The 2024 Lincoln Corsair review: luxurious, comfy, safe transportation that positively pampers

Still fresh off a recent update, Lincoln’s best-selling and smallest vehicle features elegant exterior styling and an upscale cabin that convey an air of quality and achievement. As roomy as it is luxurious, the Corsair excels at cruising highways transporting families and their cargo. If the idea is to reward yourself with an affordable luxury ride, the Lincoln Corsair does it as well as any SUV on the road. With several highly qualified competitors like the Acura RDX and the Genesis GV70, the Corsair’s most direct rival is the Cadillac XT4.

See: The 2024 Cadillac XT4 review: updated and spacious with a tech-enhanced interior

What’s new for 2024?

Beyond Lincoln changing its designation for the entry-level Corsair to Premiere, there are no significant changes for 2024.

2024 Lincoln Corsair pricing

The 2024 Lincoln Corsair starts at $38,730. This is for the Premiere grade, which, until 2024, was simply named the Corsair Standard. Front-wheel drive (FWD) is standard on both lower trims, with all-wheel drive (AWD) available as a $2,300 upcharge. At the top of the Corsair’s 3-trim pecking order is the $53,925 Grand Touring, which is a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) with standard all-wheel drive (AWD).

Corsair Premiere	$38,730
Corsair Reserve	$43,115
Corsair Grand Touring	$53,925

These are manufacturer’s suggested retail prices and don’t include the $1,395 factory delivery fee.

Check out: The cars, trucks, EVs and SUVs with the best resale valuein 2024

You can get into a Cadillac XT4 for $37,895 or go for the Genesis GV70 at $44,900. The Acura RDX will set you back $41,750. If you want to stick with Lincoln but need something bigger, look over the $50,415 Lincoln Nautilus.

Before buying the Lincoln Corsair, check the Kelley Blue Book Fair Purchase Price to know what you should really pay. The Corsair and Cadillac XT4 do about equally well in holding their value, which is about average within the segment.

Also see: 10 new SUVs coming soon—and worth the wait

Power, ride, and handling

The primary powertrain for the Lincoln Corsair provides the thrust for the two lower trims. It is a turbocharged 4-cylinder engine connected to an 8-speed automatic transmission. Balancing satisfying performance and decent fuel economy, the turbo-4 has sufficient gusto for both urban barnstorming and highway touring. Having said that, if you dream of attacking mountain twisties, you probably want to check out some European rivals instead. For example, the BMW X3 and Audi Q5 provide tighter suspensions and more acute handling.

If we failed to make our point, let’s drive it home one more time. The Corsair positively pampers the driver and passengers. An eerily quiet cabin conspires with a remarkably smooth ride to provide Corsair’s occupants with a peaceful, high-quality experience.

Only the top-end Grand Touring grade gets the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain. Capable of traveling up to 28 all-electric miles on a full charge, it generates a combined 266 horsepower. AWD is standard.

At the end of the day, the Lincoln Corsair places the quality of the experience above all else. We think it’s one of the more comfortable compact luxury SUVs on the market.

Check out: 10 of the best luxury cars you can get for less than $40,000

We’ve spent hundreds of hours driving and evaluating this generation of small luxury SUVs, including the Lincoln Corsair.

Fuel economy

With the regular turbo 4-cylinder, the Corsair delivers combined mileage of 25 mpg (22 city, 30 highway). Opting for AWD shaves off a bit to 24 mpg combined (21 city, 28 highway). This is about average for the segment.

Moving up to the Grand Touring with its PHEV powertrain, the electric-only efficiency is 78 MPGe. Once all the electrons have been used up, the combined mileage in hybrid mode is 33 mpg (34 city, 32 highway). According to the EPA’s calculations, the annual fuel costs for the PHEV is $1,200. That’s assuming driving for 15,000 miles per year with an average gas cost of $3.60 per gallon. Using that same formula, the annual cost to operate the standard turbo-4 with AWD is $2,400. That’s a savings of $100 per month.

