WASHINGTON — We liked the Lincoln. We loved the Buick.

Our emotional intensity is affected by product competence. Put another way: The 2008 Buick Lucerne Super, reviewed here on July 6, trumps today’s subject, the 2009 Lincoln MKS sedan.

Purists will regard ours as an ill-considered comparison. They will argue that it is better to compare Lincoln with Cadillac, Infiniti, Lexus, or a model from the Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

But that argument is wedded to aging notions of product history and positioning. Today’s Buick is no longer a plebeian ride, a middling coach for Middle America.

Buick is hip. It actually makes automobiles that attract the likes of Tiger Woods. Buick is becoming a design leader. And had Lincoln designers taken Buick more seriously, they might have designed a different MKS.

We are not saying the MKS is a bad car. Quite the contrary; overall, it is a nice piece of work. After all, what car company can’t produce a “nice” car for $40,000, the price range for the MKS and the Lucerne Super?

The difference is that Buick got the nuances right. The Lucerne Super is a work of elegant simplicity. Materials in the Lucerne Super are high-quality, consistent, pleasantly underwhelming.

Buick, for example, uses premium leather in the Lucerne Super, including a double-stitched dashboard covering. But it uses it in sparing amounts and simple arrangements, inviting attention without overwhelming the senses. The Lincoln MKS also employs a very nice leather — Bridge of Weir. But it is tufted and puffed up and mated in an unflattering manner with vinyl that looks and feels like vinyl. There is an attempt in the MKS to go all out, to wow the senses more than please them. The result is a passenger cabin that is a combination of French provincial and “Star Wars” — interesting, but not quite fitting together.

The Buick Lucerne, as we said last week, is a big, well-crafted family sedan designed to haul kit and kin through civil society in safety and comfort. It retains an air of common sense and mission even in its most vaunted iteration, the tested Lucerne Super.

The Lincoln MKS, by comparison, gives the impression of trying too hard.

The bottom line

Complaints: There’s too much stuff in the Lincoln MKS, including electronic bell tones that make you wonder if you are starting a car or a computer. The power seats are unnecessarily complicated. The interior just feels overdone.

Ride, acceleration and handling: The MKS feels a bit heavy and sluggish in congested urban traffic. But it soars and corners nicely on the open road. Head-turning quotient: There were people who loved the exterior styling, which is highlighted by a modern interpretation of Lincoln’s signature split grille. We were among those applauding. There were people who raved about the car’s interior. We were not. Purse-strings note: With both running near the $40,000 price rance, this big, beautiful luxury sedan faces stiff competition from an unlikely source: Buick’s Lucerne Super sedan.

2009 Lincoln MKS

Base price: $39,555 (AWD)

As tested: $46,070

Type: Front-engine, front- or all-wheel-drive, four-passenger, full-size luxury sedan

Engine: 3.7-liter, 24-valve V-6

Mileage: 17 mpg (city), 22 mpg (highway)

Built in: Chicago

Options: $5,715 in options (the “ultimate package” includes rain-sensing wipers, voice-activated navigation system with backup camera, push-button ignition, power rear-window sunshade, THX-II premium sound system, 19-inch premium-paint cast aluminum wheels)