MKZ

Make
Lincoln
Segment
Sedan

According to CarsDirect, Lincoln is making some trim changes for the 2019 MKZ sedan. In case you weren't aware, the MKZ is a heavily rebadged and reskinned Ford Fusion. It's not by any means old school badge engineering, but the underpinnings are identical to that of the Fusion.

Anyway, the 2019 trim changes discovered show that, like the 2019 Fusion, the MKZ will gain automatic emergency braking as a standard feature as part of the Co-Pilot360 safety suite of features. However, Lincoln is also dropping the high luxury-focused Black Label trim as well as the 400 hp twin-turbo V6 engine previously available with the mid-level Select model.

The Black Label trim, which will continue to be offered in other Lincolns like the MKC and new Nautilus, involves more than additional luxury features but also first-class customer service from dealerships. No question this strategy has been working very well for Lincoln as a whole, just not the MKZ. Remember, sedan sales are down across the board for all automakers these days, and both the MKZ and Fusion are living on borrowed time.

Black Label-trimmed Lincolns all come with membership perks like a 4-year maintenance plan that covers everything from oil changes with free home pickup and delivery. Heck, there's even free car washes and restaurant discounts.

As far as the twin-turbo V6 goes, an engine exclusive to Lincoln, it will now only be offered in the top-trim Reserve II, which carries an MSRP of $48,740 for the front-wheel drive version, and $51,740 for all-wheel drive. Until now, buyers could get this engine in the mid-range Select model, but Lincoln has revised the MKZ trims for 2019 in general. It will only be offered in Base, Reserve I and Reserve II. Previous trims were as follows: Premiere, Select, Reserve and Black Label. So why is Lincoln making these changes?

Because like we said, its Fusion corporate twin doesn't have much time left, so therefore neither does the MKZ. But perhaps the biggest downside to this trim changes is that buyers will need to pay up to $6,600 more than last year to get that 400 hp V6, due to the Select trim's discontinuation.