Teresa’s View

At first glance, the chrome highlighted, luxury pickup with a Lincoln badge may look like a girlie truck. But you’d be wrong, partner. Don’t let the Mark LT’s shiny chrome wheels, chrome box rail bars and thick bands of the shiny stuff on various body panels fool you. The Mark LT is all truck.

A beefy Triton 5.4-liter V-8 engine generates 300 horsepower and 365 lb. ft. torque, plenty to transport you, your family, its gear and – with 8,900 pounds of towing capacity – still trailer a toy.

The truck is solid on twisty bits, although, like most trucks, the back end wants to do the fishtail. The suspension cushions all but the most severe road irregularities. Outside noise is kept to a minimum with adequate insulation.

The citified Mark LT shares a chassis with the Ford F-150 Lariat and picks up some of the country boy’s parlor tricks, including a tailgate extender for longer loads and a lift feature that makes swinging the tailgate open and shut easier.

While the Mark LT has the practical stuff down, it falters somewhat on the luxury side. A fancy-shmancy truck like this deserves a more refined interior. The contrasting piping on the softly puckered leather seats is elegant, but the plastic bits masquerading as metal are garish. A wide, vertical swath of what Lincoln says is real wood dominates the dash, but even the fake wood contact paper on the cupboards of my first apartment looked more gen-u-ine than this.

What Is It?: The Mark LT is a full-size, five-passenger, four-door luxury truck from upscale Lincoln. Unlike most trucks that offer a dizzying array of configurations, the Mark LT comes in a single trim – a four-door crew cab with a short cargo box – in either two- or four-wheel drive. Prices for the Mark LT start at $40K.

Gadget Rating: 7.5 out of 10 Luxury amenities abound and Gadget Central is George Strait-simple – who sounded especially fine, by the way, on the Audiophile sound system with 6-disc in-dash CD. Four-wheel drive is engaged via a shift-on-the-fly switch on the dash, but real off-roading will require the optional skid plates. Other options include a rear-seat DVD entertainment system, reverse-sensing back-up assist and adjustable pedals. Navigation, GPS and satellite radio are no-shows on this “luxury” truck. Hmm.

The Back Seat: Wow. This isn’t an after-thought-of-a-back-seat. There’s substantial legroom here. Kids, car seats and actual adults fit fine.

Safety: The front air bags are dual stage for protection in serious accidents. Unfortunately, no other air bags are offered, which is odd.

Cheat Sheet: Lincoln is the luxury division of Ford.

So, Where Are Ya From?: The Mark LT is assembled in Dearborn, Michigan.

The Competition: In a decidedly niche category, the Mark LT competes with the Cadillac Escalade EXT, Dodge Ram SRT-10 Quad Cab and GMC Sierra Denali.