Lincoln MKS review: a forgotten flagship sedan that is now a specialist-only used buy in Bahrain
2.8/5motorssouq Editorial Team
Do not buy an MKS in Bahrain unless you already know an independent mechanic who has worked on one and you are paying a genuine bargain price to reflect the risk. As a comfortable, well-equipped used sedan it still does the basic job, but the combination of a shrinking parts pool, no factory support and a resale market that barely exists makes it a purchase for enthusiasts and specialists only, not a first used car.
Pros
- Genuinely comfortable, well-isolated ride for a decade-old full-size sedan
- Heated/cooled seats, adaptive cruise and a THX sound system at a low used price
- Twin-turbo EcoBoost AWD version is quicker and worth seeking out
Cons
- Parts pool for a discontinued 2016 sedan is thin and shrinking in Bahrain
- Almost no independent workshops have current hands-on experience with it
- MyLincoln Touch infotainment is hard to repair locally and often gets replaced outright
- Resale market is effectively nonexistent — you are finding a buyer, not selling into a market
The MKS was never a huge seller in the Gulf even when new, and Lincoln stopped building it entirely in 2016 without a direct successor — the brand's next flagship was an SUV, not a sedan. What survives on Bahraini roads today is a handful of well-kept examples and considerably more that have been neglected once resale value collapsed.
What it was like to drive
The base 3.7-litre V6 with front-wheel drive was never quick, but it was smooth and unstressed, and the ride comfort on a Taurus-derived platform stretched to full-size dimensions was genuinely good — better isolated than most contemporaries at the price. The twin-turbo EcoBoost all-wheel-drive version was quicker and is the one worth seeking out if you find one, but it is rarer still in the Gulf.
Inside, the MKS offered heated and cooled front seats, adaptive cruise control and a THX-certified sound system at a time when those features were genuinely uncommon outside German luxury sedans — the car aged into being a lot of equipment for very little money.
Why it is a hard buy in Bahrain today
The problem is not the car, it is everything around it. Lincoln's official parts pipeline for a discontinued model this old is thin even through the current Bahrain distributor, independent workshops rarely see one, and anything electronic — the MyLincoln Touch infotainment system in particular — is difficult to have repaired locally rather than replaced outright. Resale is effectively nonexistent; you are not selling into a market, you are hoping to find one specific buyer.
If you are drawn to it, budget for that reality rather than fighting it: buy the cheapest clean example you can find, expect to source some parts from the UAE or the US, and treat the purchase as a hobby rather than daily-driver transportation you are depending on.