2003 Lincoln Town Car Sedan

At a time when other vehicles are reinvented to chase young, active consumers, Lincoln continues to target the livery market and devoted retirees with its rear-drive Town Car. Lincoln embraces this captive audience and aims to please those who have made the Town Car the brand's highest-volume model by redesigning the 2003 model to enhance room, ride, comfort, and safety.

Obvious changes show in the 2003 Town Car's more formal bodywork, including a new hood, fenders, and quarter panel design up front. New fascia, taillamps, and chrome license plate surround give the rear a clean freshening.

Inside, the Town Car is as roomy as ever, with 139 cubic feet of interior volume and 21.1 cubic feet of trunk space, quite generous compared to the LS' 103.5 and 13.5 cubic feet, respectively. Targeting executive limousine companies, Cartier L and Executive L models ride on a six-inch-longer wheelbase, boosting rear legroom to a total of 47 comfortable inches. Thicker sound insulation in the wheelhouses, roof, body pillars, and doors significantly reduce noise intrusion for a quieter ride on all models.

When backing the large 193.9-inch sedan into a parking spot, the driver is aided by the beeps of a new rear park assist system that uses two ultrasonic sensors and radar to detect obstacles when reversing -- standard on Signature and Cartier models, optional on Executive models.

Less overt are the adjustments made to improve ride and comfort, as engineers strive to achieve consistent dynamics across the entire product line. In the Town Car, these refinements included a new frame, suspension, steering system, and brakes. The frame utilizes fully boxed sections of hydroformed steel filled with structural foam in key locations, increasing torsional rigidity by 24 percent. Being stiffer, the lighter frame allowed finer tuning to the independent short- and long-arm front suspension resulting in improved ride quality. Additionally, the front-end motion is controlled by monotube dampers, steel coil springs, and anti-roll bar. New load-leveling air springs are standard in the rear to maintain a constant ride height. The live-axle rear suspension also employs upper and lower control arms, lateral Watt's linkage, monotube dampers, and anti-roll bar. We found the ride quite controlled with reduced body roll in turns, evidence that Lincoln's new substructure has accomplished its objective. Aside from the resonance caused by Los Angeles freeway expansion joints is a challenge to any vehicle, the Town Car cabin remained quiet on the open road and at wide-open throttle.