The MKS has modern safety features and boasts trim equal to any other luxury car’s. It also offers optional all-wheel drive.

LINCOLN

Let’s get this out of the way first: This is the Lincoln MKS, the company’s new flagship sedan.

Thanks to Lincoln’s exasperating branding system, it’s easy to get it confused with the Lincoln MKX (a crossover SUV, based on the Ford Edge platform), and the Lincoln MKZ (a smaller sedan, based on the Ford Fusion platform). Why Lincoln thought it was a good idea to give its three newest vehicles such similar names is anyone’s guess, but it’s annoying.

That said, the MKS, based on the Ford Taurus platform, is good enough to stand on its own. It had better be: its mission statement is to try to bring some younger customers into the brand while still appealing to traditional Lincoln loyalists who will have to be convinced to trade in their rear-wheel-drive, V-8-power Town Cars for this V-6-powered sedan.

Fuel mileage alone might not be enough — the 2009 Town Car V-8 is EPA-rated at 16 mpg city, 24 mpg highway, while the all-wheel-drive MKS V-6 is rated at 16/23, and the front-wheel-drive model is rated at 17/24.

The main difference between the much larger Town Car and the MKS is that the Town Car feels old and doesn’t have the latest safety features. The MKS feels anything but old — yes, it’s a reasonably large, heavy car, but it’s commendably light on its feet. And it is available with a long list of safety features, ranging from the expected stability control and side-curtain air bags, to radar-operated active cruise control, headlights that turn with the steering wheel and a front and rear obstacle detection system.

While the base MKS is front-wheel-drive, all-wheel-drive is optional for just less than $2,000, and even in warmer climates it adds a nice safety margin.

The MKS is powered by a 3.7-liter V-6 engine, with 275 horsepower. Lincoln loyalists have suggested that anything smaller than a V-8 powering the brand’s flagship is sacrilege, but it has plenty of power, and matches up well with the six-speed automatic transmission. Lincoln says that next year, an optional twin-turbocharged, 340-horsepower V-6 will be added to the lineup, which should be enough power for anybody.

Inside, it’s hard to imagine that this vehicle shares a platform with the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable. The leather, wood and aluminum trim is on par with any luxury car, and the front seats are plush enough for traditional Lincoln customers, firm enough for fans of European brands.

Two adults have plenty of room in the rear, but a third adult, sitting in the middle, would not feel comfortable. Trunk space isn’t quite as large as the Town Car offers, but it still qualifies as enormous.

On the road, Ford’s sound engineers have really done their job: This is an extremely quiet car, regardless of the road surface or crosswind. Handling is not at European levels, but the ride is smoother. The MKS is a car that can cover a lot of miles in a day without much passenger fatigue.

With a base price of $37,665, and an as-tested price of $45,570 with all-wheel-drive, options and shipping, it’s cheaper than a comparable Cadillac STS, or even the DTS. Whether it will lure luxury buyers away from Japanese and European brands remains to be seen, but for those customers wanting to buy American — the MKS is built in Chicago — it’s one more appealing option.2009 LINCOLN MKS

Base price: $37,665

Price as tested: $45,570

EPA rating: 16 miles per gallon city driving, 23 mpg highway

Details: Front-engine, all-wheel-drive luxury sedan with a 3.7-liter, 275-horsepower V-6 and a six-speed automatic transmission