Compare the2018 GMC AcadiaVS 2018 Lincoln MKT

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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The Acadia Denali’s optional pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The MKT doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

For enhanced safety, the GMC Acadia’s middle seat shoulder belts have child comfort guides to move the belt to properly fit children. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages children to buckle up. The Lincoln MKT doesn’t offer comfort guides on its middle seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Acadia are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The MKT doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Acadia has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The MKT doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The Acadia (except SL/SLE) offers optional Forward Automatic Braking, which use forward mounted sensors to warn the driver of a possible collision ahead. If the driver doesn’t react and the system determines a collision is imminent, it automatically applies the brakes at full-force in order to reduce the force of the crash or avoid it altogether. The MKT offers an available collision warning system without the automated brake feature that would prevent or reduce the collision if the driver fails to react.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Acadia SLE/SLT’s optional Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The MKT doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

The GMC Acadia has Daytime Running Lights to help keep it more visible under all conditions. Canadian government studies show that driving with lights during the day reduces accidents by 11% by making vehicles more conspicuous. The MKT doesn’t offer Daytime Running Lights.

The Acadia Denali offers an optional Surround Vision System to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The MKT only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the Acadia and the MKT have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, rearview cameras, available all-wheel drive, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

For its top level performance in all IIHS frontal, side, rear impact and roof-crush tests, and with its optional front crash prevention system, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Acadia the rating of “Top Pick” for 2017, a rating granted to only 148 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The MKT has not been fully tested, yet, but doesn’t qualify for 2017 “Top Pick.”

Warranty

The Acadia’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the MKT’s (6 vs. 5 years).

GMC pays for scheduled maintenance on the Acadia for 2 years and 24,000 miles. GMC will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance (up to 2 oil changes). Lincoln only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the MKT.

There are almost 2 times as many GMC dealers as there are Lincoln dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Acadia’s warranty.

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Acadia has a standard 660-amp battery. The MKT’s 650-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

Engine

The Acadia’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 7 more horsepower (310 vs. 303) than the MKT’s standard 3.7 DOHC V6.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Acadia FWD V6 gets better fuel mileage than the MKT FWD with its standard V6 (18 city/25 hwy vs. 16 city/24 hwy).

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Acadia 4 cyl.’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. (Start/Stop isn’t accounted in present EPA fuel mileage tests.) The MKT doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the GMC Acadia uses regular unleaded gasoline. The MKT with the 3.5 turbo V6 engine requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Acadia AWD’s standard fuel tank has 3.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the MKT (21.7 vs. 18.6 gallons).

Tires and Wheels

The GMC Acadia’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Lincoln MKT only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Acadia has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The MKT doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Suspension and Handling

The Acadia Denali AWD handles at .85 G’s, while the MKT AWD pulls only .76 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Acadia SLT AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.8 seconds quicker than the MKT (26.9 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 28.7 seconds @ .57 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Acadia’s turning circle is 2.8 feet tighter than the MKT AWD’s (38.7 feet vs. 41.5 feet). The Acadia’s turning circle is 3.7 feet tighter than the MKT’s (38.7 feet vs. 42.4 feet).

Chassis

The GMC Acadia may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 550 to 750 pounds less than the Lincoln MKT.

The Acadia is 1 foot, 2 inches shorter than the MKT, making the Acadia easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The front grille of the Acadia FWD 4 cyl. uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The MKT doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Acadia uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The MKT doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Passenger Space

The Acadia has .2 inches more front headroom, .8 inches more front shoulder room, .6 inches more rear headroom, .6 inches more rear shoulder room, 3.7 inches more third row headroom, 2.3 inches more third row hip room and 5.2 inches more third row shoulder room than the MKT.

Cargo Capacity

The Acadia’s cargo area provides more volume than the MKT.

	Acadia	MKT
Third Seat Folded	41.7 cubic feet	39.6 cubic feet
Second Seat Folded	79 cubic feet	75.9 cubic feet

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Acadia Denali’s liftgate can be opened and closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The MKT doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

Ergonomics

When the Acadia with available tilt-down mirrors is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The MKT’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

Standard IntelliLink for the Acadia allows the driver and passengers access to select programs on their smartphones, including reading text messages aloud, playing internet radio stations and other connected activities without taking their eyes off the road or their hands from the wheel. The MKT doesn’t offer factory integrated smartphone program access.

Economic Advantages

The Acadia will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Acadia will retain 46.28% to 52.71% of its original price after five years, while the MKT only retains 40.37% to 41%.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the GMC Acadia will be $7643 to $13099 less than for the Lincoln MKT.

Recommendations

The GMC Acadia outsold the Lincoln MKT by over 37 to one during 2017.

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