Lincoln MKS EcoBoost Pitted Against Maserati Quattroporte at 12,000 feet
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In a phenomenally disappointing choice of marketing tactics, Ford today unveiled its "6versus8" campaign, presented by a pair of buff books and featuring some of the least relevant comparisons in recent memory. To give the V-6 EcoBoost a fighting chance against the big V-8 engines, Ford even tilts the playing field by running them against each other at 12,000 feet.
The move to high altitude is no doubt to widen the gap between the naturally-aspirated luxury V-8 cars and the twin-turbocharged V-6, since forced induction engines are, by nature, not as sensitive to the reduced oxygen present at higher altitudes. That's an unfortunate move, because it says from the outset that Ford doesn't think the engine will win in a fair fight at elevations experienced day-to-day by 95% of the U.S. population. Which kind of guts the whole point of the comparison.
Predictably, the MKS beats all but the BMW 550i, the power benefit of running the twin-turbo EcoBoost engine at altitude overcoming the MKS's decidedly less sporty suspension setup.
The worst part is that the EcoBoost engine and the MKS it rides in are both sold short by this lack of confidence. The EcoBoost engine is lively and responsive and every bit the equal of an equally-tuned V-8 engine. The MKS is a solid luxury sedan that offers more value than almost any European offering and most Japanese luxury cars, too.
That's what makes the advertorial fluff in this Motor Trend/Automobile/Ford video presentation comparing the MKS EcoBoost against the Jaguar XF, Mercedes-Benz E550, Maserati Quattroporte, and BMW 550i so annoying. Stacking the deck is one thing, doing it with the presumption of the MKS's failure to stack up from the outset is worse.
Nevertheless, once you sift through the thicket of advertising-speak, there is some nice in-car video of both the MKS and the "challengers," offering at least a little redemption to this otherwise pointless exercise.
Check out our review for our thoughts and experiences with the 2009 Lincoln MKS (non-EcoBoost model).
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By rsfjustin Posted: 10/5/2009 2:42pm PDT
By atr_hugo Posted: 10/5/2009 3:11pm PDT
I want to take a Chevy Volt leaving Coors field in Denver, go west on 1-70 to US 40 and over the Berthoud Pass, then across Rocky Mountain Ntl Park on Trail Ridge Rd finally CO 7 south to I-70 then back to Denver. (And the Volt uses an NA 1.4L 70+ HP generator once the batteries are at 50%.)
Whose with me? ; -)
By bepsf Posted: 10/5/2009 4:49pm PDT
By Former Buff Fan Posted: 10/6/2009 12:45am PDT
By carnut Posted: 10/6/2009 10:31am PDT
By vitamines Posted: 12/14/2009 1:01am PST
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