, can detect taillamps at a distance of more than 500 feet and headlamps at a distance of 2,000 feet. A patented filtering technique distinguishes street lights from vehicle light sources, preventing unnecessary dimming. The adaptive headlights will also pivot to brighten where you are heading when making turns. Also included is an adaptive cruise control system that even includes yaw sensors- this means if you have the adaptive cruise control engaged and you are about to travel around a sharp corner, the vehicle will automatically reduce its speed to keep the occupants comfortable. The engineers at Lincoln even thought of the gas cap which is the first of its kind that does not need a screw-on lid. When you remove the nozzle it automatically seals shut.
The icing on the cake is the amazing THX II certified 5.1 surround sound audio system.
There is a 10-Gigabite hard drive on board with Gracenote technology that will put an image of the CD that is playing on the display. The system is powered by a 12-channel, 600 watt ‘Smart Amp’ that delivers power to the system’s 16 specially-placed speakers, including a 10-inch subwoofer mounted under the driver side rear package shelf and a dashboard-mounted center channel.
The tuning was done in house by one of Ford’s long time acoustical engineers, and a lot of time was spent analyzing the acoustics of the MKS’ cabin. This attention to detail really makes the system shine. Although it may not be the absolute loudest system, it is very impressive and realistic. It is among the best I have heard from an OEM manufacturer, including the wonderful Acura ELS surround system.
The MKS may not be the sportiest of rides, but it can hold its own in real life driving. But the tech is astounding. I know a German car snob who laughed when I said I was reviewing a Lincoln and invited him to check it out. He is now an owner. Who would have thought Lincoln would be leading the vehicle technology race?
nice car..this is really a good one by cadillac..
I love both. I think the Caddy looks sportier while the Lincoln looks more sophisticated. I love both of the interiors but based on the SYNC, Travel-Link, and other standard luxuries that made me buy the MKS last month. I simply adore it. And when I told my friends about it they all replied with a relatively similar answer: “Your now driving an olds man car?” But when they saw it their jaws dropped and it was worth it.