MSRP Range: $40,500 to $ 51,500

Invoice Range: $37,000 to $47,000
Price Quote

MSRP As Tested: $51,500

Versions: Executive, Signature, Cartier, Executive L, Cartier L

Vehicle Category: Full-Size Luxury Sedan

Engine Location: Front Engine

Drive Wheels: Rear-Wheel Drive Rear-Wheel Drive

Engine As Tested: 4.6-liter, Single Overhead Cam, V-8 cylinder, 239-horsepower at 4,900 rpm and 287 lb-ft torque at 4,100 rpm

Transmission As Tested: 4-Speed Automatic 4R70W.

Fuel Economy (city/hwy): 17/25

Standard Safety Features: Driver and front passenger, front and side airbags, power 4-wheel disc brakes, "> Antilock Braking System, Traction Control System, Electronic Brake Force Distribution, In-Trunk Emergency Trunk Release, Daytime Running Lights, Brake Assist, Remote Keyless Entry.

Competition: Acura RL, Audi A8, BMW 7- Series, Cadillac DeVille, Cadillac Seville, Infiniti Q45, Lexus GS 430, Lexus LS 430, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Volvo S80

THOUSAND OAKS, California -- We're taking a curvy course over the Santa Monica Mountains west of Los Angeles, traveling from the Pacific Coast Highway at ritzy Malibu on a road that wiggles up one boulder-studded canyon and winds down another to reach the 101 freeway at Thousand Oaks.

The serpentine track, etched into rocky ramparts on the climb to a ridgeback high above the sea, seems best suited for the mega-bucks Ferrari and Lamborghini sports cars so often steered up these mountains by movie moguls and the super-rich who dwell in the elite Malibu enclave.

Yet we're using these kinks and bends and hairpin twists to feel the enhanced handling attributes working on a new rendition of elegant Town Car, Lincoln's full-size luxury sedan.

Set on a stiff new platform and outfitted with a revamped suspension and responsive new steering mechanism, Town Car in any issue of 2003 quickly reveals in a drive up a wiggly route that it can perform handling tricks like no full-size American luxury sedan before it.

The ride quality, while still plush and smooth, also feels more stable and more precisely controlled, the tail comfortably settled on blacktop and tracking straight while following the lead of the prow.

A quick glance at the shapely sheetmetal styling for Town Car -- slick curving shoulders, the exaggerated prow tapering to a bold chrome grille, flared rear fenders and a roof crowned by convexly curved rear glass evoking images of a Bugatti coupe from the 1930s -- looks similar to the predecessor Town Car that debuted as a 1998 model.

The form does not hint at the car's taut and tuned chassis and the revised suspension elements, or the new layout of a spacious cabin with more room for riders and rearranged best-in-class space in the trunk.

To discover these new attributes, you must do more than eye the keen and fluid lines: You must buckle up behind the steering wheel and take a Town Car to task on a winding road, which explains our canyon run across the mountains.

Designers from Lincoln who engineered structural and mechanical changes for Town Car suggest that the difference in handling and ride quality between previous and new versions will become evident after only the first fifty meters of a test drive.

While we're convinced one cannot ascertain much about any vehicle in so short a span, we can relate that -- after fifty miles of steering this latest vintage up the stop-and-go Pacific Coast Highway, across the Santa Monica Mountains and down the 101 freeway at a quick clip -- the improvements make Town Car very easy to drive and incredibly comfortable.

It feels compliant on congested city streets. It deftly manoeuvres through a snaky route without excessive sway or tilted body, and it can romp down a freeway's fast lane.

Abundant power flows from the big Town Car engine that's fitted with high-tech hardware and tuned with low-torque output so a driver feels the juice flowing through all four forward gears.

The single-cam 4.6-liter V8, retuned to enhance the output, produces 239-hp at 4,900 rpm now and torque of 287 lb-ft at 4,100 rpm.

A smooth automatic transmission, keyed to electronic controls, behaves itself with quiet manners.

