Lincoln MKX or Toyota Highlander?

nunzi

I currently want to trade my 2002 Navigator which I truly love but now it is too large for my needs.
My husband wants to be practical with the Highlander. I am a former NYC girl and love elegance and glitz. SO sue me. I still like walking up to my car with the "YEAH THAT"S MY BABY" kind of feel. But I also want fuel efficiency and reliability. I'm so confused. I know the sticker and want to know at what price should I start too with the MKX. Milli

bigbuck14

Alright first of all forget what your says or wants.The Highlander is wack and dull, if you buy it you would not be saying "YEAH THAT'S MY BABY" you would say why did I buy this.The MKX is way better it has the elegance and glitz you want.The car has cool features like the big [non-permissible content removed] sunroof,adaptive headlights,THX 2,and heated and cooled reclining second row seats.Now check out this MKX on ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Lincoln-Mark-Series-MKX-ULTIMATE-2007-Lincoln-MKX-AWD-ULTIMA- TE-Navigation-new_W0QQitemZ190093689352QQcategoryZ6305QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQc- mdZViewItem

displacedtexan

To me the Highlander doesn't say elegance or glitz. It says practical and nice. I'm not sure the MKX says elegance or glitz, either, but it would have the cache of being somewhat rarer than the Highlander. I don't think it would get lost in a crowd.

nunzi

Thanks for the input. I did test drive the highlander and eh? Nice practical dependable. Like the girl you would take home to meet your mom... The MKX was ahhh yeahh nice naughty but nice.. Too pricey and then I saw the Ford Edge.
But I don't want to go there...cute though... I have to get over my vanity.. still undecided ..come on people.. help!!! :confuse: :

gasman1

I personally like the current HL. However, you may want to research the 2008 new HL coming in July/August. It should be more comparable to the MKX. I prefer the new Toyota 3.5L over the current 3.3L. I'd also suggest that you research the bones of the vehicles and not just the skin.

The Toyota HL has a solid structure. I hope the MKX has one too. I really want Ford to do well...

bigbuck14

The thing about the 2008 HL is it looks like a longer rav4 and kinda funny lookin.

rich72

My wife got a Lincoln MKX back in January. She had the same requirement as you, where she wanted something reliable, safe and didn't look like every other car in the lot. I can tell you that our truck gets looks from a lot of people in cars worth 2-3 times what the MKX does. The Highlander is probably a very reliable truck, but looks like a minivan to us(even the 2008 model).

Get the MKX with crome wheels and you will be very happy. We had the x-plan through our work, but I think you can make a deal if the dealer has a lot in stock.

ro810

I looked at both vehicles, too. I am going with the MKX. I love it. The Highlander is very practical- but boring. It also is missing some features that I like to have. The salesman kept telling me that maybe the 2008 will have them- sorry can't wait that long. Here's the thing I didn't like about the Highlander: The front seats do not have memory, you can't plug in your ipod, no dual climate control, there was no a/c adapter in the rear seat. It was a very good vehicle and holds it resale value- as the salesman continued to tell me. I am looking to lease and was surprised how high the lease payments were for a car that cost less to start and hold it's value so well. So how do I love the MKX, let me count the ways- the Vista roof- I want a convertible, but I need AWD- I can have both (almost). A great looking vehicle that stands out in the crowd, and all things that I could not find on the Highlander. And did I mention the Vista roof!!Check the Internet you can find a link to website that can get you a X-Plan certificate- that's employee pricing. I know someone at the Lincoln dealership, so he is giving me the pricing. It's about $400 over invoice. Good Luck. I can't wait to get my MKX.

akirby

X plan is not employee pricing. Employee pricing is A plan and that's around 4% less than X plan. X plan is still a great no haggle deal and you won't beat X plan on a new MKX anytime soon.

chelentano

definitely MKX! especialy in white leather and maple wood trim

jsmilesrmhs

If you are deciding between either a Lincoln Mkx with a toyota Highlander that is not a fair comparision for either.

If you like the Mkx you should look at a Lexus Rx350, Cadillac Srx, Acura Mdx, and etc.

If you like the Highlander you should look at the Ford edge, GMC Acadia, Saturn Outlook, Mazada CX-9, and Honda Pilot.

