Introducing the 2020 Lincoln Corsair: Quietly, Powerful and Dressed to Impress
Connie Peters
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This luxury crossover is elegant, powerful, and built to take you away.
Lincoln has really stepped up their game for 2020. With the introduction of Nautilus and Aviator earlier this year, and now with Corsair, the line of Lincoln SUVs expands its offering from compact to full size with four different size SUVs.
The four SUVs in the Lincoln 2020 lineup. ?: Connie Peters
It is the perfect car for cosmopolitan living. With elevated style and superior drive experience, it’s made to impress.
Related: Need a 3-row Lincoln?: The Lincoln Aviator is here
The new Lincoln nameplate is on the front doors of their SUVs. ?: Connie Peters
We know that men want powerful sounding cars, but we want powerful feeling cars. The Lincoln Corsair is impressively quiet in the driver’s cockpit while performing and handling powerfully on the outside.
I drove the Corsair on the winding route between Woodside and Santa Cruz, California where the two-lane highway runs along the ridge of the Santa Cruz mountains. Its curves are so tight and winding, I was able to put this car through the test of handling, acceleration, and braking while still thoroughly enjoying the drive.
Related: The real reasons a luxury car is worth the splurge
The winding and elevated mountain roads of Santa Cruz, California were made for the Corsair. ?: Connie Peters
I Need This: Excite Mode!
Put the Corsair in to Excite to get the full experience of what this car can do. Excite mode increases handling responsiveness and is perfect for the stretch of California highway highway we drove. If you’re not feeling in need of excitement, there are other drive modes, too: Normal, Conserve and Snow.
Related: Lincoln Continental: Luxury Ride Wherever the Roads Take You
The Pacific Coast highway South of San Francisco. ?: Connie Peters
The Chief Engineer for the Corsair, John Jraiche, describes the four key elements behind everything Lincoln is now building: Beauty, Human, Gliding and Sanctuary.
The Chief Engineer of the Corsair telling the story behind the car. ?: Connie Peters
What’s Unique and New
Phone as a Key means you can use your phone, once set up and paired with your vehicle, as your key. The Lincoln Way app can lock, start, unlock and act as your key fob entirely. The only other cars on the road with this ability are Tesla and BMW.
Phone is the new key with Corsair. ?: Connie Peters
Basically, you can start and operate your car with your phone (and without a key physically present) via Bluetooth when your phone is within a short distance from the car. You can also:
- Generate a backup code for unlocking and driving the Corsair if the phone is lost or your phone battery dies;
- Use a backup code instead of your phone if you want to leave your phone at home or in the car for a morning run, a trip to the gym or someplace where you don’t want to take a phone;
- Set a valet mode so a numerical code opens and drives the car; this can be done on the app;
- You can enable or delete a user, such as a nanny or teen driver;
- These functions and others, such as remote start and climate settings, can also be operated via the Lincoln Way phone app;
- The app can be deleted remotely from a phone that is lost or stolen.
The Lincoln Way app acts as your key. ?: Connie Peters
Premium Safety Features are Standard
Standard safety features on the Lincoln Corsair is the Co-Pilot Assist360 which includes:
- Auto high beams pre-collision Assist with automatic emergency braking
- Pedestrian detection
- Forward collision warning
- Dynamic brake support
- Lane-keeping system
- Lane-keeping alert
- Lane-keeping assist
- Driver alert rearview camera
- Blind spot information system with cross-traffic alert
The rear 60/40 split bench slides forward and offers plenty of legroom. ?: Connie Peters
Added with Co-Pilot360 Plus at an additional cost are:
- Adaptive cruise control with traffic jam assist, lane centering and speed sign recognition
- Stop-and-go 360-degree camera with front washer
- Front sensing system
- Evasive steer assist
- Reverse brake assist
- Active Park Assist Plus
The sleek rear lines of the Corsair do not disappoint. ?: Connie Peters
What will the Corsair Set you back?
The base Corsair with the 2.0-liter engine and 250 horsepower starts at $35, 945 USD. Jump to the Reserve model at $42,630 USD and you get a few more options and additional features like going from 18″ to 19″ wheels, 14-speaker Revel sound system, wood interior trim, standard ambient lighting, power-adjustable steering wheel with memory, heated front seats, hands-free liftgate, panoramic sunroof with sunshade, and LED fog lamps.
The Corsair nameplate is not displayed on the rear. ?: Connie Peters
When you go up to the Reserve model you also get the option to go to the more powerful 2.3L 295 HP motor and all-wheel-drive for $6,740.
Corsair is perfect for cosmopolitan living. ?: Connie Peters
Corsair is arriving at dealerships throughout the US this Fall. We don’t have Canadian pricing information yet, but it will be arriving at dealerships this Fall as well.
Related: Cadillac XT4: A Demure Luxury SUV with Tons of Style
I love a large sunroof! ?: Connie Peters
I love a good, large sunroof, and the Corsair provides it. It also slides open significantly and is standard on the Reserve model.
The inside passenger door on the Corsair. ?: Connie Peters
Something that is also new, is the power seat adjusting controls are placed on the door instead of the side of the seat, as we’re used to. This placement is something you’ll see in other premium cars like Mercedes-Benz and Volvo. It’s something that would take a while to get used to, but I wouldn’t mind.
As a comparable, the Corsair is almost identical in size to the Acura RDX, and Cadillac XT4, two models that have also reinvented their brand images in recent years, making this segment of mid-size luxury SUV quite competitive. And Corsair came to play: with so many standard features, available luxuries and with a quiet, elegant ride, it is truly dressed to impress.
Disclosure: I was Lincoln’s guest for this test drive; travel and accommodations were provided but all opinions are my own.
