Since Lincoln was domestically produced, as a luxury brand, its sales have begun to rise. After domestically producing a number of SUV models, Changan Lincoln began to get involved in the sedan market. Changan Lincoln's first domestic sedan, the Lincoln Z, as the successor of Lincoln MKZ, the new car is based on the Zephyr concept car, and the upcoming new generation of Mondeo platform. A total of 6 models of the new car were launched, positioned as luxury medium-sized cars, and the official pre-sale price was 255,000-34.20 million yuan, which was only sold in the Chinese market. Changan Lincoln Z (hereinafter referred to as Lincoln Z) will be officially launched on March 12, on the eve of the listing, let's analyze how competitive this car is.
● In terms of product strength, Lincoln Z strength is not bad
As the successor to the Lincoln MKZ, the new Lincoln Z is based on one platform with the new generation of Ford Mondeo and Ford EVOS. The new car is based on the ephyr concept car, which appeared in the Lincoln series as early as 1936. The word Zephyr is derived from the Greek word "zephyrus", which means "god of the west wind". Lincoln Zephyr (1936-1942) achieved a remarkable wind resistance coefficient (0.45Cd) in that year with a large angle tilt of the front windshield and streamlined aerodynamic design, hence the name Zephyr. It is not difficult to see from the name of Lincoln Z that Lincoln intends to cater to the younger generation of consumers in a younger and more athletic direction.
We give young people what they want
1) Design
Changan Lincoln Z double appearance front face
First of all, at the design level, the whole vehicle follows the family-style design of the front face and grille shape, so that the new Lincoln Z has a high degree of recognition, and is full of American luxury car aggression. In particular, the Lincoln Z also offers two styles of i cool and i enjoy two styles of appearance, each version is available in 5 body colors. There are obvious differences in grilles, rims, side air intake decorations and body trim styles, which fully meet different aesthetic needs. The i cool version mainly highlights the sporty atmosphere, and the front grille is decorated with the middle mesh, the grille border and the window trim are all blackened. The i-Edition reflects Lincoln's usual luxurious temperament, with chrome plating in the front grille mid-mesh embellishment, grille frame and window trim. what? The Lincoln Z looks like Ford's all-new Mondeo. Because these two cars are essentially the same car.
The side curves of the body are elegant. The newly designed side logo, which runs from the fenders to the front door handle, blends in with the concealed door handle. This class-only hidden door handle has inductive pop-ups and smart functions, which are full of ceremony while matching the shape of the vehicle.
Embrace & Farewell Welcome Lighting System
The "surprise" brought by a variety of light shows is also a means for young consumers to pursue novelty. Lincoln Z has made great efforts in the exterior lighting, and the newly designed through-LED headlights support automatic level adjustment, automatic far and near light adjustment, automatic curve light filling and other functions. With two kinds of greeting and farewell lights, when the owner approaches the vehicle, the Lincoln glowing star, through the light strip, the running lights, and the headlights will be lit in turn.
The unique "Super red" ultra-red light (wavelength 633nm positive red) through-type taillight adopts a 3D suspension design, the lamp body blackening treatment and laser engraving texture, which has a high degree of discrimination after lighting. Similarly, the taillights also have welcome and farewell light words, and the welcome mode also provides 3 animation effects, which the owner can choose independently.
Lincoln Z's Embrace & Farewell Welcome Lighting System is a unique feature of the class, and the length of the welcome blanket of the new car is 1.8 meters long, which is the most in the same class. According to the different models, there are two light effect designs of "i cool" and "i enjoy". When the owner enters the vehicle's sensing range, the welcome light blanket will automatically light up like the headlights, further enhancing the ritual sense of the Lincoln Z.
In terms of details in the car, the workmanship and materials are very careful. The soft place is basically wrapped in leather, while the hard place is also decorated with wood or matte material, which is very textured and not greasy. In terms of details, all the buttons or buttons have adopted special treatment, and the surface has a texture, which shows a sense of grade.
