By Ann M. Job

A.P. writer

Forget the old, big Lincoln Town Car. Remember three letters instead: MKS.

New for 2009, the MKS is Lincoln’s full-size sedan flagship, and it’s way different from the tired, long-lived Town Car.

The four-door, five-passenger MKS has a roomy back seat and the largest rear-door openings of its class, but it’s not a big boat of a car. Its suspension and chassis provide such a stable feel, a driver might not realize he or she is driving a 17-foot-long car.

The MKS also doesn’t come with a fuel-gulping V-8. A naturally aspirated V-6 provides adequate power.

And the MKS offers all the modern amenities and technology conveniences—from heated and cooled seats to Ford’s Sync voice recognition system—that a buyer would want.

Best of all, the MKS is priced to undercut luxury sedan competitors.

The starting manufacturer’s suggested retail price, including destination charge, is $38,465 for a front-wheel-drive MKS. The all-wheel-drive MKS starts at $40,355.

The MKS, with its prominent, toothy, silver-colored grillwork, is the first car to show off Lincoln’s new design style. The modern body design is pleasant, if not original.

The MKS is one of the few luxury sedans with front-wheel drive, going against today’s luxury trend of rear-drive.

The test car, though, had the practical all-wheel drive train, which worked well to keep traction on wet streets. Steering effort was good and not overly light.

The test MKS rode smoothly over road bumps, and while the interior wasn’t quite as tomblike as that of a Lexus, it was quiet. I only heard the engine when I was accelerating.

The unfettered feeling inside the MKS is bolstered by all the amenities.

The THX II audio system put out awesome tunes in surround sound, and for extra comfort, I turned on the cooling fan for the driver’s seat cushion. Ah, now that’s the way to travel on a hot summer day.

There’s also a center console between the front seats that has a split elbow resting area that can move fore and aft in separate pieces—one for the driver and one for the front passenger. It worked but looked a bit weird.

Rear-seat passengers do not get seat coolers. They can, however, enjoy seat heaters, as well as 38.6 inches of legroom. This is more than the Infiniti M sedans and the Acura RL.

And the MKS’ 18.7-cubic feet of trunk space dwarfs the RL’s 13 cubic feet and the M’s 14.9 cubic feet.

The MKS instrument gauges are a bit ho-hum in their looks, but all controls are easy to reach.

The MKS’ 3.7-liter, double overhead cam V-6 is a version of the 3.5-liter Duratec V-6 used in the Ford Taurus.

Horsepower in the MKS is 273, which puts it at the lower end of power in the segment.

Officials at Lincoln have been looking to add a turbocharged version of the V-6 sometime next year. Reportedly, it could boost horsepower to 340 and torque to 350 foot-pounds.

Meanwhile, MKS buyers get 270 foot-pounds of torque at 4,250 rpm on regular gasoline and a tad more—276 foot-pounds—on premium gas.

In the test car, this was adequate power to move the more than 4,200-pound sedan easily. But there wasn’t any real rush or surge of power while driving. The sensation was more of a refined, smoothly powered machine.

Fuel economy isn’t great in this large car. City mileage is rated at 16 miles per gallon, while highway travel is rated at 23 mpg. The test car, in combined city/highway driving, barely got over 18 mpg.

All safety equipment, including curtain air bags, antilock brakes and electronic stability control, is standard on the MKS.