Sometimes the luster fades off an all-new model when you revisit it a year later. Newer designs come along to woo you, and often the love you once felt for it just doesn't seem as alluring. And sometimes it does.

I'm glad the MKT returned to my clutches for 2011, because I still love this ungainly looking crossover. I also, however, am a realist who understands that the world doesn't always share my tastes.