Lincoln MKX vs Buick Enclave

corvette_dude729 over at C&G provided the idea.

Lincoln has all but dropped out in competing with Cadillac, and has moved closer to Buick. Figured this would be a good place to start the comparisons.

Exterior:
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/7469/mkx61024mw4.jpg
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/2824/buickenclave2xq6.jpg
Interiors:
http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/4679/07lincolnmkxcuv07jwtj2.jpg
http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/4314/buickenclave7zz3.jpg

I like Lincoln's minimalist take on interior & exterior design (sort of like the early 60s Continental's clean design after the garish automotive designs of the 50s).
At the same time I also like Buick's "modern 30's" look (lots of curves, lot's of details, lots of flash, and not afraid of putting wood trim with metal).

Buick: The interior pic posted is way overboard on the CG effects, so it's difficult for me to judge. It looks like an XBox screenshot. But I have a feeling that the silver piece that goes across the dash might end up looking like cheap plastic. And unfortunately the center console still has "the GM Hole" in the middle with unmatched plastic. :mad:

Lincoln: I'm not feeling the "1982 Town Car" dashboard, but it looks very well executed. It would be interesting to see if the folks touting "American Heritage" endorse it.

But I don't have 5 kids, so I'll admit that luxury minivans are pretty unappealing to me in general.

While I don't care for anything in this segment, the Buick is the clear winner here. Other than the distinctive grille, the Lincoln's exterior is nearly featureless. The Enclave may suffer from a few too many design cues rolled into one, but it's exterior is at least distinctive. On the interior side of things it is simply no contest: the Buick's says premium loud and clear while the Lincoln's is entirely generic.

EXT- no brainer. Gotta be the Enclave.
INT- I have no clue. The Buick looks more modern but is quite busy. The Lincoln looks quite old and just exudes boredom. I went with the Buick just for the modern look but neither does much of anything for me.

Buick interior and exterior. Is GM getting that much better or Ford just not advancing as much? Aside from Mustang and F Series... The gauges in the Lincoln almost look like an early 80's F Series gauges.

I'm definitely not a crossover/SUV fan, but the Enclave is the first one I'd consider buying, if I had the cash. It just looks so damn nice :D

The clean exterior design of the Lincoln appeals to me, but the front-end just kills it. The Buick has some nice curves and while it may not look as sophisticated, overall it has more for the eye to appreciate.

For the interior, the Lincoln's gauges look like they were ripped off from a mid-70s AMC. Just a horrible design that would repulse me every time I stepped inside the car. Again the Buick goes for more excitement and maybe goes a little too far, but in general it's better.

Overall I would take Buick's slightly over-the-top design versus the Lincoln's way to conservative and stodgy.

Now if the GMC Acadia was included in this poll the choice would be much easier :)

Exterior: Buick, hands down, though the Lincoln isn't bad (other than the grille). I think I saw the Lincoln being rolled out at the Detroit Auto Show while I was up there for the Camaro unveiling, and it looked pretty sharp in person. But the Buick is amazing.

Interior: Again, Buick for me. The Lincoln interior looks to be very well done, but the style just doesn't quite do it for me. The Buick looks very elegant.

Both are sharp cars in their own right though. :cool:

Exterior: Toss Up, both are kind of cool in their own way.

Interior: Not even close, the Buick all the way.

This one isn't even close in either catagory.

Enclave obliterates the Lincoln.

one thing you guys dont realize when comparing these is the choice in materials. the buicks wood trim looks beautiful in the pictures, but up close, all it is plastic with woodgrain printed on it, the looks of the buick feels very cheap inside IMO.

one thing you guys dont realize when comparing these is the choice in materials. the buicks wood trim looks beautiful in the pictures, but up close, all it is plastic with woodgrain printed on it, the looks of the buick feels very cheap inside IMO.


Have you sat in the Enclave (and/or the Lincoln) to know how either one feels? I agree that it is near impossible to tell the touch-quality of the materials from a picture.

FWIW... this artcile says it is real wood in the Enclave.

http://www.channel4.com/4car/feature/feature.jsp?id=683

This one isn't even close in either catagory.

Enclave obliterates the Lincoln.

Yup, I could see someone preferring the more reserved Lincoln exterior, but the Enclave interior is way ahead of the Lincoln.

Enclave FTW on both. No question.

The Enclave doesn't look like it should have come out of Detroit. Hands down to Buick in every catagory.

The Enclave not only beats the Lincoln, I think it would be one of the best made GM products to come out IF the bean counters do not ruin it in the typical GM way.

The Lincolns are good on paper, I can see how they are working toward the last batch of concepts, BUT the execution is terrible.

The grill looks like an electric razor and the current one is better, especially for this application. Add to that this vehicle has no character, and has those ugly ass tailights.

The interior center stack it too much "brickwall" not enough "waterfall". To pull that off the buttons need to be a lot better integrated... Again execution issues, they need to spend more time and money.

The exterior of the Buick I love, I think they will have a market to themselves if they can do a modern and appealing rendition of the super swoopy thirties cars...

The interior is PS, but even still F&F could be better, too much plastic cover on the center console. also needs to be toned down a bit. However, it wins.

Is the Lincoln supposed to be sorta mid-70's retro?

Buick by a wide margin.

The interior is no contest -- Lincoln all the way.

Exterior is tougher for me -- Lincoln's front grille invokes strong memories of the graphing paper from 7th grad trigonometry classes for me. Not good. The lines of it also remind me a tad too much of a minivan.

The Buick's grille doesn't look much better to me, and i'm not sure if the overall body design would leave me happier if I saw it in a different color or not.


