Used 2022 Lincoln Corsair

The Lincoln Corsair has quickly become the brand’s best-selling model, and it’s not hard to see why. This is a stylish compact luxury SUV with a serene interior and reasonable pricing. It borrows some of the best elements of its bigger Lincoln stablemates like the Aviator and Navigator while having its own personality. If you’re looking for a crossover with the spirit of a sport sedan, you may want to look elsewhere. But if what you’re looking for is a smooth, quiet, and comfy SUV with a versatile interior and handsome styling, the Corsair is a strong value in this class.

The Lincoln Corsair doesn’t get many significant changes for the 2022 model year. Still, it does add a new Luxury Package available for the Reserve and Grand Touring plug-in hybrid models with a head-up display and Revel 13-speaker premium audio. Some other reshuffling of feature content includes a standard panoramic moonroof on the Reserve I model.

The closest rival of the Lincoln Corsair is from the other American luxury brand, the Cadillac XT4. These two SUVs are very similar in size and price, but the Corsair has a few advantages like a plug-in hybrid option and a more potent standard engine (which doesn’t require premium gas). Other close competitors to this Lincoln include the Lexus NX and the Acura RDX.

The cabin of the Lincoln Corsair coddles its driver and passengers in a quiet, serene sanctuary. Thanks to a double-wall firewall, almost no engine noise makes it into the cabin, and there’s hardly any wind noise, even at highway speeds. This, combined with a smooth and compliant suspension, makes for a genuinely luxurious drive.

The standard engine is a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 that delivers a satisfying balance of performance and fuel economy. This engine has plenty of energy for around-town driving and highway cruising alike. The 8-speed automatic transmission delivers satisfying shifts and never feels clunky.

The steering is precise, and the body roll isn’t bad in corners, but it’s hard to call this SUV sporty. That’s mainly because some other players in this class have the spirit of a sport sedan, namely German rivals like the Audi Q5 and BMW X3. However, those SUVs are priced higher than the Corsair.

If you do want a little bit of a sporty driving experience in the Corsair, consider upgrading to the Sport Package. This upgrades the engine to a 2.3-liter turbocharged inline-4 (which requires AWD) along with a sporty appearance package.

The engine upgrade is nice, and the boost in power and torque is noticeable, but whether the upgrade is worth the cost is debatable. It adds an “Excite” drive mode that firms up the suspension and changes the transmission’s shift points, but we would’ve liked to see hardware upgrades to the suspension, brakes, or exhaust with the Sport Package. This is no BMW X3 M, but remember, it isn’t priced like one, either.

Finally, there’s the plug-in hybrid Grand Touring model, which comes standard with all-wheel drive. The hybrid powertrain delivers a total system output of 266 horsepower, and it can go up to 28 miles on electricity alone with a full charge. It’s the most efficient version of the Corsair, and it’s still pretty rewarding to drive, thanks to plentiful low-end electric torque.

Quiet comfort is the name of the game when driving the Lincoln Corsair, but it has enough guts that you won’t get bored behind the wheel.

The interior of the Lincoln Corsair is lovely. The design is classy, and the materials are excellent. There are various color configurations available in this interior, but it’s the only Lincoln model that’s not available in the ritzy Black Label trim. Six unique symphonic chimes (recorded by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra) provide some aural charm to enhance the luxurious ambiance.

This interior has the versatility you want in an SUV. Up front, there’s plenty of headroom and legroom. The climate controls and gear-shift buttons are on a floating panel, which creates a good amount of storage space on the console below for your phone, sunglasses, etc.

Standard sliding back seats allow you to customize the interior to optimize passenger space, cargo space, or some combination thereof. The back seats can slide up to 6 inches, which tall back-seat passengers will appreciate.

You wouldn’t be far off if you described the Lincoln Corsair as a scaled-down Lincoln Aviator. It has a look that’s clearly inspired by the bigger 3-row Aviator, and that’s a good thing. It’s a look that translates well to a compact crossover with clean lines and a classy light signature. The look changes a bit with the Sport Package, which has a unique grille and wheels.

The Corsair is on the smaller side of the compact luxury crossover class, but it isn’t a subcompact. It’s very close in size to the Cadillac XT4 and Lexus NX but a bit smaller than the Acura RDX and Infiniti QX50.

GRAND TOURING PLUG-IN HYBRID MODEL
This plug-in hybrid model can travel up to 28 miles on electricity alone and gets 33 combined mpg with once the hybrid battery is depleted. It adds up to significant fuel savings.

SPORT PACKAGE
On top of the 295-hp turbocharged engine under the hood, the Sport Package adds 20-inch wheels, a unique grille, and illuminated front scuff plates.

