2018 Lincoln Navigator Review

MARK TAKAHASHI: So the Lincoln Navigator has been around for almost two decades in pretty much its original form. That's all changed now with this-- the all new, redesigned 2018 Lincoln Navigator. Style is obviously a big part of Lincoln's new direction. And this has a ton of style. It's big. It's imposing. And it's exaggerated in a number of ways. These headlights are really tall. They have split lines here for the running lights. And it just gives it a more substantial look. This grill is massive. And surprisingly, it doesn't have a lot of the cut-outs to block off the air like a lot of other big SUVs do. Instead, they have an active shutter system behind there to manage the airflow, get it a little more aerodynamic here and there. Lots of chrome and you look at the face, it's pretty upright. So it gives you that kind of moving wall type of look. On this top trim here, we have the 22-inch wheels. Even though we sometimes pan some cars for having such large wheels that end up affecting ride quality, if you look at this, it actually has a decent amount of sidewall so you do get some comfort with the style. Just like the Continental, we have this side badge here. But unlike the Continental, this one is actually well aligned. It doesn't throw me off like the Continental did, which might just be off by a fraction of an inch, but it's enough to make me a little bit crazy. Big mirrors-- big wide mirrors with chrome caps. It just starts setting off styling cues that say it's premium and it's big and it's imposing. One thing I really like-- this might be actually my favorite feature-- is there is a running board there, but you don't really see it until you open the door. So it quickly just drops down. And it's a substantial piece, too. I mean, there's no wobble there. And for something that rides this high, it's pretty necessary. The back isn't nearly as imposing or dramatic. There's not a whole lot going on here, but that's actually OK. As you'd expect with a premium car like this, hands-free power liftgate. Now there isn't a whole lot of room behind the third row, about 20 cubic feet or so. Now, if you go with the Navigator L, that bumps it up to just over 34 cubic feet. But it also lengthens the entire car by almost a full foot. So you really just have to figure out what your priorities are. One cool thing about the Navigator, we have the power folding third row and second row that you manage all right here. But one of the absolute coolest things is this split-level cargo system. So pop this up, drop down these little latches, and it just drops right in there like that. So now you have this split level. And that shelf there is the perfect height to drop stuff in. That's a pretty smart design. Another smart thing that they did-- there's this lip here that's angled toward the inside. So if you're parked on a hill, that means that if you have something that might be rolling around back here, it'll stop there. It's not just going to roll out and down the hill. another example of how they took their time and made things work well. [MUSIC PLAYING] So from behind the wheel, I have to say I'm impressed. I really thought this was going to handle and drive like a really big, heavy SUV, which it is. That said, it's exceeding my expectations, especially on this challenging road in a car that weighs almost 6,000 pounds. We're going through some turns here, and yes, there's body roll. There's no way you're going to dial all that body roll out. But it's manageable. I'm not feeling any residual bumps once we set into that turn. It's got all the power you need to pull yourself back out of the turn. And heading into a turn, well, the brakes are more than adequate. Now, you feel all that weight when you do hit the brakes. You feel it lurch forward. You feel the nose dip down a little bit. But it's not alarming, even when you get on it hard like right here, it's easy to modulate. The pedal's a little soft, but it's appropriate for a car this size. You get on the power, that V6 actually sounds pretty decent. Visibility wise, it's pretty good as well. We have a sharp left coming up here, and that is generally where we have visibility problems. But this A pillar here isn't really getting in the way. I have a bigger issue with the B pillar over my shoulder when I'm trying to see if there's a car back there. But the mirrors are wide enough where it takes a lot of that guess work out, as you'd expect with a luxury vehicle. You want the ride to be smooth, and you want the interior to be quiet. And it is both. It is smoothing over a lot of the imperfections in the road. But when you hit an undulation-- I'm going to see if there's a slight dip on the right side-- you'll feel that little whip effect because we're riding so high. This also has a surround-you monitor that is in some of the upper middle trims that takes a lot of the guesswork out. So with this 10-speed transmission, you do get a decent amount of punch right off the line and passing power. But once you start cruising, you get pretty decent gas mileage, considering how big and heavy this car is. The steering itself is what I call slow. Out on the road, making a left and right turn, 90 degrees, the wheel doesn't return quite as quickly as you'd expect. So that means when I am done with the turn, I'm having to muscle it back myself. Not a big deal and it's really not all that uncommon for a big car, especially one that's body on frame like this. But steering effort is very light. As far as towing goes, properly equipped. I think it's the 4 by 2 with the long wheel base. It's up to 8,700 pounds, so that's pretty impressive. On top of that, you also get this trailer back-up dial. You drop it in reverse, and you actually