I'll try to keep this story short, but I might not be successful. Ever since I got the '03 new, I have been disappointed with its performance. After reading such awesome reviews prior to the lease, I was expecting much more. The throttle lag, the sluggish shifting and the less than impressive handling had me completely underwhelmed. This week, I brought it into the dealer for a couple of intermittent electrical gremlins and they gave me a loaner. It's an '06 V8. I cannot believe it's the same car. They tell me Lincoln has made a few incremental improvements in the programming and such but nothing that would explain the night and day difference in performance. I have spent the last three years driving a car I was disapointed with, waiting for the "Red Carpet" to end. This loaner drives like the car I thought I was going to get originally. It feels light and nimble, corners like its on rails and when I put my foot into it coming out of a curve, it feels like it's got a turbo compared to my truck. I also had the opportunity to do some flat out accelerating on the highway and, while there is a very slight throttle lag, it's nothing compared to the two or three second dead spot in my car when I floor it. I spoke to the service rep and the tech and they can't really site any major change that would account for the enormous seat of the pants difference in how this car feels. I've asked them to have a look at the transmission programming while it's there. Anyone here have any opinion on why these two cars of the same make and model feel so different?