2) Size
Not only is the design style in line with the aesthetics of young consumers for a medium-sized luxury car, the Lincoln Z size is also in line with China's already beautiful mentality. The body dimensions are 4982 / 1865 / 1485 mm respectively and the wheelbase is 2930 mm. We can compare it through a set of data, and it is not difficult to find that it has the largest body length and height compared with mainstream mid-level models. You know, the BMW 325Li is an extended wheelbase version, if it is a standard wheelbase model, the rear space is only comparable to the Volvo S60. It can be seen that the Lincoln Z will have a cross-level seating space performance, and the new Lincoln Z can easily meet the needs of Chinese consumers for large space in the rear.
3) Configuration
The current Lincoln Z hub style given by lincoln's official website
In terms of appearance, it is generally difficult to distinguish the difference between the high and low of Lincoln Z, like the above-mentioned light show, the luminous Lincoln star marker, the LED front and rear light group, and the inductive door handle are all standard, which can be said to be the entry and high match. Only the size of the wheels is different, which is the difference between low and medium and high details, the medium and high models use 19-inch wheels, and the tire specifications reach 235/45 R19.
In terms of lincoln Z interior, the full LCD dashboard and through-line display are also standard in the entire series. The only 27-inch through-line HD panoramic screen in the same class is naturally the most eye-catching place for new cars. This screen is not only amazing in size, but also has the characteristics of high brightness and high color gamut, with a resolution of 4032*756. The built-in Lincoln Nebula human-computer interactive interface completely abandons the menu text interactive interface of the traditional car machine and adopts an original card-type interactive mode, making the interface more beautiful. In addition, the new car can be upgraded with FOTA to optimize the later stage of the vehicle engine system and vehicle performance.
Lincoln Z is equipped with the industry's first Lincoln Nebula human-computer interactive interface, the system interface is inspired by the vast universe, through the high-definition panoramic screen will be the universe of the mysterious, deep, unpredictable perfect interpretation, subvert the traditional car machine monotonous display interface.
Outside of here, the vehicle intelligently switches between full-screen and split-screen modes of the vehicle by sensing whether the co-driver has passengers. When driving alone, the system automatically enters full-screen mode, and the right side screen displays more information. When the co-pilot has passengers, they can choose between collaboration mode or split screen mode. In the cooperative mode, the vehicle-machine system mirrors the operation interface of the main driver's side to the co-pilot's side, and the co-driver can assist the main driver on the screen to complete the navigation, vehicle settings, music and other settings.
In terms of seats, in addition to the lowest-equipped Premium Edition i-Cool configuration, the whole series is equipped with a front seat with the main driving memory, automatic anti-glare rearview mirrors in the car, inductive wireless charging and steering wheel heating. In addition, the seat supports heating and ventilation of the front seats.
In terms of other configurations, the front windshield acoustic noise reduction glass, the front acoustic noise reduction glass, the rear makeup mirror with lighting, the driver's seat comfortable entry, the HUD head-up display, the facial recognition system login and other configurations are quite complete, compared with other competing models of the same luxury brand, the configuration advantage is quite obvious.
Lincoln Co-pilot 360 2.0 Intelligent Driving Aid System
The driver assistance aspect is also a product highlight. The new Lincoln Z is equipped with the Lincoln Co-pilot 360 2.0 intelligent driving assistance system to achieve the leading L2+ level in the same class, and owners of the Premium Edition and the Zunya Edition can open more intelligent driving assistance functions in the form of subscriptions. The Lincoln brand is also the first luxury brand to implement intelligent driver assistance subscriptions for fuel models. This system can also be upgraded to achieve left turn lateral collision warning (pedestrian monitoring), intersection collision warning, Lane biasing lane dynamic avoidance, ALC auxiliary lane change, Exit Warning safety door opening warning and so on.