The base trim of the Lincoln Corsair is pretty well-appointed, making it a good value. Standard features include synthetic leather upholstery, heated and power-adjustable front seats, a memory driver’s seat, sliding second-row seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, remote start, a power liftgate, and dual-zone automatic climate control.

The standard infotainment system is the user-friendly SYNC 3 system with an 8-inch screen loaded with Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, SiriusXM, and a Wi-Fi hotspot. Ten-speaker audio and two USB ports also come standard.

The standard Lincoln Co-Pilot360 1.5 safety tech suite includes blind-spot monitoring with cross-traffic alert, automatic emergency braking, lane-keep assist, rear parking sensors, a backup camera, and automatic high beams.

The names in the Corsair model range are a little confusing, so bear with us. The base trim is called Corsair, and it’s upgradable to Corsair I. The Reserve trim is further upmarket, which you can upgrade to Reserve I. Luckily, the Grand Touring plug-in hybrid model doesn’t have any confusing Roman numerals attached to it. All of the above have some option packages and individual options available, and we’ll walk through some of the best ones.

Corsair I builds on the base trim with 18-inch wheels, a power rear seatback release, a universal garage door opener, and voice-activated navigation. An Elements Package comes standard on Corsair I adding ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel, and rain-sensing wipers. This is the lowest trim where AWD is available.

The Reserve trim takes the Corsair to the next level of luxury. The exterior is upgraded with bright roof rails, 19-inch alloy wheels, Lincoln signature lighting, and a high-gloss lower grille. On the inside, you get premium leather seating, a power-adjustable steering column with memory, a frameless, auto-dimming rearview mirror, a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster, and ambient lighting.

The Reserve I model adds the aforementioned Elements Package plus the Lincoln Co-Pilot360 1.5 Plus Package adding front and rear parking sensors, a 360-degree camera, adaptive cruise control, active park assist, reverse brake assist, and evasive steering assist. This package is optional on every other Corsair model, except the base trim. A panoramic moonroof is standard on Reserve I, which is new for 2022.

The Grand Touring model is equipped similarly to the Reserve trim, with the most significant difference being the plug-in hybrid powertrain. Additional standard features include subtle exterior changes like a unique upper grille design plus a panoramic moonroof, adaptive suspension, illuminated front scuff plates, and upgraded soft door trim.

Various option packages are available throughout the model range, adding more luxury and technology features to the Corsair. For example, a Technology Package available on Reserve I adds 24-way Perfect Position front seats, a wireless charging pad, more USB ports, jeweled LED headlights, and more. A Luxury Package available on Reserve, Reserve I, and Grand Touring adds a head-up display and Revel 13-speaker premium audio.

One of the most compelling option packages is the Sport Package available on any non-hybrid Corsair with AWD. It comes with the engine upgrade boosting performance with 295 horsepower plus a sporty appearance package with 20-inch wheels, a unique black mesh grille, body-color bumpers, and illuminated front scuff plates.

There’s a lot of variety under the hood of the Lincoln Corsair. There are three engine options, all of which are satisfactory in their own way. The base engine is a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 producing 250 horsepower. That’s pretty strong for a base engine in this class, and its fuel economy is respectable.

The available Sport Package upgrades the engine to a 2.3-liter turbocharged mill that makes 295 horsepower. The performance boost is noticeable, but it is debatable whether it’s significantly more fun to drive than the base engine. One nice thing about this engine is there’s barely any fuel economy penalty at all compared to the 2.0-liter engine.

Both of the engines mentioned above use a smooth-shifting 8-speed automatic transmission. Front-wheel drive is standard, and all-wheel drive is optional with the base engine. If you want the Sport Package with the more robust engine, you need to upgrade to AWD.

The Grand Touring model adds a plug-in hybrid powertrain. It’s a 2.5-liter inline-4 engine mated to two electric motors. A CVT automatic transmission delivers power to all four wheels. The Corsair Grand Touring is capable of up to 28 miles of all-electric range on battery power alone, and earns 33 combined mpg when the battery is depleted. With a total system output of 266 hp, performance is similar to the base engine.

The Corsair isn’t the most efficient compact luxury SUV, but none of its engines require premium gas. According to the EPA, the Cadillac XT4 is more fuel-efficient. Still, every Corsair engine has a lower annual fuel cost than the Cadillac because of the cost difference between regular and premium gas.

2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4
250 horsepower @ 5,500 rpm
280 lb-ft of torque @ 3,000 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 22 mpg/29 mpg (FWD), 21 mpg/29 mpg (AWD)

2.3-liter turbocharged inline-4
295 horsepower @ 5,500 rpm
310 lb-ft of torque @ 3,000 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 21 mpg/28 mpg

2.5-liter Atkinson cycle inline-4/two electric motors
Total system output: 266 horsepower
All-electric range: 28 miles
EPA combined fuel economy: 78 MPGe