steer with this dial into a spot or into the dock, whatever. So with any luxury car, the interior is paramount. And I think Lincoln knocked it out of the park with this one. I don't know what I was expecting. But I wasn't expecting it to be this nice. Now this is the very top level trim, the black label. So around $90,000 to $100,000, you better expect it to be really, really nice. As far as storage is concerned, you have a ton. Now this is a nice bin here. It has two USB ports. It has another power port as well. It also has a wireless charging pad inside. And it's deep. On this side, cup holders, and another little cubby here. Here we have the drive mode. You have the comfort mode, which is the default, conserve for more fuel efficiency, and then you have this excite, which is let's say a sport mode, a little more responsive, holds the gears longer. You have a normal 4 by 4 auto mode, one for slick roads, one for deep snow, one for climbing snow. All of those programs are in here for it. The automated parking system for parallel parking and perpendicular parking as well. And for a car this size, that's a big help. The thing is though, when I have parked this, it was actually pretty easy. Wasn't expecting that at all. Under the armrest is a really deep, cavernous bin. It really goes down in there deep. And there is a CD slot as well. On the door, there's a pocket here that was designed for phones. All your seat controls are here, and there are a lot of seat controls. This is the optional 30-way adjustable seat. I mean, you can adjust the seat cushions independently left and right for your thighs for thigh support. Underneath the center console is a really big storage tray. On the dash, we have this glossy wood trim with some little polka dot patterns. It's nice. It doesn't look plasticky. And I kind of like the polka dot pattern as well. I am a very big fan of the audio system-- the Rebel Ultima system. It's one of those systems where you can just keep turning that volume up and up and up and finally you realize you're listening to it really loud. But it's holding all of that integrity of the sound. Getting to technology, this is a touch screen. It's a good reach. I don't feel like I have to lean forward too much to operate it. And since these have power-adjustable pedals, I can actually get closer to the dash if I wanted to. It does have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. This system is really good it has a lot of information. And the screen is really sharp and clear. One drawback though, it's very, very glossy. So when I have a passenger in the seat, I'm essentially seeing a reflection of their torso and the seat belt. And it can obscure some of the stuff going on on screen. Lincoln has gone with the push button transmission selector. Even though it's not my preferred, after a short time of driving it today, it did become second nature. This virtual instrument panel gives you all the information you need, whether it's audio, navigation, obviously speed. Ahead of me on the windshield is a head up display. What's unique about this head up display is they designed it to be compatible with polarized sunglasses, which are really popular with drivers because it cuts down glare coming from the outside. So I put on my sunglasses, I can still see it. It's a little bit dark, a little bit grayed out, but in most cases, with other head up displays, it is completely gone. Built into that sunglasses pocket is one of these conversation mirrors. I think that's a novel approach to having it just as part of the sunglasses holder where you push back up and it sticks down. They really put a lot of thought into all of the features. And it just feels right. So here I am in the second row. And as you can see, I have plenty of room, not just head room, but leg room, laterally. I do have some recline. And it goes quite far back, so on a long road trip you could catch a few Zs back here. The problem though is getting back up. I'll show you. So normally you just kind of lean forward and the back will follow you up. But that's not happening. The seat cushion actually rotates back a little with you when you recline, so you actually have to scoot forward a little bit. You have a vent up here to keep you nice and cool, another armrest here with another cavernous bin. These have the two captain's chairs with this really nice center console. You can get a three-seat bench as well as an option. Right here at your fingertips, you have some audio controls and a nice little readout screen as well, another set of cup holders here, another deep bin underneath, two more USB ports, and another two cup holders. So accessing the third row, you just hit this button. There you go. It pops it up. Slide it forward and you just climb right back in. It's pretty sweet. All right. So one thing that we've always credited the Navigator for in the past was the size of the third row. And this time around, they maintain that position. I'm 5' 10 and I fit fine back here. Now you can recline them, and they're power reclinable. On top of that, two more USB ports, one in this been and one in that bin. Among the class of large, luxury SUVs, the Navigator competes really well against the likes of the Cadillac Escalade, Mercedes GL class. Honestly, I would take it over both of those in a heartbeat. And this is really telling for Lincoln. I mean, they're making a very strong push with this as well as the Continental to be a true premium luxury car company. If this is a sign of what's to come, I can't wait to see what they do next. So for more information on the Navigator as well as its competition, head over to edmunds.com. To see more videos like this, hit subscribe. 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