2020 Lincoln Corsair first drive: The littlest Lincoln is still quite luxurious

[MUSIC] We're behind the wheel of the 2020 Lincoln course they're taking a ride down the coast to get to know the newest member of Lincoln's. SUV lineup. Now, this is a compact luxury SUV, the replacement for the old Lincoln MKC. And like the MKC, it rides on a version of Ford's Escape platform. Though there is a lot more different about this vehicle that we need to get to know. [MUSIC] [MUSIC] The design of the course here is surprising. Surprisingly compact on the outside, it's actually got a wheel base that's just a hair shorter than some of the competition in this segment. But Lincoln was able to efficiently make use of the space on the inside, so there's still plenty of room for people and cargo. In fact this is the only vehicle in the segment that makes use of a sliding second row, something you usually only see on three row SUVs or vans. Now why would you want that in something that small? Well, Lincoln says that it's so that you can take better advantage of the space, sliding the seat forward. If you need more cargo space and maybe not leg room, maybe you got a car seat back there and you want better reach, but then you can slide it back and get the leg room you need for carrying passengers. More choices are always a good thing. At the rear end, we've got some tail lights that use a sharp geometric design very Audi Esque, if I do say so myself and I especially like the profile of this vehicle with this integrated spoiler that just makes it look a little sporty here. Here. Now alongside there's some organic musculature that keeps it from looking to slabs. I didn't have that's usually a problem with vehicles this small and up front we have a modified version of the aviators. For an end I'll be in a smaller scale with hallmarks like the notch grill with the hexagonal Lincoln shaped cutouts and the jewel led headland. It looks as good here on The Aviator, so that's a good thing. Now under the hood you have a choice of two engines. There's a two liter turbocharged four cylinder that makes 250 horsepower and around 280 pound feet of torque. However, we've stepped up to the 2.3 liter turbo starts four cylinder that makes 295 horsepower 310 pound fee. Now that's not a huge difference, but those are just peak numbers and what the actual difference is, is that the 2.3 liter has a broader torque curve which means that around town Feels just a little bit more engaging, it's a little bit more willing to squeeze off acceleration for passing. Now you have a choice between front wheel drive or all wheel drive though if you go with the 2.3 liter all wheel drive your only option, whichever way you go, there's an eight speed automatic transmission in the mix there. Now Lincoln has put a lot of work into making this a very quiet vehicle with active and passive noise cancellation. There's even some insulation in the body panels that help cut down on the resonant noise when you're on the road. It's pretty cool. And Lincoln makes no qualms about the fact that they're trying really hard to hide the engine note from the driver. There's no fake noise, just active cancellation. And i think i'm alright with that in a luxury vehicle. This isn't a sports car and the engine No, it's not really a big deal. The design of the rest of the cabin is inspired by the link in aviator but it's not just to copy and paste, the proportion are changed a lot for the smaller vehicle. However, many of the features that we love in the larger aviator are Still in full effect here in the smaller Corsair. I'm talking the 24-way power adjustable seats with massage spungens, these are almost too adjustable. But once you get them locked in, it's a fantastic place to spend the ride. In front me I have Lincoln's vision steering wheel, I believe they call it, with illuminated icons that make it really easy to see the buttons on the steering wheel at night. However it only illuminates the functions you're currently using. So if you don't have cruise control active or your copilot 360, adaptive cruise control, those buttons aren't lit up until you turn the cruise control system on and they come alive. It's a pretty neat feature. The steering wheel also features perhaps the weirdest placement for a voice control button right here where your left thumb would naturally fall when you're at nine and three. Now Lincoln says there's an ergonomic gaining for having it here and I believe them. But only time will tell if it also means that there's gonna be a trade off of accidental button presses when you're really steering the vehicle. Now the dashboard we have a smaller version of the sync infotainment that we saw in the AV Navigator. It's the same software, the same technology but at a smaller scale to better fit into this cabin. Though it still sticks out a bit like a sore thumb with its very tablet-like design. [MUSIC] Now the 2020 Corsair starts at around $37,000. But the one we're in right now is Was a $60,000 FUB because we've stepped up to the 2.3 liter turbocharged engine. We've got adaptive suspension, some reserve luxury upgrades as well as technology packages. So far this is the top of the line but there is a plug in hybrid version coming later this year and judging on how the The Lincoln 1988 or Grand Touring Plugin Hybrid really exceed my expectations. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing an electrified version of this smaller vehicle, but I digress. I think I definitely have this particular vehicle Over something like the Cadillac XT4, and with a very strong first impression, a nice design, and a lot of thoughtful features, plus a little bit of weirdness to keep things interesting, I think this is also a very good competitor to things like Lexus's NX or the Acura RDX. I don't know if I'd go so far as to call it a Mercedes-Benz GLC killer, but this is kind of a different animal from the German. Owning luxury vehicles is just a matter of preference at that point. Now this is just our first drive in the Corsair, we've only had today in this trip down the coast to get to know it. But you want to definitely check out our full first drive over at roadshow.com for even more details about this vehicle and more driving impressions. [MUSIC]