(first posted 2/21/2017) The 1-year-only 2006 Lincoln Zephyr is a car that has been on my CC bucket list for a while. With about 30,000 produced they aren’t exactly rare, but after 10+ years they are definitely becoming much less common.
Zephyr is one of the most storied names in Lincoln history, probably third only to Continental and the Mark series (OK, I’m sure someone in the commentariat will bring up Town Car, but to me these always conjure up images of livery vehicles). While the name hadn’t been used since the 1930’s (on a Lincoln anyways – the Mercury Zephyr doesn’t count), it still carries a lot of weight among knowledgeable auto enthusiasts to this day.
Lincoln revived the Zephyr name for the 2006 model year to much fanfare with its clone of the first-generation Ford Fusion. Alas, this name would be short-lived, with Lincoln moving to alphanumeric model designators the following year. Like Punxatawny Phil, The catchy Zephyr moniker would be sent back into hibernation after only a brief glimpse of sunshine, only to be replaced by the prosaic MKZ name. In terms of automotive naming crimes, this rates second only to the renaming of the Acura Legend to the RL, in my opinion.
I always thought the 2006 Zephyr was a handsome (if mildly differentiated) take on the Fusion (an attractive car itself). The interior, in my opinion, is its best quality, with a nickel-finish dashboard nicely offset by the generous use of blonde wood. The symmetric dual-cowl design (which my photo failed to capture) harkens back to the 1961 Continental.
The Zephyr, with its semi-upright waterfall grille, carries the last remaining vestiges of the neo-classical Lincoln design language that can be traced all the way back to the 1969 Mark III. Lincoln embarked on a new styling direction with the second-generation MKZ (see my 2014 MKZ parked alongside for comparison).
This angle most clearly reveals the shared lineage with the lesser Ford Fusion (and Mercury Milan), as all three vehicles shared the same roofline and window glass.
Much worse…
All in all a clean design that Lincoln, unfortunately, ruined when they added the walrus front end in the 2010 mid-cycle refresh.
Pretty interior, I’m not sure FoMoCo did enough to differentiate the exterior from the other variants.
I simply can’s stand the alphanumeric model names…I get really confused by them and would see proper names.
+1
+1 Alphabet soup names are VERY forgettable.
I immediately fell in love with the blonde wood. I know it’s fake, like so many blondes….
That said, blonde fake wood cannot justify a price tag that is thousands above the Fusion’s or Milan’s.
I’d consider a well kept used Zephyr if it is only slightly higher than a similar Fusion/Milan. With fake blonde wood interior only.
Same reason I’d be tempted to pick up a clean V6 Cimarron, as long as it was at a Cavalier price,.
The wood was real, available in two types, light Maple or Dark Ebony.
Correct. That said, I never saw the Dark Ebony version. Everyone that got one of these when I was at Ford got it with the blonde wood interior. That interior really was quite a step up from the contemporary Fusion, though.
When it became the MKZ they also started giving it the 3.5 V6, too. As the Zephyr, though, it got the 3.0 V6 that the V6 Fusions got.
If you look online there are a few of the dark interiored ones for sale. Definitely a less common option than the light one, no doubt.
Well, then I’ll pay an extra $100.00, because there is so much clear coat over the real wood that it looks fake.
They took a page from ’80s and ’90s Benzes with that. I literally had no idea the Benz appliques were actual wood (well, plywood with a finish-grade veneer) until I saw one splintered apart in the boneyard from someone pulling the IP. I think Lincoln actually pulled it off more convincingly with the blonde wood in the Zephyr.
I always liked the front end of this better than the Ford and Mercury versions,
But the rear end is another story. The GIGANTIC tail lights and Lincoln emblem are a bit much for me,
Agreed. I never liked the rear of these (until the refresh) because of the size and that it had LED and regular lightbulbs. They look cheap/inelegant at night
Just buy a 1st gen Fusion. Same car, just less lipstick.
Thing is, I’d go for the lipstick, as I like higher trims whenever possible – even if it is basically the same car!
Not really. You can’t get a Fusion of that generation with the up-level sound system, Navigation, V6, or cooled seats. Those are some of the MKZephyr’s most attractive features.
