2006 Lincoln Mark LT Test Drive

Better The Second Time Around

The Lincoln Mark LT offers an eye-catching exterior and all of the utility of a Ford F-150, but is a little short on luxury.

Lincoln is courageous in launching the 2006 Mark LT, little more than a spiffed-up Ford F-150 crew-cab pickup. The company's first stab at a big luxury truck with a cargo bed — the 2002 Blackwood — was a spectacular failure, selling only 3,356 units before getting scrapped. Add to this a continuing downward sales spiral of large American trucks and Lincoln's courage starts to look brash.

The stylish Mark LT does turn heads and encourage double takes, though. People stop to chat about its elegant looks.

But underneath its flattering skin, the Mark LT fails to offer even the basic luxury touches of its competitors, namely Cadillac's Escalade EXT. The Mark LT's drawbacks — a bare-bones interior and no factory-installed navigation system, for instance — made us wonder if consumers wouldn't be better off buying the Ford F-150 SuperCrew. That truck's Lariat model is the foundation for the Mark LT. But the SuperCrew comes at a lower base price ($33,440), and most of the Mark LT's options are available on the SuperCrew.

The Lincoln LT we tested cost $47,605 (the manufacturer's suggested retail price, including options). A similarly equipped Ford SuperCrew comes in around $42,000, although it's hard to configure the SuperCrew to exactly match the Lincoln specifications.

Still, the Mark LT is a good choice if you're in the market for a luxurious truck that looks different from the competition, especially the bejeweled and more expensive Cadillac Escalade EXT ($53,335 base MSRP). And unlike the failed Blackwood, the Mark LT provides all of the utility and ruggedness of a standard F-150, including the ability to haul 1,620 lbs. in its large cargo bed. This could be a lynchpin to the Mark LT's success, since the Blackwood, with its afterthought of a cargo hold, couldn't muster the utility of a pickup truck or an SUV.

Stung with the success of the Cadillac Escalade EXT — which like the Blackwood launched in November 2001, but outsold it four to one in its first year of production — Lincoln was forced to play catch-up. After the Blackwood flopped, the company fast-tracked development of the Mark LT, says Marketing Manager Alex Hultgren.

Since it’s based on the workhorse F-150, the Mark LT lacks levels of luxury buyers might expect from a Lincoln. Hultgren says the 2007 model will have more bells and whistles. So if you like the look of the Mark LT, waiting a while for the new model could be worthwhile.