California Road Trip in a Lincoln MKX

I’m in the market for a new car. And not just any car, but one that I can haul kids and our dog around in while not feeling as if I’m driving a bus. Earlier this month, I borrowed a Lincoln MKX for a road trip to San Diego and then to Berkeley. It just may be the right mix of luxury and function.

The trip to San Diego was a grown ups-only trip for a wedding. We dropped off our kids and our dog with my in-laws and made the 2-hour trip to Del Mar. It was very comfortable for the two of us. It had adjustable lumbar support, which I really appreciated because I sometimes have back pain when I’m driving for hours. I had no back problems during the drive.

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My favorite features on the car were the back up camera and the gear shift. The MKX has a push button start and, as you can see on the left side of the bottom picture, push button gears – you press a button to back up and press a button to drive. It was strange at first, but I ended up loving it. The back up camera not only illustrated what’s in the back of the car, but what is on the side of the car, which was really helpful pulling out of driveways and parking spaces in busy San Diego and the Bay Area.

The MDX isn’t just functional; it’s cute, too. We stayed at a nice hotel for the wedding and the Lincoln fit right in. It also worked perfectly for our long drive to Berkeley with our kids and dog in the back seat. Everyone was comfortable.

We did a lot of driving and had the best time the day we drove into the city. My son, sister, and I did the Bay to Bankers Adventure Race 10k through the streets of San Francisco on the 4th of July. We had to run to different landmarks throughout the city. It was really fun and full of hills, but that meant we saw some incredible views.

Related: Baby Road Trip Essentials

We were in the car a lot on our trip. The MKX rode well on the highway and in the city. One thing I didn’t like was the design of the center console. It was hard to get items in and out. It would have been nice to quickly plug in my phone and put it away. The gas mileage was fine, but not great – it averaged about 20 miles per gallon. For the car its size, it did have a big area for bags in the back. I liked the MKX and did a nice job being a fun car for a weekend away and for a road trip with kids, but I don’t think I liked it quite enough to be our new family car.

Disclosure: I was loaned the car for a week for review purposes. All opinions are my own.