The 3.0 Duratech was available from the start, and the 3.5 became available in 2010. But the sound systems etc would definitely be different. The 3.0 was no slouch, with 221 hp and 220 lb-ft of torque, and that was upped to 240 hp in 2010 along with the excellent 6f35 transmission. These are truly well sorted cars, the suspensions are quite sophisticated, and to me they feel as nimble as a double wishbone Honda.
Fair enough. It’s sad that the 3.5 has the inconvenient water pump setup though. That’s an unexpectedly-pricey thing that people have gotten blindsided by.
The first generation MKZ is just like a Lincoln Versailles II, a model sharing too much stamping parts with a Ford. It looks rather fine alone, but when parked next to a Ford, its roots became undeniable. Some dealers in metro Detroit seem to know the problem and park Gen I MKZ separately from fusion.
Ford registered Zephyr name again, maybe they want to change the name back after the current generations runs out.
I’m hoping the intro of the new Continental (and NOT Mk-L, or some similar horse shit) is an indication that Lincoln is about to embark on a renaming scheme that will bring some emotion back into model nomenclature. I’d love to think that this will become a trend, at least among the domestic marques, as the quasi-euro alpha-numeric model names seem to have taken as much personality out of the marketplace as the jellybean styling of the 90’s did. I’m all for restrained elegance, but bring on the bling, and bring back a name that conjures an image, please!
Yes but at least the Versailles looked like a Lincoln, these Zephyrs were just so anonymous and generic they didn’t do anything for brand recognition. Driving past them on the road, they looked like a million other cars out there.
20yrs later, when most fusion wears out, MKZ would look more like Lincoln
For the same price on the used market I’d take the lipstick version. … These cars and their badge identical are incredibly reliable and durable. You’ll very rarely see a mechanic with these cars. The zephyr and early mkz are incredible bargains.
Balderdash.
If it shares the same problematic automatic transmission as the Fusion…
Best believe, they see more mechanics, than Ford can supply.
You boast these cars as if they were 1987-91 Toyota Camrys.
These are decent, probably even better than average. But notable auto transmission failures across all 4 engine options during the first generation, unibody rust issues, typical Mazda-related rear suspension issues that lead to odd/quick tire wear, an impossible to replace lower transmission mount that needs constant attention, interior door handles that are seemingly made of papier mache, and electrical problems are some of the rather common maladies.
They gained a reputation for quality when new, as Consumer Reports liked them and known paid industry shill J D Power ranked them rather high in initial and 3-year quality. They have aged somewhat ungracefully back toward average for actual long term reliability.
Do the gen1.5 share the same transmission issues? I’m actually considering buying a 2012 Fusion, but with 77k miles on it, I *really* don’t want to be laying out cash for a ticking time bomb…
The 2012+ Fusion looks quite good for reliability: http://dashboard-light.com/vehicles/Ford_Fusion.html With the 3L V6, it would have the Ford 6F35 transmission. The Fusion Sport with the 3.5L V6 used the Aisin Warner AWF21 transmission used in dozens of cars from Alfa to Volvo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AWTF-80_SC I don’t think either is a time bomb as long as they are serviced adequately with the proper fluid. A good sign is that both transmissions are widely available at junkyards (car-part.com) for $400-$500, indicating that there is not a high failure rate driving up prices. On the other hand, the Ford CVT from the 500 sells for over $1200 (and will have the same defects as the one being replaced).
Over the years I’ve seen several with MKZ and Zephyr badges…not sure if there was a transitional period where Ford hung both emblems on the cars or if owners did that themselves.
Lincoln never dual-badged Zephyr and MKZ. My guess is junkyard crash panel replacements from a Zephyr on an MKZ (or the reverse), as they should be interchangeable.
My Dad looked at these in 06, when he was looking to move up to a luxury brand from the Maxima. They were nice, but weren’t exactly nice enough for the premium over a Fusion or Milan, which frankly either had better overall styling. On top of that the Lincoln that had been on his radar in the years leading up to that was the LS, and the Zephyr was essentially positioned in the lineup as a pseudo successor to that, and indeed it was being touted as such by the salesman according to him, and those two cars just weren’t in the same ballpark.
Still love the Zephyr name though. I morrned the death of the Lincoln brand the minute M’kay zeee became the new name. If this is Ford’s answer to the brands dismal appeal it was doomed as far as I’m concerned, and I still think it is, half baked Continental be damned.
