[DaMiFo]

The MKZs were decontented as well towards the end, just nowhere near as bad. Some options were dropped, as bbf said options were re-packaged for less production line variance. Changes were things like removal of soft-touch in rarely-seen areas of the interior, a little less sound deadening in the rear, but really nothing to worry about in comparison to the Fusion. I'd still try to stay with 2018 or older tho, as that's when the company in really started pinching pennies, so who knows what we haven't discovered yet.

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[metroplex]

You're right, I was thinking of the panoramic glass roof probably. It was sometime late 2020. I'm not in the market for a MKZ. Like I said, if I were to buy a new Ford I'd probably wait on the Explorer ST a few more years.

I used X-Plan, military discount, and the Costco discount to price them out. Lease on an Explorer ST was $700/month for 36 months. Out the door pricing (No lease or finance) would have been the same between the MKZ 3.0 and the Explorer ST, about $55k-$60k. It wouldn't be so bad for $16k-$18k to lease a vehicle for 3 years. But $25k to lease a vehicle for 3 years is insane. I can buy a new vehicle for that much money.

What I'd really really really want is to be able to retrofit the MKZ Luxury Package LED headlights somehow onto the Fusion Sport. Yes they are expensive but I'd be willing to shell the coin for better headlights. The bumper fascias and hoods don't match so it's definitely not a direct-fit swap unfortunately.

 

[metroplex]

Glad I don't live in Michigan, don't need to worry about pot holes, LOL.

You're not kidding! I ask myself why I live in Michigan every single winter.

I saw another co-worker today and she bought a new 2019/2020 Fusion SE with the 2.0 EcoBoost AWD. It's a totally stripped down SE (cloth seats, no foglights, no sunroof), but has the dual exhaust with the "Titanium" cut-outs. Her stock tires are Badyear Eagle LS2 in 235/45R18. Those are some meaty sidewalls. I wish we had the MKZ tire sizes on the Fusion Sport. Made no sense to put 235s on the Fusion and 245s on the MKZ - on the same wheel width, chassis, curb weights, etc... LOL

 

[DaMiFo]

Actually the difference in ride over the Sport's stock tire and the MKZ's 19" size were very noticeable to me. Same ContiProContact tire, too. It wasn't drastic, but was noticable in how it handled rough pavement or larger bumps.

I've noticed they do the same thing on the MKC vs. comparable Escape tire sizes.

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[metroplex]

Sell Lincoln comfort on the Lincoln by using slightly wider tires than the Ford!

 

[Skipe]

You're not kidding! I ask myself why I live in Michigan every single winter.

I saw another co-worker today and she bought a new 2019/2020 Fusion SE with the 2.0 EcoBoost AWD. It's a totally stripped down SE (cloth seats, no foglights, no sunroof), but has the dual exhaust with the "Titanium" cut-outs. Her stock tires are Badyear Eagle LS2 in 235/45R18. Those are some meaty sidewalls. I wish we had the MKZ tire sizes on the Fusion Sport. Made no sense to put 235s on the Fusion and 245s on the MKZ - on the same wheel width, chassis, curb weights, etc... LOL

All the 2.0's have that exhaust, my 13 was a SEL, loaded other than no Sony or cooled seats, and not even sure they were avalable back then. oh and no lane departure. My boss got me with that once. Took a 13 we built other side of town chasing down something, I,m on 280. Oooz into the other lane and the damn steering wheel starts shaking, lol. I,m freaked, thinking something is falling apart. Call him on my cell, tell him what happened, and he's starts laughing. Oh I forgot to tell you about that. Just make sure you use your turn signal, it wont do that then, LOL.

 

[Skipe]

I,ve got the wheels off the 13 on my Sport right now 245 45 18, like them, but I,m gonna put a 245 40 19 on the car later soon as I make up my mind what rims I,m going with, down to two though. Know what brand tire I'm getting though, General Altimax, has a 800 tire wear rating, hooks up great in the snow and wet roads. Plus sticks good on dry roads. I thought about going with the Continentals, but the price is a turn off for a 500 wear rating, and yeah I know it really does'nt a mean a lot, but sill. I had a set of General G max's on the 13, they lasted about 20,000, but they also only had a 400 rating.

 

[metroplex]

DWS06! They will last a solid 50k miles with hard use. I'd rather have a set of tires that would only last 50k but handle potholes versus something that would potentially last 70k miles but could pop. I would like aftermarket 18" wheels that can re-use the OEM-style lugnuts. I don't want the logistics of tuner lugs or adapters. But I guess that is a very slim list.

 

[DaMiFo]

I noticed the Altimax tires I had on my old Focus were fantastic as well, also low wear, but as they started to get low they had some very odd handling characteristics. I put DWS06 on a family member's car, great all around tire with good grip but man do they flat spot easily (it's only an Impreza Sport). Handling was more numb to me too. But they're a go-to recommendation from me if you don't care about driving feel. I'm personally a huge fan of Hankook, several of their tires I've tried had the sharpest handling outside of a Pirelli (but without the Pirelli cost and incredible road noise).

@Skipe How did you like the G-Max's? They're on my list of tires to consider once this set is worn down.

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[metroplex]

My friend went through two sets of Dws06 on her Malibu and rarely rotated them. Never flat spotted. I can attest to that because when I drove them the tires were smooth even towards the end of their life. I wonder if they were a bad batch or the tire pressure wasn't quite right.

 

[DaMiFo]

Not sure, reason I had them put on is because I loved the original DWS. Almost a perfect tire! The DWS06 were a huge letdown to me tho. Planning on having them try the DWS06 Plus whenever they next need them.

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[Skipe]

The G max's were ok, but they did scalp way to easy and I rotate mine every 5 to 10,000 at the most which I think is pushing it. I'm due for a oil change and gotta do something about rotors n pads so that will happen then this time around, but usually I like to rotate them when I do my oil changes. Other than that, they were ok. Not the best in snow I can say for sure, but not horrid.

 

[metroplex]

Not sure, reason I had them put on is because I loved the original DWS. Almost a perfect tire! The DWS06 were a huge letdown to me tho. Planning on having them try the DWS06 Plus whenever they next need them.

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Were those original DWS the ones with the bio-shark fin tread design? I wanted to try them for the longest time but never got around to it.

My factory Badyears are at 3/32-5/32, so I will probably get something next year. Either new 18" wheels/tires or just tires. I still want to keep using OE-style lugnuts.

 

[Skipe]

DWS06! They will last a solid 50k miles with hard use. I'd rather have a set of tires that would only last 50k but handle potholes versus something that would potentially last 70k miles but could pop. I would like aftermarket 18" wheels that can re-use the OEM-style lugnuts. I don't want the logistics of tuner lugs or adapters. But I guess that is a very slim list.

The Altimax's won't pop, there a heavy load tire. You really have to hit something hard to do it with these I think, and I have hit some bad ones around here. Toledo is really bad, so much so I try to stay out of there as much as I can. It's bad when your driving down the road and can see the difference at the line coming n going. Most all the suburbs around here have nice well maintained roads, but with al the people leaving Toledo they have no revenue, so the roads are a mess.