There aren’t many luxury options coming out of North American factories, but if you’re looking for a sub-compact cross-over in that category, the 2021 Lincoln Corsair is a great choice. It comfortably seats five and delivers a plush ride, but it’s the distinctive American heritage touch that makes the Lincoln Corsair unique to the cross-over segment that’s often crowded with German rivals alike the Audi Q5, BMW X3, and the Mercedes-Benz GLC class.
The 2021 Lincoln Corsair offers two engine configuration options to choose from, with the US getting the exclusive plugin-hybrid that gets up to 25 miles of EV range. Whether you opt for the plug-in hybrid or not, the Corsair will be driven by either a 2.0 liter or a 2.3 liter turbocharged engine both receiving respectable fuel EPA ratings of 25 and 26 city and highway combined.
POWER AND DRIVE
The premium look and feel of the 2021 Lincoln Corsair is immediately apparent with its solid-heavy doors, upscaled cabin space and above all, an ultra-plush, quiet, and comfortable ride under the refined control that a luxury vehicle provides. More power would have been preferred given the small-scale engine size, but the Corsair managed acceleration, lane changes and highway merging with minimal fuss.
The 2021 Corsair will be powered by either a 2.0 liter or 2.3 liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that produces 250 or 280 horsepower respectively. A third plug-in hybrid is available in the US, which can achieve up to 25 miles of EV range via its onboard 14.4 kW lithium ion battery pack. The 2.0 liter engine configuration will come standard with a front-wheel drive configuration but can be upgraded to all-wheel drive, which is the only option when configured with the slightly larger 2.3 liter engine. All powertrain options will come with a buttery smooth 8-speed automatic transmission with manual sequential shift mode via steering-mounted paddle shifters.
INTERIOR
Inside the Lincoln Corsair is fitted with a luscious cabin space including quilted cream-colored leather seating, brushed and polished aluminum trims, and a mixture of leather and high-quality mahogany wood panels.Despite its classic looks, Lincoln has also incorporated a few nifty tech features that blends seamlessly well with its interior aesthetics including a color-adjustable interior ambient LED lighting, 24-way power adjustable rear seats, a heads-up display and an available Lincoln Way smartphone app that allows you to locate the vehicle when parked as well as remote lock/unlock and engine start. The Lincoln Way smartphone app will include a 2-year free trial upon purchase.
A smaller 8” infotainment touch screen comes standard with the option to upgrade the instrument cluster to an all-digital 12.3” LCD display. Software running under the infotainment system is powered by Lincoln Sync 3 that has significantly improved both user interface and performance through its previous iterations and will be compatible with Android Auto and Apple Carplay and is also capable of reporting live traffic and weather conditions. Equipped with our tester was the 14-speaker Revel sound system, which delivered a top-quality audio listening experience during our week’s long test drive.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The 2021 Lincoln Corsair standard trim can be had for as little as $36,105, which will come equipped with the smaller 2.0 liter turbocharged engine in front-wheel drive configuration. Despite its generous price setpoint, the higher Reserve trim is preferred with larger 19” machined aluminum wheels, 14-speaker Revel Audio sound system, Voice-activated navigation and Premium Leather-trimmed Comfort Seats at $43,050 Canadian.