The official explanation from that time was that they wanted people to focus on the Lincoln brand, rather than an individual model. The MK was originally supposed to be pronounced “Mark [letter],” although that lasted roughly a week before even Ford execs were pronouncing it as the letters instead. Oddly enough, though, they also stated that the Navigator had such brand cache that they felt it could carry the Navigator name going forward.
Even at the time, it really was just an admission that the Lincoln lineup was not worthy of any of its storied names. In retrospect, I’m now of the mind they actually did Lincoln a favor by ditching the names during that time. Now that the Ford CEO actually supports keeping Lincoln (unlike Mulally, who wanted it deader than Mercury), they can make a car to the grade of the storied name and use it to “announce” that Lincoln’s “coming back.”
Which is what they did with Continental. I sat in the new Contis at the North American International Auto Show, and they are absolutely gorgeous cars, inside and out. I was genuinely surprised-I went into it wanting to like them but expecting the sort of disappointment Lincoln’s been so good for over the past decade, but I was genuinely wowed. I’d go so far as to say the Continentals could hold their own against anything-and I mean anything-that was sitting on the floor at Cobo. The new Continental is not half-baked, not a bit.
I’ve had to correct 3 car enthusiast friends the last few months that the Continental they thought they saw was in fact the newly facelifted MKZ. It is in essence a fancier long wheelbase MKZ. I’m just not as excited about it and would be surprised if it ages any better than the last car to wear the namesake. It’s no 61.
The naming scheme was smart in that it kept the Continental name off a generation’s memory banks, I’ll give you that. But the MK scheme was as dumb as Ford’s F word naming scheme, and just like Lincoln with the Navigator they couldn’t follow that through because of the Mustang. Focusing attention to the brand is how I’ve heard it described before, and I still think it’s stupid. Models are far far more important.
Agreed the naming scheme was not a good idea. I forgive it now because the product they were putting out wasn’t good “Lincoln” product.
The mistake they made with the new Continental was releasing the 4th-gen MKZ with the same exact styling. That said, they really are genuinely nice cars. I’d urge you to check them out.
I think a big issue Lincoln is still dealing with is the huge damage done to the brand image over the years. No matter how nice the interior, people are not thinking of them as luxury cars, in part because of the unremarkable exterior styling. Today’s Lincolns for the most part would have made for fine Mercurys.
Still, as a car nut, I keep my eye out for the newest top-dog Lincoln in the hopes that the Continental would in fact have some genuine presence and stand out as a special product. In and around Metro Chicago, I occasionally see new MKZ sedans with the “Continental” face, and I look twice to see if it is actually a real Continental–nah…. So that’s strike one–don’t photocopy the front-end from your all-new flagship to reuse on the regular volume model.
So finally, last night, at O’Hare Airport I did see the new Continental in person, for real. I initially came up behind it, primarily noticing the tail lights illuminated in the dark on a fairly unremarkable looking large car, and I was puzzled because I couldn’t exactly place the make. Hyundai Azera? Nope. Got up next to it and saw that it was the elusive new Continental. And it was doing what the big Lincoln sedans have done for the last 20 years–it was serving as a livery car. So much for the all-new flagship…
I have to agree, when I saw they were making the new MKZ with the same styling as the Continental is, my first thought was “well done Ford. You shot yourself in the foot yet again.” It’s pretty dumb to make the cheaper model the same as your exclusive model, even if one is built better and has a nicer interior and more extras, you’re just paying more money for the exact same car. Y’know, the same thing that GM did in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s that bit them in the ass and was the same reason why Ford axed Mercury to begin with. Not a great idea.
It also doesn’t help that I don’t think the styling is that attractive, the baleen whale and cheese grater grilles may have been mocked, but they’ve grown on me overtime. The new face though, is just, so much no. When I saw they were doing the same thing on the concept for the next gen Navigator, I said “congratulations, you’ve somehow made a worse looking SUV then the current Escalade. Brilliant job”.