Also, the transmission adds a high-gear lockout switch located on the tip of the shift lever. It makes downshifts easy to effect with only the touch of your index finger.

The new frame for Town Car features fully boxed front sections forged from hydroformed steel. These front rails measure lighter and stronger than the welded steel channels on the previous frame.

In addition, strong new cross member braces have been attached to the rectangular frame, including a cast aluminum piece that serves as a platform supporting the new steering rack, engine mounts and the front suspension's control arms.

These crosswise braces work together to make the frame more rigid and less flexible when set in motion, which ultimately helps to stabilize the car's body and reduce undesired sway when rounding a curve.

The recirculating-ball steering gear in the previous Town Car has been replaced by a new rack and pinion system that carves out more precise turns and with less friction transferred to the steering wheel.

In the front suspension, the lower control arms are now made from cast aluminum, with ride motion tamed through steel coil springs plus tunable monotube dampers.

Town Car's live-axle rear suspension with upper and lower control arms and lateral Watt's linkage was revised with monotube dampers positioned further outboard to control the axle and smooth out the ride.

Big disc brakes apply, with electronic brake force distribution and connection to an anti-lock system.

Even though the basic form of this latest Town Car looks similar to the previous version, subtle changes are apparent in close scrutiny as the reshaped hood and front fenders make a more formal statement.

Further, Lincoln's signature grille mounts upright now while flanked by quad-beam headlamps and capped by a new hood ornament.

All three trim versions roll on standard 17-inch aluminum wheels and the top model Cartier flashes nine-spoke designs on wheels finished in bright chrome.

In the five-place passenger cabin, a new layout for dash and instrument cluster looks simple yet elegant with a chrome analog clock set in center position above controls for climate and audio systems.

While the interior volume of Town Car remains unchanged, seat tracks for the two front buckets were extended so seats move further fore and aft, thus increasing available legroom.

A myriad of new storage spaces show up around the cabin, including an expanded glovebox, covered bins on front doors, pouches mounted on the backside of front buckets and a center console with lid hinged on both sides for access by either driver or front passenger.

Three trim designations remain with Town Car in Executive, Signature and deluxe Cartier editions.

Further, a six-inch extension to the 117.7-inch wheelbase creates a long-wheelbase Town Car equipped with wider rear doors and more backseat legroom. This version spins out as the Executive L and Cartier L.

Price tags for new Town Car rise from $41,040 for the Executive and $45,015 for Signature to $46,010 for Cartier and $51,470 for a stretched Cartier L, with a $770 delivery fee already applied.

Pros: Luxurios and very comfortable for driver and all passengers.

Cons: Handling is soft and inexact. Braking was not as complete as it should be for a vehicle of this weight.

Ratings (1-10)

Style: 5

Performance: 6

Price: 6

Handling: 6

Ride: 8

Comfort: 8

Quality: 7

Overall: 6.6

MORE DATA

Where Built: USA

Major Options: CD Changer, High-Intensity Headlamps, Rear-Obstacle Detection System

Seating: 6

Number of Rows: 2

Crash Test Ratings:

• NHTSA Frontal Impact/Driver Crash Test Rating: Not Yet Tested
• NHTSA Frontal Impact/Passenger Crash Test Rating: Not Yet Tested
• NHTSA Side Impact/Front Seat Crash Test Rating: Not Yet Tested
• NHTSA Side Impact/Rear Seat Crash Test Rating: Not Yet Tested
• NHTSA Rollover Resistance Rating: Not Yet Tested
• IIHS Frontal Offset Crash Test: Not Yet Tested

Length in Inches: Regular - 215.4. L - 221.4.

Warranties: 4 years/50,000 miles bumper-to-bumper, 5 years/unlimited miles corrosion, 4 years/50,000 miles free Roadside Assistance, 3/36,000 miles free Scheduled Maintenance.

Weight in Pounds: Regular - 4,308. L - 4,428.

Towing Capacity in Pounds: Not Applicable

Gas Tank Capacity in Gallons: 19.0

Destination Charge: $795