![]() The MKT also comes with standard electronic stability system with anti-roll control, traction control, rear parking sensors and a backup camera, which is essential because of this crossover's poor rear visibility. I never had a scary moment, even when stopping quickly on steep mountain roads. While the brakes won't exactly stop this large crossover on a dime, they come pretty close with four-wheel antilock brakes with brake assist. The MKT comes with all kinds of safety goodies to protect you and yours. In past years, that'd be enough to earn Top Safety Pick status, but for 2010, IIHS has added a rollover crash test. The MKT gets great crash-test ratings, including the top score of Good in frontal, side-impact and rear tests from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. In the MKT, the third-row headrests fold down against the seatback, rather than sliding down when not in use, but when they are up, rear visibility is virtually nil. I don't mean it wasn't comfortable, I mean that I had to scrunch down with my head pressed up against the ceiling. I've never been in a third row that I actually didn't fit into. While the second row is roomy and comfortable, the MKT's third row is definitely for kids only. There are retractable sunshades on the second-row windows, which is great for protecting delicate skin or playing movie star in the backseat. There are cupholders in the center console as well as climate controls. There's plenty of storage in the back, thanks to seatback pockets, door bins and the ginourmous center console with the optional cooled box ($895). Everything is in its place, unlike in my house. It's like having zones for sitting and zones for operation. ![]() There's a two-tone effect, broken by the light wood trim, which separates the seating area from the instrument area. With the massive Vista roof, the cabin feels light and airy, especially when paired with the light-colored interior of my test car. The dash isn't cluttered or cramped it seems spacious and open. The combination of large dials and chrome trim was retro cool, as well as easy to read. I really enjoyed the dash and instruments in the MKT. Thanks to the scripts on-screen, the voice control was confusion-free, so I could feel free to ignore the chaos in the second row. Still, with Ford's magical Sync system, the navigation, audio and climate controls were seamlessly integrated. ![]() A bench seat is standard for the second row, and it ups the passenger count to seven. This becomes seriously annoying in the carpool lane when trying to get multiple kids out of one side of the car in a hurry. There's a long center console in this row, which extends across the floor area and makes it a climb to get from one side of the crossover to the other. ![]() My test car had room for six, with two bucket seats in the second row. However, older kids will enjoy the luxury. While optional heated and cooled bucket seats ($995) in the second row is a lovely idea, they are useless if your kids are in child-safety seats. I loved the Light Stone-colored leather and blond wood accents, but the perforated seats made me nervous, as I pictured the many disgusting things my kids could smear all over those teeny holes. The bin itself is smallish but housed a power point and the USB input and MP3 jack. The center console is covered by two sliding armrests, which also cover the cupholders. The materials are rich and lovely to behold, but there's a price in practicality. The MKT's interior is full of contradictions. ![]()
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