But, I have to agree with you, the main problem with Lincoln is just that most people don’t view them as true luxury cars. When your logo has been affixed to airport Taxis and stretch limo conversions for so long, it’s hard for people to take you seriously as a premium product, especially if said roles conjure up the thought of vomit soaked seats and unruly passengers. The Navigator was a shot in the arm, but it too played second fiddle once Cadillac brought the Escalade out, and it too has just been relegated to glorified airport shuttle. Simply put, Lincoln’s problem is that they have the same image here that Mercedes Benz has over in Europe, but they’re selling cars that are (roughly) in the same price bracket as Mercedes Benz’s sold here.
And Packard did the same thing with Clipper.
I can’t agree that the current grille/lamp design is unattractive–I rather like it. But I do think it was colossally stupid that they put the exact same treatment on the mid-cycle refresh of the MKZ. It’s a totally different car but it makes it look like a case of “same sausage different lengths”.
Lincoln is doing better than most luxury brands and posted double digit year over year increases for the 2016 calendar year in a marketplace that is somewhat hostile to upmarket brands right now.
Not sure why you think the Continental is half baked either, as its been positively received by critics and is selling competitively.
XRMatt, I was in the same spot as your Dad when these came out – thinking of trading up from my 99 Maxima GLE for a small, premium brand sedan. The Zephyr just did not cut it by comparison. Those ugly fixed, non-folding outside mirrors were a total turn-off. I could not believe that a so-called luxury car would not have folding mirrors as did my three previous Nissan products (300ZX Turbo, Altima, and Maxima).
From the outset, I looked at these as really nice Fusions or Milans. Sort of like how the Versailles was a really nice Granada or how the 57-58 Packard was a really nice Studebaker.
Did FoMoCo do anything with the drivetrains? Or was this another place where they gave it a new grille and tail end and spiffed up the interior, then called it a done?
Like some others, I would buy one, but it would have to be within range of the price of a high-end Fusion. Because it is *not* a Lincoln.
My mom has an MKZ while I had a base 4 cyl Fusion of similar vintage. Put side by side, the lineage is obvious. Both cars share items such as door handles, switchgear, mirrors, etc. But from there it’s a night and day difference. The huge dual cowl instrument panel on the Zephyr/MKZ juts into the passenger space and gives the entire interior a claustrophobic feel, while the Fusion, especially with its beige and black two-tone interior and nicely sloped dash, feels much more spacious. Driving the cars back to back is also a night and day difference. The 1st gen Fusion was based on a Mazda 6 platform and as a result was light, crisp, enjoyable to drive with great steering feel and a very agreeable ride and handling balance, although the 160 hp 4 cylinder (again, based on a Mazda design) wasn’t exactly a rocket. The MKZ, with it’s 3.5L V6/6 speed had no problems getting out of its own way but felt heavy and ponderous in everyday city driving and totally out of its element on a winding 2 lane road. It’s more of a boulevard cruiser. My advice, take the Fusion unless you particularly like the MKZ’s style.
The second-gen MKZ was absolutely a slightly glitzier Fusion. The Zephyr, I felt (and the reviews from the time agreed) was reasonably-well distinguished. I recall one or two oddballs saying it was just a dressed-up Fusion, but most complemented the styling. For the second-gen, pretty much every single review slammed MKZ as being a dressier Fusion.
As for the powertrain, Zephyr got the 3.0 V6 the V6 Fusions got. For the second year when they tweaked it and changed the name to MKZ, they gave it the 3.5 that, IIRC, wasn’t available on Fusion until the second generation with the Fusion Sport.
Zephyr is the same 3.0 and 6 speed auto from the Fusion/Milan. When they became the MKZ in ’07 it gained the 3.5 V6 from the Edge. From 2010-2012, the same engine/trans/AWD combo was available on the Fusion Sport. Great bargain on the used market, my ’12 MKZ AWD was priced the same as a SEL AWD Fusion, and cheaper than the Sport. Whoever bought these originally would have taken a bath on depreciation for sure.
This is from a schizoid period in Ford history when Billy came to self realization he couldn’t cut it. Along comes Mulaly and a lot of shuffling. This is about when the short-lived 500 was renamed Taurus. I actually envisioned a showroom scenario like this-
Grumpy old man comes into showroom and demands to see the 500 he’s been hearing so much about. Salesman says they don’t make it anymore. Grumpy old man says, then they couldn’t have been any good, then. Salesman says, well, they call it the Taurus now.
