YOU COULD BE forgiven for thinking the Lincoln Continental has spent more than its fair share of time out in the cold. With the rampant dominance of German marques in the executive saloon segment, not to mention the rise of East Asian alternatives, the old town car brand hasn't recently had much of a look in. Until now. Like Cher's late '90s comeback with Believe - an undoubtedly iconic American sound, updated with European dance music techniques - this new Lincoln Continental has retained much of its Yankee charm, yet embraced the sort of technology and style you'd expect from its Old World contemporaries.

So what still screams, 'good ole' USA'? Namely, it's the size of the thing. The Continental is long, which is what you'd expect. Luxurious leg room at the back and space for private aircraft-inspired seats at the front is the result and that is fine and dandy by us. The seats even have a patented comfort carrier system, heating, cooling and massaging functionality and an up to 30-way adjustability that conforms to your various shapes and sizes. When it comes to ensuring comfort, you can always trust products originating Stateside.

What is glaringly un-American, though, is the absence of Lincoln's old brashness, its chunkiness, its almost ungainly (you call that a swagger, in Texas we call that walking) manner. What has replaced it is a svelte, sleek almost sculpted body that wouldn't look out of place doing 160 quiet and efficient kilometres per hour on the Munich Autobahn. This thing is so futuristic it doesn't really have any handles anywhere. There are buttons on the doors to get out and almost sensor pad type contraptions under chrome protrusions to get in. It's like a spaceship.

Under the bonnet, or should that be hood, there lies an atypical motor for a Lincoln - a three-litre twin turbo V6 producing 378hp. That's a bit more economical than we're traditionally used to, yet provides substantial power to get it moving. We're not saying it could outrun some of its Deutsch mates, but it would keep up and for the centred, solid drive you want, it is perfectly matched.

Source: .khaleej Times