The seats in the Luxury Appearance Continental are swathed in two-tone Connolly leather. The hides in our test car were medium and light gray and, combined with light-colored wood trim and premium carpeting, lent an open, airy feeling inside. Light coming in from the moonroof and windows added to the bright, open ambiance.

Electronics aid driving and comfort. Switch on the ignition and a blank area where the instruments should be lights up with seemingly three-dimensional gauges. The instruments are lit from behind, and the red pointers for the tachometer, speedometer, and fuel and temperature gauges appear to float above the instrument faces. It looks slick, and yet it's highly legible.

Mounted on the dash just to the right is a set of controls used to adjust ride quality and power-steering assist to the driver's preference. In the same cluster is a trip computer that calculates miles-to-empty, average mpg and instant mpg, among other road-trip data. Push the Check button and it displays the status of various systems.

Owners can program a myriad of other functions, such as whether to have the doors lock when the car moves forward, or to have the horn chirp when the remote locks the doors, or to have the rear-view mirrors dip when the transmission goes into reverse. Moreover, all of that can be stored in a pair of memory buttons, so two different drivers can have the car set up for their individual preferences, eliminating potential trouble between drivers. It's easy to program: Simply push the driver ID button; select 1 or 2 and all your (automotive) desires are remembered.

Continental's standard front seating is a split (50/50) bench. Comfortable front bucket seats and a full-length console are listed as a no-cost option. Either way, there's lots of rear-seat legroom. Three adults can sit in back with reasonable comfort, and shoulder belts are available at all three positions.

A passive anti-theft system depends on matching an encoded radio frequency between the key and the ignition. It's capable of generating 72 quadrillion codes, making it virtually impossible to be beaten by even the most persistent bad guy.