Grumpy old man regales salesman with tale of his daughter suffering a broken 90-ish Taurus trans in -40 winter, how his grandkids almost froze to death, and walks out.
Lincoln – Among the Best Used Car Bargains
Hmmmmmm that doesn’t make a great slogan.
Perhaps “Lincoln: Previously Owned; Always Loved.”
A couple of my colleagues got these when they first came out, and of course I got exposed to them by virtue of being at Ford WHQ at the time.
I always liked the interior-it was quite a bit nicer than what they were putting in the rest of the Lincolns at that time. The real wood, the brushed aluminum-it was a very nice, bright interior.
My quibble then (as now) came from the fact that it felt like much more interior than the car’s exterior could support. Said another way, the exterior looked too pedestrian for the exterior. Fusion roots aside, the sheetmetal on the Zephyr looked nice, but the exterior didn’t suggest it was a luxury car.
I still see these once in awhile, but it’s infrequent enough that both Mr. X and I remark on it.
At least interior-wise, I would actually put this car in a similar boat to the Sebring from this morning – inspired design with good intent, but one let down by too many cheap plastics. While the Zephyr may have added some upscale finishes such as the brushed nickle and wood accents, the most of the basic interior panels and switchgear were straight out of the Ford Fusion, therefore of no higher-grade. The idea was right, but in practice it didn’t come across as so upscale.
As far as the name Zephyr goes, despite its historical significance, I don’t think Lincoln ever should have brought it back in the 2000s. The name “Zephyr” just doesn’t sound very attractive or appealing. It may mean gentle breeze, but it sounds like something industrial. Personally, it would turn me off from buying anything.
Serious question-what makes a switch “higher grade?”
I’d say smoothness of operation, plus a less brittle feel. Perhaps the knobs are counterweighted so they don’t seem as if they’ll spin off in your hand. Early Lexus models really got this right; on the other hand, GM once used a turn signal stalk that had a “snapping wineglass stem” sensation to it, according to one reviewer. It’s subjective, of course, but there is a definite spectrum of quality in controls.
The Fusion roots have always been quite apparent in this car, a reflection of Ford being in dire straits when it was developed. Given the roots, these are good cars, but they were much better values when bought used, as opposed to new.
One of my ex-father-in-laws used to say he released a “Zephyr” when he passed gas, which is an unfortunate thing to associate with the name of this fine automobile.
With Fusions and other cars from non-luxury nameplates offering fancy levels of equipment, I really do wonder what purpose Lincoln and Cadillac serve, besides showing off that you bought a “luxury” car. Even in the funeral trade things have changed, 30 years ago the lead car that the funeral director drove HAD to be a Cadillac or Lincoln, now there are plenty of Impalas and Fusions leading funeral processions.
This should have been a Mercury. It is a really upscale version of a Ford, and makes me think of a Marquis as compared to an LTD–clearly related, with the Mercury being noticeably fancier. But not Lincoln caliber.
They did offer this car in Mercury form. It was called the Milan.
So in essence all three brands had their own version of the same exact car – Fusion, Milan, Zephyr. Can anyone say Granada, Monarch, Versailles??
The 2006+ Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ is as bland as they come.
Also, a FWD Lincoln, to compete with the likes of the BMW 3/5 series or Mercedes C/E Classes?
It didn’t work for the 1988 Lincoln Continental, why would it work for the rental car 2006 Zephyr/MKZ? Fail.
Plus, they have too much Fusion, than Mark, in their Lincoln DNA.
Did, Ford, NOT learn the first time, when they introduced that Deadly Sin tactic in 1977…With the Lincoln Versailles?
The Zephyr/MKZ is basically the Versailles, for the New Millennium.
+1 Sarcasmo
Two Ford Deadly sins here in the making that’s for sure. The Versailles for being a badge engineered Granada and the Zephyr/MKZ for being a gussied up Fusion with little other than a softer suspension, chunkier interior with light woodgrain, the same power plant and very bland rental car styling. They beefed up the engine a year later but note that it was available on the Fusion Sport. So was the Fusion sourced hybrid power train. The new letter name was part of the sin.
With that said I agree that these make decent cheap used car values if interior space isn’t of great importance with the Zephyr/MKZ feeling a little more snug inside than the Fusion/Milan. You get a reasonable amount of power from the 3.5, decent mileage, a pretty good 6 speed transmission, quite a bit of tech for the time if a little glitchy and a relatively roomy trunk. The ride/handling were a good balance between sporty Fusion and smooth Lincoln.
