The Lincoln MKS for 2010 bristles with technologies. To us at least, the (genuinely) huge news is the optional EcoBoost engine package. This is a powerful arm Lincoln that has couple of peers when it comes to prodigious thrust. Therein lies the charm of Lincoln’s twin turbo package. It provides the performance of a a lot larger displacement engine, but when you maintain your foot out of the go-pedal, the fuel-efficiency of a smaller V-6. Advantage: Torque. And in this situation, Lincoln could have the very best game in town.

The huge news brings us to the large debate: horesepower versus torque. Torque is what you feel when you kick down an automatic transmission and it pins you to the seatback. Torque is what allows an engine to run relatively low RPMs down the road, but still prove to be completely valuable when you need to effortlessly pull out and pass a person or some thing. The truth is, horsepower is the result of mathematics and engine speed. Torque is what gets the job performed. But there’s more: If you have an engine that produces copious quantities of torque in a low RPM range, that very same engine can be tuned to be very efficient. Now, it is no secret you can build torque in a significant number of techniques. The old way was to build huge displacement, long stroke engines. North American luxury cars relied upon that game strategy for decades. But massive capacity isn’t often the most energy effective and, typically speaking, they tend to be more challenging to harness from an ecological perspective. An additional way to achieve the same torque results, but simultaneously improving the fuel economy is by way of turbocharging.

And that’s exactly the path Lincoln chose for their new optional 3.five-liter EcoBoost V6 for their 2010 Lincoln MKS flagship. As Lincoln points out, “With the fuel economy of a V-6, the 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine delivers an impressive 355 horsepower and a responsive 350 lb.-ft. of torque across a broad rpm range. That gives the Lincoln MKS the power of a generally aspirated 4.6-liter V-8. It also indicates a Lincoln MKS can deliver a lot more performance and supply far better fuel economy than several of its Asian or European competitors, even some competitors’ V-8s. In order to arrive at this performance level, Lincoln engineers chose to incorporate water cooled, twin parallel turbochargers. They operate simultaneously and work in tandem with a gasoline direct-injection fuel delivery program to create power instantly when you mash the gas pedal. The result is lag-less performance from the twin-turbo’d engine. Another huge benefit is the gasoline direct fuel injection program where fuel is injected directly into the combustion chamber by way of high pressure (2,175 PSI, according to Lincoln engineers). Successfully, six individual jets spray fuel directly into the chamber. There is no delay from the time the fuel is injected to the time when it is utilized by the engine.

Equally crucial is the fact that the incoming air charge (compressed by the twin turbos) is effectively cooled by the directly injected fuel. Two essential side rewards contain improved fuel burn and lower emissions. In terms of measurable numbers, the MKS with EcoBoost produces its peak power (355 hp) at a comparatively low 5700 rpm but, most essential, the little V-6 produces maximum torque (350 foot-pounds) at a quite low 3500 rpm. Equally substantial, the torque curve is flat. That indicates helpful power is obtainable (in a big way) nearly anywhere you want it. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mileage numbers for the 2010 Lincoln MKS are: 17/24 city/highway for MKS FWD 16/23 for MKS AWD, and 17/25 city/highway miles per gallon for the 2010 MKS AWD with Ecoboost. As you might have guessed, the prodigious performance provided by the EcoBoost engine grabbed most of our attention (it’s that very good). Yet truth be recognized, the rest of the leading-line Lincoln is no slouch either. In order to get the massive torque to the ground, the Lincoln incorporates a six-speed SelectShift automatic transmission with paddle shift activation backed by an all-wheel-drive system. Lincoln engineers went through the automatic so that it was up to the task of backing the stout twin turbo’d V-6.

Upgrades contain reworked gears, a lot more robust friction supplies and a new torque converter. Simultaneously, the final drive ratio was decreased to a 2.77:1. That reduced the engine speed under virtually all conditions. Nineteen-inch wheels are standard with the MKS EcoBoost engine package and so is an expanded level of regular equpment that includes Intelligent Access with Push Button Start, ambient lighting, adaptive HID headlamps with Auto High-beam, rain-sensing wipers and rear-window power sunshade. Crack open the driver’s door and you’ll find a new 3-pod instrument cluster. The steering wheel includes ergonomic grips at the 10:00 and 2:00 O’clock positions, situated perfectly to use the integrated paddle shifters. Seats are solid and, as expected, full-functioned. Lincoln phased out the suede seat material late in 2009. Our test auto came equipped with discerning chocolate and graphite leather trimmed seats. Like the outside of the MKS, there’s plenty of well placed chrome trim to remind you this is, soon after all, a Lincoln. 1 thing we can’t forget is the wide suite of available technology in the MKS series. For example, the Navigation Package offers voice-activated DVD Navigation with THX II 5.1 surround sound, DVD/CD/MP3 player, consists of 10GB music jukebox and SIRIUS Travel Link. The popular SYNC info program returns (it consists of the capability to voice-activate most phones and media players). Newly added to SYNC, integrated real time visitors reports, turn by turn directions, sports scores and other useful info. (SYNC Visitors, Directions and Information, nevertheless, is not obtainable on vehicles equipped with the optional factory-installed navigation systems.)