Charging the PHEV’s battery requires three to four hours with a 240-volt (like an electric dryer) Level 2 charger. It will be at least 10 hours when charging with a standard 110-volt household outlet.

You can learn more about the Corsair’s fuel economy on the EPA’s website.

Plus: The most and least reliable car brands for 2024, according to Consumer Reports

Spacious cabin

Even in its base Premiere guise, the Corsair delivers a living-room-like experience. Power-adjustable front seats, dual-zone automatic climate control, and proximity keyless entry with push-button start are included. Commanding the infotainment system is a generous 13.2-inch touchscreen.

Despite having some of the best second-row legroom (38.6 inches) in the segment, the sliding second-row seats can travel fore and aft. Consequently, they can add up to half a foot of extra rear legroom or increase the capacity of the rear cargo area, which, at 27.6 cubic feet, is better than the segment average. It’s measurably more than the Cadillac XT4’s 22.5 cubic feet, but a bit shy of the Acura RDX’s 29.5 cubic feet. Likewise, with the second-row seats folded, total cargo space is 57.6 cubic feet. It’s a little less than the RDX’s 58.9 cubic feet, but better than several others: XT4 (49.9), Genesis GV70 (56.9), and the Audi Q5 (54.0).

Lincoln took the extra step to partner with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra to record a series of auditory alerts. They replace the typical electronic alerts found in other vehicles with soothing, musical sounds. A nice touch. All things considered, the Corsair is one comfy little SUV.

Dignified styling

We are big fans of the Corsair’s dignified exterior. Let’s face it: Many SUVs in this class look alike. In truth, SUV designers face a thankless task trying to differentiate their vehicle from a hundred other SUVs. However, Corsair stylists managed to create an SUV that is elegant, purposeful, and somewhat unique. We applaud their efforts.

Our favorite features and tech

Co-Pilot360: A bundle of safety and driver-aid technologies, including forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking. Other features are blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keeping assist, lane-departure alert, and high-beam assist. Rear-park assist is standard, too.

Plug-in hybrid powertrain: A 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine teams with two electric motors to deliver up to 28 miles of electric-only range.

Revel audio system: With its 14 speakers, this audio system can be tailored to your listening preferences. For example, selecting Traditional Stereo, Audience (concert hall), or On Stage (surround sound) delivers completely different listening experiences.

Head-up display: It reduces the amount of time a driver’s eyes leave the road because it projects vital information, such as current speed, onto the windshield. The display is just below the driver’s line of sight.

Hands-free liftgate: This power liftgate allows the driver to open it automatically with the gentle kick of a foot under the rear bumper when carrying the key fob.

EasyFold seat: With the push of a button located in the cargo area, the 60/40-split rear seatback automatically folds down.

Engine and transmission

The 2023 Corsair offers a choice of two powertrains: a gasoline-only turbo 4-cylinder, or a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain. The turbo-4 uses an 8-speed automatic transmission, while the PHEV has a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT).

The Premier and Reserve get the 250-horsepower turbocharged 4-cylinder. Lincoln offers all-wheel drive (AWD) as an option. Picking the Grand Touring grade brings with it the 266-horsepower PHEV powertrain with a 4-cylinder engine and two electric motors. Not only does the PHEV powertrain provide improved fuel economy, it delivers more power and AWD as standard.

4-year/50,000-mile warranty

The bumper-to-bumper limited warranty is four years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first. The powertrain warranty is six years or 70,000 miles. This level of coverage is better than what’s offered by most European luxury automakers.

Safety rating

In its safety testing, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) awarded the Lincoln Corsair its highest overall score of a 5-Star rating. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gave the Corsair its highest score of Good in four of its five tests. Lincoln provides every Corsair model with its Co-Pilot360 suite of advanced safety features, including automatic forward emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keeping assist, lane-departure alert, high-beam assist, and rear-park assist.

KBB’s car review methodology.

This story originally ran on KBB.com.