I remember the first time that I actually saw one of these in person was at the Auto Show, and in all honesty I knew instantly that it was a gussied up Fusion. The roofline was identical, and the modifications to the Fusion’s grille and taillights were somewhat ridiculous, so much so that to me it was actually a slap in the face to the consumer. A modern day Versailles if you will. But at least the Versailles looked like a Lincoln! The Zephyr looked like a quick fix for Lincoln to add another car to their line-up. Throw some light woodgrain and chrome in the interior and a different grille and taillights and you can fool anyone! Hmmmmmm…….
Exactly, Tom.
Everything, from Lincoln in the 20th Century, looked like a Lincoln.
When the 21st Century, came about…Ford treated Lincoln like a red-headed stepchild, and didn’t invest in the division, financially and technologically.
So, Lincoln became another Oldsmobile, Isuzu or Suzuki… A car company, no one gave a rat’s ass about.
Sad that they did that to such a great iconic brand. At least today there are some fantastic new models they are coming out with, worthy of the Lincoln nameplate. Resurrecting the Continental and making it worthy of the Lincoln name is a definite plus in the right direction. And at least their ad campaign with Matthew McConaughey is giving them back some recognition and panache. Long live Lincoln!
Blame Nasser and his buying spree and PAG.
Although in reality, the seeds had been sown some time before. If you read “Car,” which is about the development of the bubble Taurus, it becomes apparent they had a couple of designs, made one car, then trimmed it to one design or the other. Said another way, they made the Taurus, then made an alternate Taurus instead of a Sable.
And I suspect that was the case with Lincoln as well. They knew they were designing the CD3 car, so they made the Fusion and two alternate Fusions.
I agree Tom. And this says “Lincoln” to me way more than anything carrying that brand name in the last 20 yrs.
The last TRUE Lincoln, to honorably wear the Lincoln cross emblem, and be worthy of it, was the 1999 LS. (Yep, last cool Lincoln designed in the 20th Century.)
Available in V6 and V8, Rwd and Awd, plus NO corporate twin.
The LS looked like a luxury car and had one thing, some of these so called “new” luxury cars, DON’T have…
Road presence.
The LS did have a corporate twin. The Jaguar S-Type.
That was the car that shredded the last bit of honor that Lincoln had. Yes the car was very attractive and yes it was a blast to drive(when it worked)
But the car was an utterly unreliable piece of rubbish! Ford used Jag engines in this car and we all know how reliable anything made from Jag is.
I saw a line of Lincoln grilles as I used the ATM the other day, and all that I could think about was that the divided grilles and vertical format emblems made it look like a bunch of 2017 Oldsmobiles from an alternate universe.
I do think that the 2006 Zephyr’s dash was a nicely shaped look, even if it was made of hard-ish plastics.
I picked up a 2008 MKz last year to replace my avatar. I picked 2008 because it was the first year of the 3.5L DOHC V-6 and SYNC technology. In addition, I wanted the IKEA look with the retro Continental dash. It feels too small to be luxury and the exterior is anonymous, but it’s a good little car with all the current features.
I won’t go so far as to say the Zephyr is revolting, but its Ford/Mercury heritage is too thinly disguised. I’ve read several posts by people saying the Versailles looked like a Lincoln, but I disagree. That stylistic mishmash of clichés screamed Granada/Monarch. The Zephyr was in a class of naked obviousness all its own – one last occupied by the B-O-P ripoffs of the early 1970s Chevy Nova, yet one must travel back through time another fifteen years to properly “appreciate” what dirty deed Lincoln had been tasked with.
Nay, I go back to 1958 to insult the 2006 Zephyr properly.
PACKARDBAKER! 😀
(NOTE: this is only one man’s opinion…from the same man who found the early 1950s Nash and Hudson vehicles appealing. When reading the above critique – consider the source!)
Zephyr was the mid range offering from Ford Uk from 1950 till 71 or thereabouts they were good cars Lincoln Zephyr means little out here few were sold here and none since WW2, Have to admit the name sounds better than the silly alpha numeric rubbish bandied about now which I hate but having been bidding on a C5 Citroen will have to get used to if I win that auction.
