My 82-year-old mom had to turn in her leased Volvo S-60, which has proven to be a mediocre car at best and totally unsatisfying at worst. My wife recently got a Ford Fusion and mom has been very impressed with it.
We were looking at fully loaded Fusion SEL's, but the dealership had a 2008 MKZ that was a former rental car at a price comparable to a new Fusion SEL. Since our family has owned 3 previous rental cars and all have been perfect, we have no reservations whatsoever about buying one. The savings amounts to thousands of dollars over a new vehicle.
The MKZ is even smoother than the silky-smooth Fusion, and the more powerful 3.5 V-6 provides very good acceleration and passing power. The 6-speed automatic shifts so seamlessly you can't feel the shifts in normal driving. The sound level in the interior is very low, and the car has a very solid feel to it. There is no hint of rattles, squeaks or any other unwanted sounds anywhere in the car.
The interior features heated and air-conditioned seats, voice activated sound system, climate control and every imaginable accessory. The moon roof is large and operates almost silently. The leather seats are very comfortable with a full range of power-selected positions. All controls and instruments are very user-friendly and located in convenient positions within easy reach.
My ONLY issue with the car is that it is front wheel drive. I strongly feel that a luxury car of this caliber should be rear-drive. Front drive is complicated, much more expensive to work on, provides less than sporty handling and has no practical advantages over rear drive. The rear drive Mercedes C-class that we test drove handled better, but rode worse, was noisier and had a cheaper interior. If the MKZ was rear-drive, the handling would really be awesome, as well as everything else about the car.