All in all, I voted a strong first for Lincoln on interior and an "eh, maybe" nod to Buick on exterior.

Hmm, I just stated a thread on how bad the instrument cluster is on the new Navigator. Looks like the MKX got the same treatment, not good.

I think the Buick blows it away in both categories. The MKX looks like a Chyrsler Pacifica with a 70s chrome grille molded into the front.

If I was thinking of the lincoln, I'd buy the Mazda CX-9(out for 07), same platform, sportier, and built better


FYI, the Lincoln MKX, the Ford Edge and the Mazda CX-9 are the same platform, very loosely based off the MPV

I'll give Lincoln props on it's exterior design. It's very easy to see what they were trying to do. The odd proportions of the Edge work well, and create something that's neither minivan or traditional crossover. lincoln was going for the understated look, and I think the design is going to have legs. The grille is retro, but there's no mistaking it for anything else.Put on the right body, and that grille's going to look great.

Buick by comparison, looks over the top. It's almost as if the designer couldn't figure out where to stop. But the Buick pulls it off. No one has done curves like that on an SUV before, and the large wheels set it off.

I really like both approaches, and I know understated designs live longer, but I'll give the edge to Buick just on pure audacity pulled off well.
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/7469/mkx61024mw4.jpg
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/2824/buickenclave2xq6.jpg

I still like Lincoln's minimalsit approach. It's going to rely more on quality of materials than on over styling. Even the gusges look good here. But the Lincoln looks like it was designed as a work of art by someone who is tops in contrasts and colors. The Lincoln interior would be less thrilling in all black. Even with the wood.

Buick, again, is over the top, much in the spirit of an old antique. The person who put this design together threw everything in the book at it. Colors. Wood. Brushed steel. Circles. Arches. Straight lines. Box in the middle of the console.

Buick's interior is warmer, but I'd give the interior to the Lincoln. It speaks one language, and has a single theme, and looks good. Buick's is far too busy and strained. Lincoln needs Buick's seat design though.
http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/4679/07lincolnmkxcuv07jwtj2.jpg
http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/4314/buickenclave7zz3.jpg

With all due respect to those who find the Lincoln attractive at all... inside or out...

I just see the exterior as a Lincoln version of the current Rendezvous styling-wise. Just slapped the Norelco electric razor grille on it. Maybe a bit more bloated than the Rendezvous...

Seems like Lincoln was targeting the old Buick while Buick was targeting Lexus. The Lincoln looks like a refrigerator. The Enclave looks classy & sexy.... and that is saying A LOT when you realize we are talking about a crossover/SUV type vehicle.

The interior of the Lincoln looks out dated, clunky, cheap... everyone has mentioned the 70's theme to it, and I agree... but I would even go as far as saying I could see that as a modern verison of the Dodge Aries K. It's that bad. :shrug:

I predict the Buick will outsell the Lincoln by a wide margin. Of course, pricing will be an issue, but I just don't see many peopel plunking down luxury cross over dollar for the visuals you get inside and out with that Lincoln. On the other hand, I certainly can see many people being drawn to the Enclave. And the auto show reviews back that up.

Have you sat in the Enclave (and/or the Lincoln) to know how either one feels? I agree that it is near impossible to tell the touch-quality of the materials from a picture.

FWIW... this artcile says it is real wood in the Enclave.

http://www.channel4.com/4car/feature/feature.jsp?id=683
While I havent technically sat in either vehicle...I work for the company that both designed and manufactures both instrument panels and consoles for GM and Ford. Ive got a Enclave Dashboard about 12 feet from where I sit all day long and i'll tell ya that the lincoln one is hands down, much higher quality. And i dunno about that article saying its real wood, but it definitely isnt, you can obviously tell from the shape of it in the photo that youd never beable to cut trees into that shape for any reasonable amount of money. I do like the styling of the enclave better in that picture though, but then again it is only a concept, ive still yet to see the finished design...the lincoln looks exactly like that though as my nextdoor neighbor drives a test mule

Enclave hands down. The Lincoln is just too "blah" for my tastes. Very boxy on the outside and that "norelco" grille treatment looks terrible to me. The Buick on the other hand, well, doesnt look like what I picture a Buick to look like :lol: Very curvy and flowing design and I LOVE the nice touch the portholes add. They look good on the Lucerne and look REALLY good on the Enclave.

Interior is about the same as the exterior. I dont like bland and thats what the Lincoln's interior looks like. Some call it "busy" but I like the style of the Enclave's interior. Once again, the fact that this is a BUICK we're talking about just blows my mind. I picture LeSabres and Park Avenues when I think of Buick, not good looking rides like the Enclave. I guess if Cadillac can turn around an image, maybe, just maybe Buick can too :shrug:

Enclave hands down. The Lincoln is just too "blah" for my tastes. Very boxy on the outside and that "norelco" grille treatment looks terrible to me. The Buick on the other hand, well, doesnt look like what I picture a Buick to look like :lol: Very curvy and flowing design and I LOVE the nice touch the portholes add. They look good on the Lucerne and look REALLY good on the Enclave.

Interior is about the same as the exterior. I dont like bland and thats what the Lincoln's interior looks like. Some call it "busy" but I like the style of the Enclave's interior. Once again, the fact that this is a BUICK we're talking about just blows my mind. I picture LeSabres and Park Avenues when I think of Buick, not good looking rides like the Enclave. I guess if Cadillac can turn around an image, maybe, just maybe Buick can too :shrug:
Dont forget that the enclave picture above is a concept. When you think of rainier and envoy, think of enclave and this...the acadia

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/6909/10956bfjtshebsunsr8ra.jpg

The MKX is too bland. The interior would make me sleepy.