I’ve been car shopping the past few days and took a test drive in a 2010 MKZ, this car’s successor. The mid-cycle refresh added the “wing” grille and completely revamped the interior–after seeing this attractive original design, the refreshed interior is a complete letdown. It probably feels more spacious, but it’s lost all distinctiveness and the one I drove had far less wood accents (whether fake or real I could not verify). The 3.5 did have good power and the ride was nice, but I couldn’t justify the premium over a slightly newer Fusion with similar miles on the clock. Plus the Fusion handled far better and felt more athletic, though the 3.0 doesn’t hold a candle to the 3.5 in the power department.
From a styling standpoint I always considered these to be one of the last stands of notorious badge-engineering. Just too much shared with the Fusion/Milan–it reminded me of GM in the 80’s and 90’s where you’d have the same car with a different header panel, different taillights, and that’s about it. They fixed their mistake with the gen2 in 2013, though, which was *much* better differentiated from the ’13 Fusion.
In July of 2014 after searching for 5 month for a Ford Fusion Hybrid, I’ve found a 2011 MkZephyr Hybrid. It was only a third hybrid Lincoln that i come across in that time. It was only $1,500 more than a simmilar condition Fusion, but had options that were not offered on Ford. Such as Xenon lights that turn when you turn, real wood and metal trim, a leather interior sourced from Scotland, LED tail lights, A/C seats. I find interior much better looking than original 2006 (can’t tolerate all that silver on the console).
The only thing that puzzled me is why was AC power point missing when it was a standard equipment on Fusion Hybrid!? It would be perfect to recharge a laptop.
Yes, lower plastic is scratch prone and I had to replace a driver’s interior door handle. But I enjoy the car’s options, not too harsh ride and great fuel economy.
If it’s Scottish leather, I believe that means it’s Bridge of Weir…SAAB used those hides for years, and they are really prone to drying out shrinking and pulling seams apart…leather conditioner is your friend with this type of leather.
Three comments:
1. It is too bad the Zephyr named was de-based via its Mercury usage in the late 1970s/early 1980s on a re-badged Fairmont (a cheap tin can if there ever was one).
2. Today’s MKZ does NOT repeat the mistakes of the Versailles, Zephyr, and pre-2013 MKZ. It is fully differentiated inside and out… common panels with the Fusion. And it has all the technology found on German elitist brands and more (I don’t care about Nurburgring RWD handling… as our roads are either too congested to enjoy such pimply behavior or too well monitored by “local revenue grabbers”.
3. As for the Continental grille, why aren’t the automotive media snobs complaining about the family-face-sharing at BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Cadillac, Jaguar, and Lexus?!?!?
Very similar to it’s 2004 Mazda 6 cousin (also same roofline and glass) we had for about a year until it was totaled. Even a similar red color to ours.
But the interior is really nice on the Lincoln.
Exactly. It’s Japanese designed, made in Mexico American luxury car.
CC effect every time; after not encountering a Zephyr in years, when I came home from work there was one parked next to me in the train station lot.
Co worker had one of these. The 3.0 sounded and went well. The cooled front seats were definitely interesting, made you feel like you pee’d your pants!
As an owner of a 2007 MKZ, I thought I should add a few thoughts. Overall, I think the Zephyr/MKZ is a solid package. The Mazda roots provide a firm ride and sporty handling unlike any previous Lincolns. The styling is inoffensive and classy, with some European hints. More differentiation with the Fusion/Milan would have been nice, but I suspect that would have gotten too expensive. Packaging is very good, with a roomy interior that nearly matches my ’98 Continental. Trunk space is also very good, growing to huge with rear seats folded. The interior is attractive and classy, with real wood trim front and back and simple attractive controls. Seats are firm but comfortable, with full power adjustments on both sides along with heating and cooling. The quality of the leather does not seem great though, and is not as soft or seemingly long wearing as that in my ’98. Overall material quality is less than with my Continental, with plastic instead of metal door pulls, less solid plastic parts, flimsier exterior trim, etc. I don’t know if this is due to Lincoln skimping on the Zephyr/MKZ, the fact that it’s a cheaper model, or the switch to cheaper materials in recent years. Visibility is better than in many current cars. I suspect that features like stability control (not avail. until 2010) were not available due to the cheaper Fusion platform. It also lacks things like rain sensing wipers and automatic headlight dimming that some other luxury models offered. The 3.5 V6 is a gem and was a great upgrade in 2007, making the MKZ truly competitive in power, smoothness, and economy. The Aisin Warner 6-speed auto is very smooth and unabtrusive and fits the car well. I was looking for a replacement for my Continental, and the MKZ had the features, reliability, and pricing I was looking for. So far I have put about 20k miles on it with no major problems. I do plan to replace the internal water pump this year, since a failure can damage the engine.
