Video: 2015 Lincoln MKC Review

But it's not the only area where Lincoln holds its own. Let's see where else the MKC stacks up well. (car door thuds) Now, we'll get to that interior in a moment, but it's worth noting that the MKC is kind of big for its class. Priced similarly to the Audi Q3, closer in size to the larger Q5, the MKC is based on the Ford Escape. Lincoln is Ford's luxury division, but you can't see that many similarities beyond, maybe hints of the Escape in the profile and the fenders. Overall, not a very similar-looking car in this Lincoln MKC. And it's a sharp-looking one, flowing lines, tight overhangs, good-looking car overall. Now, steering is pretty good in the MKC, good feedback, sharp response from the wheel. Ride quality, pretty good. Noise level's pretty hush too, which you'd expect from a premium SUV. Now, we've driven both available engines in the MKC. Can't tell a huge difference between the two, despite the power ratings. I wouldn't say the MKC has a ton of power, but it certainly has enough in most situations, even with a full load of passengers. We'd stick with the one that's less expensive. In terms of engines, it's also a little more fuel efficient as well. Now inside, the MKC really delivers in terms of cabin quality. We've got a lot of soft stuff in here with consistent textures all along the upper doors, to the arm rest, to the dashboard, even areas down here along the center tunnel where your knees and your shins might kind of line up against. They're all very padded. The center stack right here uses real buttons and knobs now, as part of Lincoln's revamped MyLincoln Touch system. It's nice to see those back instead of the capacitive touch buttons that still occupy a lot of Lincoln vehicles. The four-quadrant screen up here, that's standard. Still has kind of small buttons for some areas that you need to touch like the heated steering wheel. But overall, a much easier system to use. Now, typical for a small premium SUV, backseat legroom is sort of modest. I'm six feet tall, that's where I'd sit to drive. I have okay legroom back here. They're sort of touching my shins, the front seats. If you have passengers that are much more than six feet, they might find it a little too tight for them. But overall, headroom, pretty good here. And the floor hump in our all-wheel drive test car, pretty low to the ground, so good space for your feet to kind of spread out. Now, the seats in the back of the MKC do recline a few degrees with these hip-area levers right here. They don't go forward or backward, though. But behind them, pretty good cargo room for this class. Now, if you actually have to go around back and fold down these seats to create more cargo space, the MKC doesn't exactly make that easy. There aren't any levers here or releases in the cargo area, nor are there any in kind of the upper parts of the seat backs, so that means you have to go around to the backseat and fold down using those hip-point levers, kind of a drag. Now, cars.com new car inventory has a lot of MKCs listed in the low to mid $40,000 range, but the MKC's $34,000 give or take starting price really comes with a lot of standard features. You can get some of those German competitors for a little bit less, but none of them, except maybe the Audi Q3, really have this sort of level of standard features. And the fact that Lincoln includes this all in an SUV that's a little bit bigger and has better cabin quality than the group means, definitely, anyone who's shopping a small, kind of entry-level luxury SUV should know this is Lincoln's best effort yet. Definitely worth a drive. (upbeat music) (car engine roars)