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Any bad news then? Well, these might be minor gripes, but if people shot down the Lynx for its repulsive rear end before, they might shoot it down again for these elements. First is the chromed toothy grille. It’s downright cheesy and looks as if it were plucked straight from a Korean surplus parts bin. A mesh-grille design would have worked wonders giving the Lynx a more sporty appearance, or at the very least blackening out some of the chrome strips could have done more justice to the front end. Second are the new alloys, which don’t look quite as good as the original. Their luxurious design don't seem to jive with the car's overall sporty , European-inspired styling. Don’t get me wrong--the mere fact that they made way for single-piece alloys rather than having a plastic center cap is a good improvement; it’s just that the new ones don’t have the same flair and exuberance as the originals. It’s a good consolation through that the customer can fit the Lynx with optional alloys straight from the dealer. Five-spoke alloys, anyone? Lastly, the Lincoln-like rear garnish is a bit over the edge. Much like the toothy grille it may be an attempt to crack the executive sedan market with too much chrome The chrome strip should have been limited to the top portion while the reverse lamps should have been integrated with the rear lamp cluster. Oh, did I forget to mention that the rear signal lamps are now red as well? Now you can say that indeed the F150 and the Lynx do come from the same company—a step back in design. Interior Inside, the Ford Lynx has received more new body parts than Robocop. Numerous improvements have been made to answer past customer complaints. For instance, the interior color scheme has been changed from a monotone gray to a combination of shades of brown to give the Lynx a more upscale look. It’s not easy to pull off a classy-looking brown interior, but Ford has done it. Moreover, the silver trimmings have been removed and exchanged with better looking bronze-shaded materials that integrate well with the rest of the interior color scheme. The center console has been redesigned from the handbrake area, the biggest changes of which resulted in better accessibility to the air conditioning controls and better integrated cup holders. The pride-and-joy of this car is its modular stereo system that gives a buyer a variety of options. For instance, buyers can select whether they’d want a single in-dash CD player or a 6-disc in-dash CD changer. Moreover, they may select either a tape deck or a mini-disc deck with an MP3 option coming out soon as well. Our test unit has a high-tech 2-DIN in-dash 6-disc CD changer that requires NO magazine whatsoever. Although the loading operation is sluggish, once loaded it works well, giving the Lynx a feeling of tech and class especially considering that the Lynx has a 6-speaker system as standard. Moreover, there is an option of adding two additional speakers at the rear putting the grand total of speaker count to 8! And finally, someone thoughtful enough to include a large volume knob! Other improvements include an electronic trunk release mechanism removing the need to bend down in opening the trunk lid, as well as improved instrumentation. In addition, those who complained about poor seat support may be glad that even those who don’t have Jennifer Lopez-sized behinds may find the Lynx a more comfortable ride. The seats have been redesigned with additional cushioning and padding. Moreover, the leather appointments have ditched the perforated look with high quality leather sourced from Japan for a reduced leather smell and better texture. |
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