Thoses are more fair comparsion.

nvbanker

I don't get the premise of this discussion, as you have an apples/oranges comparison. The Highlander compares to the Ford Edge, not the Lincoln. The MKX should win every time here, and it seems it does.

townhome

We traded in a 2002 Highlander my wife had before we were married for a 2007 MKX. It was an OK car, but one that I did not want. It had about 85,000 miles on it and needed a $1500 repair to the HVAC system (the temp control button did not work and so the entire unit needed to be replaced). I know that's not bad for a 5 yr old car, but my Ford Ranger is 11 yrs old, has 85,000 miles on it, and has never needed a repair. My wife's Highlander reminded me too much of my 1990 Toyota truck -- everyone thought it was nice and reliable, but it left me stranded more than any other car I've owned before or since. I traded it for the Ford truck and was never stuck on the side of the road again. So far, our Lincoln has 10,000 miles on it and it is perfect.

eurofocusst

If you are shopping for a car, I can't see why anyone would be stuck between a Highlander and a MkX.
They are both 2 completely different cars that you should be comparing each other with when buying a new car.

However, I must say that even though the Highlander has been remodeled to look like a Rav4 that just ate a small elephant, the MkX is still much better looking on the outside than the Highlander and the Lexus RX350 (which you should be comparing it with in the first place.) :P

texases

Price it the reason - RX350 can go very high, while MKX and (new, less-discounted Highlander) can be quite close.

akirby

If you're talking about personal preference then you can compare anything you want to anything else. I cross shopped a Mercury Cougar, Mustang GT and Lincoln LS at the same time.

But the poster didn't say he compared them - he said he traded a Highlander in on the MKX. Apparently his experience with Toyotas eliminated the RX350 from the shopping list.

allisonh

I just put a deposit down on the 2007 MKX (red with light/wood and leather interior). IT IS GORGEOUS. I just paid off my 2002 Champagne Highlander Limited lease and tomorrow I'm getting it inspected to turn it in. It practically looks new, except i'll probably get hit for the tires. I probably would have gone into another Toyota, but The 2008 highlander is a bland looking blob. The 4 runner is loud and trucky. I'm also a LI NY gal now living in Florida and have been SUV shopping for over a month now, looking for the glitz. Its all about the leather, wood, sunroof and quiet ride in luxury. I've looked and test drove them all and the MKX is my fave! The Nissan Murano with touring package wasn't bad with the wood trim, but the MKX is such a smoother ride. Which forum can tell me if I'm getting a good lease deal using the current 39 month lease promotion. The dealer is giving me the $2750 cashback rebate, so I'm putting $1000 down OTD (includes first month and lic, tax) and my payments will be $403.10 per month. Do you need more info to let me know if its a good deal? Should I wait for the 2008 to come out and hope to make the same deal. Or am I dreaming?

tidester

You'll want to post your question in Lincoln MKX Lease Questions.

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

nunzi

Al... sounds like you did good... Luxury never goes out of style :shades: good luck...

nunzi

:shades: I am glad I waited because I have seen the Buick Enclave and fell in love... HOT... I am ordering it because dealers sell them before the get on the lot.. I know.. what a change but the MKX did not have that "3rd" row... This car is me.. sexy sleek and hard to get... :shades:

jeyhoe

"I am glad I waited because I have seen the Buick Enclave and fell in love"

Yeah, I'm in lust. I drove the MKX and the GMC Acadia, an Enclave twin, and were I buying today I'd definitley get the GMC. Or the Enclave or even the Outlook. The mkx maybe rode a tad bit smoother, but I'd give everything else to the GM clones.
One trick touch the Acadia had was a 'Heads-Up display' projected on the windshield. mph and a choice of a few other info. Kinda cool.

nunzi

Good luck with that!!! I need the third row..as much as I like the MKX still no third row I saw the Acadia... like it... But love the Enclave.... ording it this weekend.

akirby

Have you guys actually sat in the 3rd row of the Acadia/Outlook/Enclave? It's barely usable for adults - ok for small children.