4) Power
Power is a more prominent highlight of the Lincoln Z, because both BMW and Audi are divided into high and low power, and the Lincoln Z maintains the advantages of the full system of the American car, which is basically the level of bmw 330Li and Audi 45 TFSI. The Lincoln Z is equipped with a 2.0T engine with a maximum power of 181 kW, a maximum torque of 376 N·m, and an official acceleration time of 0-100 km/h of 6.8 seconds. The gearbox adopts an 8-speed automatic transmission, and the push-button shift is still a major feature of the Lincoln brand, and the configuration of the paddle shifter can also bring more control fun to the user. At the same time, Lincoln Z also provides three driving modes to choose from, including sport, standard and energy saving.
In terms of drive form, it uses a front-mounted front drive, and the suspension system is a front McPherson rear multi-link. Referring to the driving texture of Lincoln models, it will still be a style that is more comfortable and retains a clear sense of the road.
● Dimensionality reduction strike, what are the odds of Chang'an Lincoln winning?
American cars seem to have a common tactic of dimensionality reduction, and the success rate is very high, such as the Cadillac CT6, a 5-series priced D-Class sedan. Combined with the current pre-sale price of Lincoln Z, the price of the main sales model is almost pressed at the threshold of 300,000 yuan, what does this mean? At present, the most introductory version of bmw 3 series and the most entry-level version of Audi A4L are in this range after discount, and Changan Lincoln Z must face the competition with the two major German luxury cars. Compared with many luxury brands, Lincoln obviously understands the aesthetics and car needs of consumers today, and also brings a little reference to consumers who buy a car with a budget of about 300,000.
Whether it can punch BBA is difficult to say, but if it is a consumer who positions the main line of purchase in the second-tier luxury brand, Lincoln's dimensionality reduction blow has a great impact on the second-tier luxury brand. Because it is easier to buy a second-tier luxury brand car, it depends on which brand orientation you are more inclined to. For example, the selling point of Lincoln Z is large space, large screen intelligence and good power; the main advantage of cadillac CT5 is the sporty attributes brought by the front and rear drive, and the handling will be better, but the rear space of ct5 is indeed not a small problem. So on these two cars, focus on space to choose Lincoln Z, focus on sports to choose CT5. In addition, although the Jaguar XEL has a similar level of power, the sense of technology and Lincoln Z are still a lot worse; and the volvo S60 body size is too small, and the data of the two cars together is basically a level difference.
According to the data, in the List of Luxury Cars in China, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi alternately lead the first-line luxury brand market all year round, while second-tier luxury brands have changed greatly in the sales ranking in the past decade. Judging from public data, in the past decade, the top three positions of second-tier luxury brands have been reincarnated between Lexus, Volvo and other brands. In 2012 and 2013, Lexus was suppressed by Jaguar Land Rover and ranked second in the sales ranking of second-tier luxury brands. In 2014, Volvo overtook Lexus and briefly ranked second in sales of second-tier luxury brands. In 2015, Lexus counter-pressured Volvo and regained the second position of second-tier luxury brands. In 2020, Lexus surpassed Cadillac and became the boss of the second-tier luxury market.
The above data shows that there are variables in the ranking of second-tier luxury brands. Changes in consumers, changes in the market, can often lead to the rise and fall of a brand. This also brings development prospects to Changan Lincoln and seizes the current wave of young people buying cars. In 2021, Changan Lincoln's cumulative sales exceeded 90,000 vehicles, an increase of 48% year-on-year. With the incremental trend, with the improvement of product layout, the dual-line development of cars and SUVs. With the price of the joint venture brand B-class roof, buying a luxury brand with complete configuration, large space, and fierce power, Lincoln Z has done absolutely what the opponent can develop.
● Summary
We welcome the arrival of Lincoln Z. With a pre-price of 255,000-342,000 yuan, it cut into the luxury mid-size car segment, directly benchmarked the BMW 3 Series, and gave a new choice within 300,000 yuan. And, there's nothing wrong with that choice. With an outstanding sense of refinement, high configuration, large space, it is an all-round player, but also reflects the determination and strength of Lincoln brand transformation, Lincoln is to raise the entry threshold of luxury brand cars again. Lincoln's dimensionality reduction strike has a profound impact, even if it is an entry-level configuration, performance, technology and ride comfort experience are not inferior to opponents. I hope that after the official listing on March 12, the price can give us more surprises.