Imagine playing The Weakest Link. If Edu Manzano were to ask the question, name a car from the 1.6-liter sedan segment, 99 percent of the time you’ll get one of three responses: Honda Civic, Nissan Exalta or Toyota Corolla Altis. Sure enough these three cars make up a huge chunk of sales in this category, but there are other players as well—some of them are noteworthy even though they’re quite old.
In 2000, motioncars.com was the first to feature the Ford Lynx Ghia—a feat that caught the other people flat-footed. Sure enough, we loved it, despite its Mazda 323 underpinnings. At that time, we mentioned that the Lynx was the best valued car in its class since it combined the sporty attributes of the Honda Civic with never-before seen luxuries in this segment that included leather seats, champagne silver center console and a 6-disc CD changer.
Of course, a few months later, Nissan face lifted their Sentra and came up with an options list as long as War and Peace. It sold well. Subsequently, Toyota joined the fray by introducing cow hide as standard on yawnsville Corolla Altis.
Two years later, it seems that every car maker in the so-called economy sedan segment had to have at least one luxury feature installed. With the exception of Honda, everyone produced some sort of visually enticing treats, luring buyers as if they were Hansel and Gretel. They made their products seem like good value for money. So, with everyone having everything but the kitchen sink as bog standard, where does the market innovator, Lynx stand? A long-term test beckons.
With 23,512 kilometers on the odometer of our long-term test Ford Lynx Ghia, everything still looks pretty much fresh on the outside. Although the styling may have aged a bit, especially after looking at the tall stature of the latest offerings from Toyota and Honda, the Lynx’s overall design is still very much elegant and simple. Compared to the Nissan Exalta, the Lynx looks more opulent and classier. Admittedly, Ford made a booboo with the chromed 15-inch alloy wheels that became hard to maintain as evidenced by the numerous scratches visible.
The overall interior design is still every bit as fresh as well. Although the Lynx may have borrowed parts from the Mazda 323, Ford made use of them wisely, substituting the cheesy parts for better ones resulting in a car that’s convincingly put together. The door panels are especially a nice touch: the combination of the silver trim, chromed door handles, perforated leather and gray plastics is nice to look at and more trendy than the Corolla Altis’ extensive faux wood trim.
The plastics are pretty solid as ever too—a testament to Ford’s good choice of trim quality. The silvery parts don’t seem to have any scratch marks visible while the gray interior paneling has better overall consistency in terms of texture and feel than the new Honda Civic. A few rants include the thinly padded steering wheel which is uncomfortable on long trips (our unit’s owner even had to buy a steering wheel cover to make Lynx more suitable for daily Metro Manila traffic use) as well as the already-deteriorating leather on the driver’s seat.
The Lynx also boasts of some quite useful standard features that aren’t available on some of its newer rivals such as the split 60/40 rear seats and a standard first-aid kit.
After two years of use, the Lynx’s 1.6-liter engine is still surprisingly very cunning—making it a good match against the Honda’s VTEC-3 and the Nissan’s GQ series engines. The 118-bhp works wonders for this car that even with mated with the 4-speed automatic, the Lynx is still brisk enough to take on the much larger Toyota Corolla Altis 1.8G, especially on a stoplight duel. The reason for this is that the Lynx has the tendency to shift much faster when on the lower gears, giving more acceleration; then shifting much later as it uses third and fourth gear. Overall, the numbers are still impressive as the Lynx can go from 0-120 km/h in a stretch covering less than two kilometers!
Speaking of the gearshift, one rant that we have with the gearshift is the lack of a shift lock feature that prevents an accidental downshifting from ‘D’ to ‘2’ as well as the lack of an overdrive off feature. Although there is a ‘Hold’ button on the dash, we know little on what this thing does except that it lights up the instrumentation cluster with the warning ‘Hold’. Funny…we thought ejector seats are standard on the Lynx as well.
Downsides to a performance-biased engine is that the Lynx doesn’t have the relaxed character of the Nissan or Corolla inline-4s as the Ford is more rowdy, more fiery and certainly more brutish than its Japanese rivals. Moreover, the fuel mileage is constantly in the 6-6.5 kilometer range, a poor reading considering that a Honda Civic SiR even when driven hard can manage 8-9 kilometers per liter.
Overall, the Lynx shows a good handling balance thanks to the Lynx’s good low-profile tires and lack of mid-section flab. Moreover, the body roll isn’t as significant as the Nissan Exalta’s, giving the Lynx some road good manners whether on slow or fast cornering. On the downside, the steering feedback is vague, especially after experiencing the likes of the new Honda Civic. Moreover, the suspension feels as if it’s the current Flavor of the Month at your local supermarket: it’s like riding on Popsicles! The harsh ride coupled with the thinly padded seats for all passengers, front and rear; make the Lynx not such a good companion especially on long-terms unless your backside is as big as Jennifer Lopez’s.
In addition to creating some discomfort with passengers, the Lynx’s stiff ride had also contributed to the car’s quick degradation in terms of body solidity. Surely enough, even on the straight asphalt roads of C5, some creaks from dashboard and the rear panels are audible. The only other rant in terms of solidity is that the doors and the trunk lack the authoritative thunk that the new Toyota Corolla Altis has. It’s a shame since the Lynx had good initial assembly, as well as material quality.
After sales service is quite good for the Lynx as there are no service stupidities to be reported as of yet. In fact, we are quite amazed that Ford Edsa gave some follow-ups to the owners of our long-term Lynx asking questions regarding satisfaction and areas for improvement. Moreover, at roughly 23,600 kilometers, the Lynx hasn’t required any sort of special service except for the regular PMS. This car feels and behaves like it did two years ago, albeit with slight squeaks here and there.
The market may have forgotten that this car exists especially with the launch of its newer Japanese rivals, but the Lynx is still a pretty good choice for those who want some luxury, some sporty and with some refinement at bargain bin prices. The Lynx may have been the hippest and coolest 1.6-liter car to have then, but right now it’s everything but a chick magnet. Now, the Ford Lynx appeals to the practical—and if you examine it closely enough, there is no better choice given a limited budget. This Lynx is surely NOT the weakest link.
By Ulysses Ang | Photos By Ulysses Ang and Jason Ang
Originally Published in January 2002 Issue
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