Faults:

A few things have gone wrong. One issue (albeit a small one) is a slight squeak in the panoramic roof. It happens over bumpy roads and gets moderately noisy when the temperature is very low (32f and below).

The last issue was a leak in the "power transfer unit" (AKA, transfer case). It had a slight burning oil odor because the leak was flinging fluid onto some of the exhaust parts. This was fixed under warranty.

General Comments:

I put over 25k miles on the car in about 1.5 years and it is VERY COMFORTABLE. The big torque from the Ecoboost engine allows you to maintain very low engine revs, and it gives you a sensation of gliding along, whether in town or the highway. The MKT is also VERY quick! So if you need to pass or merge quickly onto the road, you will have no problems doing so.

Aside from the performance and comfort, it can seat 5 adults fairly easily. The 3rd row is essentially child or "very small adult" only. Getting in and out of the 2nd row is easy, whereas the 3rd row can be a bit tricky if you didn't know exactly how to get the seats to fold up.

Gas mileage can be good if you're on the highway. I did a 7500 mile road trip and averaged just over 24 MPG. Granted this was probably 95% highway, I can generally average 18-20 MPG with 50/50 highway and city. There is no getting around the fact that it's a larger vehicle with a substantially powerful engine, whether it's a V6 or not. If you like to zip around, expect no better than 17 MPG.

Handling on the vehicle is solid. Sure it's not a Corvette, but for its size body roll is minimal, and the car can move quickly around corners with few issues. The Ecoboost's AWD is also very handy in the winter, and I've been in incredibly deep snow without issue. The AWD system isn't complicated, but it's functional.

Build quality seems to be good. Door panels are sturdy, interior trim doesn't rattle, and the seats have held up very nicely. I've only done brakes and oil changes, but in doing those I've seen no rust on the underbody or drivetrain components (despite being in the rust belt).

If you can get over the hearse comments, get one of these! I think it looks more like a crossover/wagon than the Flex (which looks like a short bus), and the overall experience with the vehicle has been great. Also be sure to get one with a Lincoln certified pre-owned warranty, because there are a lot of great features with that package.

Faults:

None.

General Comments:

This is my wife's weekday car, but I get to drive it on the long trips and weekends.

Overall the car is very comfortable and feels luxurious. The interior is very quiet. If you listen very carefully you can barely hear a faint burbling sound from the all wheel drive at low speeds. I probably only even recognize it because I hear the same faint burbling from the all wheel drive on my 2009 MKZ, where it is easier to hear.

The Ecoboost engine is amazingly powerful. Almost scary.

My wife really enjoys little things like ambient lighting you can change the color of, even if it she recognizes it is a little silly. Push button ignition is very easy to get to liking too. The cell phone connections and voice activation work great.

Consumer Reports generally gave the MKT a positive review, but did say it has clumsy handling, which I just don't get at all. The MKT is very easy to maneuver and steers very nicely. And the MKT posted a faster time through their avoidance maneuver test than the other cars they said had agile handling. My wife does say that sometimes she feels like she is driving a tank because of the limited visibility back and to the side. But she says that about all the other large cars she has ever driven too. That is where the blind spot warning lights are very helpful, and you learn really fast to rely on them. That and the rear view camera, and rear obstacle detection system warning beeps are very helpful.

We bought this car as my wife's daily driver, but also for hauling our two kids, three adults and two dogs on 9 hour trips to see the grandparents. The car is just big enough for that if you pack light.

The trip goes across the always windy Texas panhandle. Which is what motivates me to write this review. We have driven this same windy route with rented Suburbans, Tahoes, Freestyles and Ford minivans. Always the crosswinds make for a tiring drive, because we have to constantly adjust for the crosswinds. But the MKT and some other Ford models have a feature called "pull drift compensation." You can search on those words on the web and pull up what it is. It uses the electric steering to make the car go where you are pointing it even as wind or road crowns want to push the car somewhere else. And it is completely non-obtrusive. But when you go by a big semi-trailer on the road, you don't feel the wall of wind push the car over as you go by it like you do in cars. It is really amazing. At the end of the long drive, you get out feeling like the drive was easy and you don't feel so worn out. If we had known the car had this feature, it would have been a big selling point to us. But Ford does not advertise it at all. There is nothing about it in any sales literature. I only read about it in one tiny mention in a car magazine and I read them all. That feature was the best surprise.