A commitment to confidentiality prevents me revealing which titled person I chauffeured around town during a week-long test of the 2025 Lincoln Corsair GT.
However, I can reveal her chosen name and surname were preceded by the title of “Her Ladyship” – very aristocratic, unlike yours truly.
Following that pompous partial name drop, it should be said that her assessment of the vehicle was a very down-to-earth, “a lovely ride.”
Okay, now for my assessment as to why this classy plug-in hybrid SUV is worthy transport for the aristocracy and a family of six, which is probably its main market.
Firstly, it looks the part with its sleek exterior profile and easy accessibility.
There’s a tendency among today’s sport utes to raise the standing to the point where you step up and clumsily climb in, especially at the back, whereas the Corsair is definitely a graceful step-in front and back entry. Appropriate for my distinguished passenger.
The interior is luxurious with standard leather seating, which offers good support and is especially appreciated up front where the available 24-way adjustable seats offers a massage for that fifth hour on the road.
I don’t stop until the destination is reached or when the screams from the back seat become an overbearing distraction. But for noisy grandkids in the back, it’s a quiet ride in EV or gas mode, with bumpy, rough U.S. roads barely penetrating one’s eardrums.
The large touchscreen display is horizontal and centrally placed. Regrettably, in my opinion, it looks likely the next version will grow massively wider and dominate the front. The current screen, offers easy touch operation with connectivity to iPhones and Android devices.
Choosing a listening selection was a challenge given the status my passenger, doubting she would be delighted with sounds from Ozzy Osbourne. I thought about “Land of Hope and Glory” but settled for BBC World News.
Her ladyship didn’t arrive loaded with baggage so the cargo space of 962 litres was barely used. Earlier, I had visions of having to lower the rear seat to get an 600-plus litres of space to fit in a couple of trunks.
From the chauffeur’s point of view, the drive was good on short trips around town – easy to park above and below ground in those narrow spots favoured by money-grabbing parking facilities.
A longer later journey with “commoners” aboard – family – was not a performance experience, with the responsiveness not top notch in long curves. That said, I doubt most folks will be as picky as me about such subtleties.
As is now standard with such premium brands, the car is loaded with driver-assist safety technology that truly proves its worth on busy highways frequented by unpredictable drivers.
The full EV mode will likely give way to gas power after around 40 kilometres in ideal conditions, which is less than some competitors but likely sufficient for most people’s urban errands.
And there’s more than adequate premium gas power under the hood. The GT uses a 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine, matched to an eight-speed auto transmission. When operating in the efficient hybrid mode, the engine generates 266 horsepower. The non-hybrid, lower-class (snob) Corsair trims are powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine pumping out 250 horses.
For comparison, the PHEV consumes about 6.9 L/100kms in the city, 7.4 L/100kms on the highway, and 7.1 L/100kms when combined. The pure gas version turns in numbers of 11.2 L/100kms in town, 8.3 L/100kms on the highway and 9.9 L/100kms combined.
Pricing for the Corsair, which comes in three trims, pleasantly surprised me.
The sticker price ranges from $49,300 for the Premiere AWD to $59,990 for the Reserve AWD. The most expensive in the lineup is the test vehicle, the Grand Touring AWD, which starts at $59,990, but add more tech goodies and you’re shelling out 70 grand and more. In fact, the tester added more than $16,000 in goodies and came in at $80,760.00 with freight charges included.
To be fair that’s not out of line with competitors and I didn’t reveal to Her Ladyship that she had been riding in an almost bargain basement set of wheels.
keithrmorgan@hotmail.com