The Lincoln MKX is a midsize SUV — or CUV, as the company likes to call it, to reflect that it's a car-based crossover. The MKX provides a refined, smooth driving experience in a people-hauler that may be one of the most crashworthy cars on the market. (That means it's likely to protect its occupants, not that it's ripe for the scrap heap.) The MKX effectively replaces the Aviator, a midsize model based on the venerable Ford Explorer, and is a sister of the Ford Edge crossover. It shares many of that model's strong points, but I'm not sure it adds enough to command the price premium.

Understanding the MKX's trim level breakdown could hardly be simpler. There's only one: the MKX, available with front- or all-wheel drive, a $1,650 option, the same as on the Edge.

• Exterior & Styling
• Ride & Handling
• Going & Stopping
• The Inside
• Safety
• Cargo & Towing
• MKX in the Market