My Black Lincoln MKT: Herman Munster Would Be Greener with Envy

Ford was kind enough to lend me a Lincoln MKT for the duration of my recent visit to Florida. It was waiting for me when I walked out of the terminal at Palm Beach International.

It was a 2013 variety, which means it sports a few design tweaks and a more powerful V6.

The Ford-produced canned photos you see here are only representative of the MKT I drove in that it was an MKT. However, mine was black rather than white.

I felt like Herman Munster tooling around in my very own hearse. I could have put on my hazard flashers, blinked my headlights a couple of times and stopped cross traffic at any intersection in Palm Beach County.

I worked for a mortuary the summer between my freshman and sophomore years in college. I zoned out for a second at a traffic light and when I tuned back in, for an instant I thought I was suffering a flashback.

Otherwise, I can't find a negative nit to pick with this $46,000 luxury crossover.

It's roomy, comfortable, carefully screwed together and quite plush.

Unlike when I get a test vehicle at home in South Carolina and pretty much just hustle around Greenville with just me in the car, during my Florida trips, I cart around all sorts of people with ages ranging from 11 to 45. It means I gather an entirely different perspective on the vehicle.

The big hit with the MKT were the rear-seat inflatable seat belts. A $190 option, they inflate during an accident, spreading the crash force across a five-times wider area of the wearer's torso. When Ford explained them to several journalists in Dearborn over a year ago, the engineers claimed that not only would they reduce injuries in crashes, but, because they are more comfortable to wear, would be more widely used than traditional rear-seat seat belts.

We sort of scoffed at that idea at the time; however, everyone who climbed into the backseat of the MKT praised the comfort of the belts. Apparently the Ford engineers knew what they were talking about.

My test MKT had the optional 355-horsepower 3.5-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V6. A terrific engine, it should never be passed up when available on a Ford you are purchasing. Fuel Economy was a very respectable 16 mpg city and 23 mpg highway.

I thoroughly enjoyed the 10 days I drove the MKT. Not to mention the fact I could double park in the drop-off lane of any hospital or nursing home, of which there is one every two blocks in South Florida, without fear of a ticket. Bonus!