Lincoln Town Car rental

As I wandered to and fro among car rental places during my long and drawn out Rental Period, I'd always wondered about the Lincolns. They were certainly big and cool-looking. What would it be like to drive an expensive car like that instead of the usual cheap stuff? When my Jaguar experienced what I thought was a minor failure, I decided to check out its Ford stablemate.

Comfortable leather seats, attractive but bland dash, and sheer bigness were the first impressions I had. The door handle, which you see pictured, is a minor work of art, very attractive in its solidity. (1988 Jaguar door handles were so fragile that they often broke, so this contrast was particularly dramatic).

The dash and controls felt essentially Japanese: Tight, well put together, but essentially lifeless and bland. The one exception was the absolutely horrible column shift. When attempting to shift the car into reverse, I would often get neutral instead. The akward lever just did not seem terribly fond of reverse. Most column shifts feel similar, but this one seemed especially bad.

Wood and leather practically define the word "luxury car" in the minds of the public. Unfortunately, when the wood looks as phony as pictured on the left, one wonders what the manufacturer was thinking.

As soon as I started driving the car, the floaty ride and numb steering became annoyingly apparent. The Automobile Magazine review says that handling has improved, and in fact it will whirl around corners quite decently. But the overall feel of the car is numb; it doesn't inspire the joy and confidence with which I take corners on my Jag. Driving fun is virtually non-existant.

But there were nice things, too, such as the plush interior and superb climate control. I very quickly came to the conclusion that this is the best car money can buy - if you spend most of your time in heavy city traffic.

On the freeway, alarmed glances at the fuel economy meter on the dash were one major form of recreation. My actual average economy over the course of the rental was 12.7 miles per gallon (the Jag does about 20-25). Another disappointment was the car's range; I'd barely gotten in 200 miles before feeling the urge to fill up, with the trip computer suggesting that only 30 miles remained.

The more I used the car, the less I liked the way it looked. It's striking, but in a highly pretentious way. What really got me was the odd resemblance of the wheels and wheel arches to those of a Ford Expedition. Is this really a truck, not a car? The world wonders.

So, the question is, if I didn't like it, why did I take so many pictures? Ah, there is an irresistable appeal to luxury, and I will admit it. On the other hand, for a $39,000 car it's a bit of a bore. I certainly wouldn't take it over, say, the Mercedes-Benz E320 or the BMW 5-series, both of which cost only a few thousand dollars more. Pity it costs so much more (hundreds of dollars a day, plus special insurance) to rent either of those cars.

So is it worth $ 329 a week instead of the $ 175 a week a more typical car would cost? In all honesty, probably not. I don't think I'd rent a Lincoln again, unless it was a really special occasion, and I felt the need to look vaguely pretentious.

Original photography by David H Dennis using a Canon XL1 MiniDV Camcorder