jeyhoe

No, I didn't sit in 3rd row. I dont expect much room back there tell the truth. I'm spoiled on 3rd row accomodations by my Navigator, which is quite good back there, even for me.
Wednesday I had to take the Nav in to get a few things taken care of before the warranty expires next month. So while I was waiting, I test drove a couple of vehicles as a time killer and for future needs. I'm not buying anytime soon since the Nav will finally be paid off, I think I'm going to enjoy driving it for a couple of years. I really just wanted to compare the 2 vehicles.
So I wasn't worried about 3rd row myself. Though still with 2 small ones, the 3rd row in the GM trio would probably do OK for us with the kids back there. I wanted to just compare how the cars (oops, CUVs) would be for ME. Selfish, yeah
Like I said, the Lincoln may have ridden a bit smoother, but the GMC was more responsive. (Ford engines sure are tight when new. They dont feel as powerful as they should. Wonder how much that affects sales?) The Acadia also had a much nicer instrument setup, clean, modern and the heads-up display is trick. The mkx as we've discussed before has guages from 1980s Granada and they just dont work for me at all. The GMC (and even more so the Enclave I only sat in) feel much more luxurious than the Lincoln. I dont like the silly two-tone deal in the mkx where the seats are accented with a different color (it was a 2008 - they're 'really dealing' on the 07s). The Lincoln had Sync, but that's not of any real interest to me. And I really don't see Sync selling many Lincolns. The Lincoln demographic just doesn't care about plugging in their mp3 players :P I'd much rather have the OnStar that the GM vehicles all have. The mkX also had the panorama roof, which is definitely nice. GMC had a double sun roof too, but not as big or fancy as the mkx. Oh, the Acadia also had a rear view camera and it was great. Dont think you can even get that in the Lincoln.
The prices were appx equal and that really tips the scales toward the GM products. THey're bigger, more powerful and the gas mileage is supposed to be appx the same as the Fords. Unless you're really crazy about the looks of the mkx, it's practically a no-brainer, at least for me. (And, BTW, I love the rear treatment of the X, and the side view is nice too. Front end still growing on me but very slowly. It looks better in person than pix.)
Also sat in a Mercury Mariner hybrid. I think, though my first 2 cars were Mercs (real Mercs, from the 60s), and I am a Mercury fan, I think this brand is doomed. The Monterey minivan was a complete joke and the Mariner, though "completely redesigned" is not much better. The dashboard looks to be coddled together out of about 100 pieces that fit together only by chance. It looks pretty nice to a casual observer, but look closer and it has serious problems. Too bad cause a 30mpg AWD vehicle appeals to me.

texases

Have you tried out a Highlander Limited? 3 rows and a nice interior. We're going to be comparing the Highlander and the MKX. No need for 3 rows. Availability is one issue with the Enclave, saw recent article on how GMs limiting production to keep demand and prices up.

nunzi

Yes... I Have sat in the third row of an Enclave... not as tight as a subaru tribeca 08 I was going to get... Remember I am downsizing from a Lincoln Navigator so I know I will not be getting the same space... an average size adult can sit in the third row but not for long.... 2nd row is fine.. kids in back.... Americans are a little large..with this obesity and all .... maybe and "average" person does not mind... All and all I still love it and cannot wait to order my Enclave...Milli

akirby

The Lincoln had Sync, but that's not of any real interest to me. And I really don't see Sync selling many Lincolns. The Lincoln demographic just doesn't care about plugging in their mp3 players I'd much rather have the OnStar that the GM vehicles all have.

Sync also gives you integrated phone voice control, and I think you'd be surprised at how many Lincoln owners have mp3 players or at least mp3s on a thumb drive. But don't forget - Sync is easily upgraded via the thumb drive so new features can and will be added in the future.

texases

Test drove them back to back, and much prefer the MKX, for these reasons -
1. Handles better - MKX had 20" rims, much sharper handling with little difference in ride.
2. Better interior. - hard plastic interior of Highlander just seemed a bit cheaper, overall
3. Passenger seat has full electric controls with MKX, HL lacks tilt/raise/lower - particularly important because of #4
4. Can get nav without sunroof with MKX, not with HL - with sunroof insufficient headroom in HL. Don't want sunroof, but can't get nav without it on a HL. Can on an MKX (the overnight tester in my garage is just so equipped).
5. AC seats. Dallas. Summer. 'Nuff said!
6. (and trumps 1-5) My wife much prefers the MKX, just felt more at home with it the moment she sat down.

Hope to make the deal tomorrow.

texases

Well, we liked the MKX so much we bought it. Wife couldn't be happier. I'm continually impressed by the handling, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the 20" Pirelli Scorpions aren't terribly expensive.

mschmal

Hmmm must be some other reason why the only 2008 MKZs I have in stock at my dealership DON'T have Sync. (They were built prior to Job2 when Sync became available)

OnStar is nothing more than a cell phone built into your car. As such it requires its own unique phone number and its own service agreement at an extra cost.

Sync uses the cell phone you already have and are paying for. Sync is capable of doing everything that OnStar does. More software will be added to Sync this fall and is backward compatible to people who previously purchased vehicles with Sync.

Mark