The 2011 Lincoln MKX, with industry-first MyLincoln Touch™ driver connect technology, is a high-tech showcase. That is true of the luxury crossover’s powertrain as well.
Its new 3.7-liter Duratec V-6 employs advanced technology and clever control strategies to increase horsepower and torque to best-in-class levels while achieving unsurpassed fuel economy.
2011 Lincoln MKX customers will enjoy a luxury crossover that delivers best-in-class power and torque versus all V-6 competitors with unsurpassed highway fuel economy of 25 mpg – all on regular fuel. Horsepower has been increased to 305 – a 15 percent increase compared with the outgoing product – while torque is up to 280 ft.-lb., marking a 12 percent improvement.
The 3.7-liter V-6 is mated to a six-speed SelectShift Automatic™ transmission, which gives customers the option of a fun-to-shift manual experience.
In SelectShift mode, the transmission doesn’t second-guess the driver, offering total control over gear selection and performance feel. Upshifts, for instance, are not commanded at redline, and downshifts are allowed at the lowest gear possible as defined by the engine speed.
When a lower gear is selected while descending a long downhill grade, the 2011 Lincoln MKX in SelectShift mode will hold that gear until the driver manually upshifts or returns to the fully automatic setting. To ensure safe shifting, the transmission will downshift to the lowest acceptable gear, based on a calculated maximum speed. That means if a vehicle were traveling at highway speeds, the driver could not downshift to first gear in SelectShift mode.
Improvements to engine hardware as well as the powertrain control strategies account for the gains in power and fuel economy. These improvements include:
• Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing (Ti-VCT)
• Aggressive Deceleration Fuel Shut-Off; torque-based deceleration control
• Battery management: “Smart Charging”
• Engine hardware improvements
Quotes
“Fuel economy continues to be at the top of customers’ minds. But customers refuse to compromise on power. With the 2011 Lincoln MKX, they won’t have to. We’re delivering increased power and torque with unsurpassed fuel economy.”
– Greg Johnson, Lincoln Powertrain Manager
“When the system is in manual mode, engine speed matching provides faster and smoother downshifts, and the customer gets the gear they request within the limits of the rev limiter.”
– Greg Johnson, Lincoln Powertrain Manager
“The key to the performance gains and fuel economy with the 2011 Lincoln MKX is that we don’t look at power and fuel economy as being mutually exclusive. Instead, we focus on optimizing every component, every system and every control in the powertrain for greater efficiency overall, which enables increased power, better performance and response and helps to maintain the fuel economy found in smaller-displacement engines.”
– Mazen Hammoud, Lincoln Powertrain Calibrations Manager
