And as long as I'm talking smalltime foibles, the Zephyr features a rather old-school digital keyboard next to the driver's door handle.
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| he Zephyr features a rather old-school digital keyboard next to the driver's door handle. What's up with that? (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
What's up with that? I remember these were pretty cool about 20 years ago, but the current en vogue luxury item is fob sensing keyless entry, a system that also doesn't require a key to start the engine. Lexus offers it, BMW, and pretty well every other mainstream premium brand, with even some entry-level automakers like Toyota and Suzuki sporting the high-end convenience feature. Instead, Lincoln delivers a massive keypad that bulges out from the door's skin about half an inch, and by so doing complicates the car's otherwise clean and attractive shoulder lines. No doubt, marketing focus groups of current Lincoln owners didn't want to give it up.
Petty personal preference issues aside, the Zephyr plays no favourites when it comes to features, meaning, it comes almost fully loaded
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| A 221-horsepower Duratec 30 3.0-litre V6 with intake variable cam timing (i-VCT) comes standard, mated to a top-tier six-speed automatic transmission. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
from the get-go, with only six optional goodies, and those chosen because not all clients want to include them in their car. For instance, a 221-horsepower Duratec 30 3.0-litre V6 with intake variable cam timing (i-VCT) comes standard, mated to a top-tier six-speed automatic transmission. Planted to the ground are standard 17-inch machined wheels on P225/50 V-rated tires. Added to the assortment of standard features already mentioned, such as 10-way power, leather-covered, heated, two-position memory seats, real wood accents, etc, there are split folding rear seatbacks, auto-dimming driver side and passenger side outboard mirrors, dual zone climate control, steering wheel controls for cruise and audio functions, the latter which control a standard six-disc, dash-mounted CD changer, and the list goes on. Four of the six options are stand alone, including a glass sunroof, chrome wheels, xenon headlamps and the aforementioned air-conditioned seats, while the THX II audiophile stereo comes bundled with the navigation system.