I purchased a 2006 Lincoln Zephyr for my wife. We were in our late ’60’s when it rolled into the driveway. She still drives it, and loves it. While it isn’t a Town Car of a Continental, It is a nice, sedate sedan for a little old lady to use about town. It replaced a 1998 Continental that had served her well. That one had replaced a 1992 Continental, which we both loved.
I think Lincoln’s biggest mistake was not building on the return of the Zephyr name. The alphabet soup they adopted for all miodels was sad. I’m still hoping for the return of the Lido, the Cosmopolitan, the Premier, and of course, the Zephyr.
I purchased a 2006 Lincoln Zephyr for my wife. We were in our late ’60’s when it rolled into the driveway. She still drives it, and loves it. While it isn’t a Town Car of a Continental, It is a nice, sedate sedan for a little old lady to use about town. It replaced a 1998 Continental that had served her well. That one had replaced a 1992 Continental, which we both loved.
I think Lincoln’s biggest mistake was not building on the return of the Zephyr name. The alphabet soup they adopted for all miodels was sad. I’m still hoping for the return of the Lido, the Capri,the Cosmopolitan, the Premier, and of course, the Zephyr.
Whoever came up with the idea of getting rid of the historic storied names that had graced Lincolns for generations, needed to suffer their own loss of name and identity and go by “IMMAFOOL”. Hope they got sued. Marketing malpractice.
That said, this is no Versailles, just as the Fusion was no Granada. That nonsense needs to be called right out. Absolute rubbish talk. The Lincoln LS showed that Lincoln was not going to do another Vesailles when it came to the Zephyr. There was no going backwards from the LS with the Zephyr. If anything, if you liked the LS, you’d like the Zephyr.
The name and the dash showed that Lincoln recognized its design heritage. The interior was better than either the Fusion or the Milan.
What makes me sad for these vehicles is their rust. This generation of Fusion/Milan/Zephyr rusted between the rear door cut-out and the rear wheel opening. Bad rust. Holes. Something went wrong. If you are in the market for this generation, you must seriously investigate the rust problems these cars suffered from.
That said, it was a good car – a bit too expensive, but it was a good car.
It’s bittersweet that the nameplate returned this year but only in China on an all new sedan for that market. I’m sure it was destined to replace our MKZ here but the sedan market tanked and Lincoln bailed on it.
In the years since this model, Lincoln has really concentrated on the interiors of their new range of SUVs. I would say that they have been very successful. Lincoln is concentrating on plush, luxury interiors, which is their brand of luxury.
Their sedans were all FWD, which is a sales killer to those who aspire to the European models. I think that they should have made most of their sedans standard AWD like Jaguar did with their compact X Types. At one time FWD was the cutting edge, I remember all those Audi ads with the dog sleds.Then Audi went to Quattro AWD and made a unique image for themselves. I had a ’94 FWD Cadillac Seville STS for many years. It drove and handled fine, and I could whip it through the curves on the way to Tahoe and Clear Lake. It’s a shame that Ford (Lincoln) couldn’t continue with the Continental, but they tossed their only suitable sedan platform.
I’m reading this in 2024 because there’s a tempting, gently-used one for sale locally, just approaching 100K miles. Yeah, all of CC would be happier if it had less in common with Fusion-Milan-Mazda6, but the 3.0 engine is plenty enough power for me, the back seats fold down for errands/hauling, and it looks like a very comfortable way to get around—while being a better value for second owner as compared to first. Hmmmmmm……
I can’t disagree with that. And when combined with ventilated seats, up-level sound system, and the more worry-free water pump arrangement of the 3.0 versus the 3.5, the bigger trouble is finding one that’s both for sale and not in shot-to-hell condition.