The Navigator has long been the king Kahuna of Lincoln's lineup and it just got a little
fresher what's up folks I'm Dave undercover editor-in-chief of autolist.com a sister
company to CarGurus today we're taking a look at the updated Lincoln Navigator it's a full-size
seven or eight passenger three-row luxury SUV that competes against some heavyweights from
Mercedes-Benz BMW and Cadillac not only has it been updated recently but Lincoln also added
its active Glide hands-free driving system so we're going to take a look at that and overall
tell you how this vehicle Stacks up against its competitors but before we do like and subscribe
to this channel so you can get alerts on all of our future updates and if you have a car to sell
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you're going to get the most money for your car it doesn't get easier than that so Lincoln first
introduced this fourth generation navigate gator in 2018 and then refresh it again for the 2022
model year so let's take a look at some of the exterior changes so most of the changes are minor
and you may not notice them unless we show you the previous version so here's a look at what that is
and now back to this so you can see those minor updates add up to give this car a little more of
a sophisticated look these headlights they're now a little Slimmer and there's a single LED
daytime running strip whereas the previous version had two strips there moving to The
Grille it now extends lower down in the front of the Navigator you've also got this chrome strip
and this Grille itself is a little more textured finally this chrome strip at the bottom extends
the entire width of the vehicle whereas before it was just a smaller piece moving to the side
you can tell the refresh versions because they now spell out Navigator and big bold lettering
right here we're testing the high-end Black Label trim so this has 22 inch alloy wheels lower models
will get a 20 inch wheel there and then along the side you've got refreshed mirrors and then
the door handles have been revised all right moving to the rear you can see much like the
front of the vehicle Lincoln refined the back as well giving the Navigator more of a sophisticated
look these tail lights are a little narrower than they used to be here's what it looked like
previously and now back to this so overall it's a nice sophisticated look for the Navigator one more
thing that I like like about the functionality back here in addition to this rear door swinging
up like most SUVs do you can open just the glass for easier accessibility under the hood
the Navigator relies on a turbocharged ecoboost engine that Ford and Lincoln use throughout their
lineup of trucks and SUVs here it's a 3.5 liter twin turbocharged V6 that makes 440 horsepower
and 510 pound-feet of torque it's hooked up to a 10-speed automatic transmission and either rear
wheel drive or optional four-wheel drive fuel economy on the Real Drive models is 17 miles
per gallon in the city 23 on the highway and 19 combined the four-wheel drive versions lose one
mile per gallon on each of those measurements but I will say that's only on paper I'm going to tell
you a little bit later what we're getting in the real world and it doesn't match those numbers at
all now to the inside of the Navigator and I really like the environment that Lincoln has
created here one of the biggest updates for 2022 was this larger screen this is a 13.2 inch color
touchscreen here that replaces a 10 inch screen you also have a 12 inch digital screen for the
instrument panel so you've got some screens but what I like about this Navigator is that
Lincoln does a nice job of balancing Tech with sophistication right it's not a minimalist cabin
it doesn't go too far with no buttons and all screens that's always frustrating you have
controls down here for your climate control these are all physical buttons and then you have some
controls here for your stereo your tuning and your volume and then the screen itself has Wireless
Apple carplay wireless Android auto one thing that I really like is that while you're in the
Apple carplay system you still have these buttons down here some Vehicles today make you go through
a menu to get to these features not so here that's nice this is the latest sync 4 system and then it
has on top of that a interface from Lincoln so it's not just a carbon copy of Ford setup as I
mentioned earlier the trim that we're testing on this Navigator is the high-end Black Label
and one of the things it comes with is one of two interior themes our version has the inspiration
theme so one of the things that includes is this open pour Kaya wood that's also laser etched it
gives the cabin a really warm feeling and I like that another standout feature on our Navigator
are the seats not only are the heated cooled massaging and covered in really soft leather
but these are 30 way adjustable I didn't know you could adjust the seat 30 different ways but that
works here they're fantastically comfortable and they're really easy to get into the exact shape
to give you the most Comfort other goodies that our test version has is a really cool bright very
big heads up display it's one of the biggest I've driven recently that's nice this audio system is
pretty fantastic I don't normally pay attention to audio systems this one's excellent It's a
revel Ultima and finally the practicality in this cabin this is based on a Ford SUV so there's lots
of Cubbies there's lots of storage spaces Wireless smartphone charging down here I've got cup holders
you've got storage space in there and then as you can see there's a large space underneath
this console as well that's kind of nice and a little trick this is actually a pass-through so
it's not connected to this console here just gives it an overall nicely designed sophisticated feel
they're really only two gripes I have about the interior and they're pretty minor but keep in
mind this is a 108 000 vehicle so I'm going to point them out for one the wood trim here yes
it's real it looks nice but the minute you touch it it feels just fake frankly and a comparable
Range Rover or Mercedes-Benz the wood in those is going to feel and look real so this is a bit
of a miss my other gripe is the shifter placement as you can see here you've got your control for
the trailer backup that's a nice feature very handy however it took me a few days of testing
this Lincoln before I stopped reaching for this as if it were a rotary shifter and started reaching
for the buttons down here so just something to consider one thing that parents with kids in car
seats will appreciate is that you can move this second row of seats out of the way very easily
to get to the third row without taking out that car seat moving to the rear seats the
nice thing about this Navigator is that it is just as comfortable back here as it is up front
couple of things I want to point out first of all tons of leg room tons of Headroom that's what you
would expect from a full-size luxury SUV but our version is the Black Label so it has some really
cool goodies for one massaging seats I've got a screen right here that allows me to control a
variety of different functions including massage so let's turn that on while I talk to you guys
that's pretty nice for a rear seat and not only is it a massage but it's a real massage some Vehicles
today say they have massaging seats and they just sort of poke at you both in the front or the rear
not so in this Lincoln the massaging seats really work so kudos to Lincoln for that I also can just
adjust these power seats I've got climate features and then as you can see I've got screens here as
well so a lot of goodies a lot of things to keep the kids or your occupants otherwise busy back
here a couple of things to note this is a seven passenger version of the Navigator base models
we'll actually have a bench seat here one thing about this console is it's not removable so if
you are someone who's going to be folding all of the seats back here flat to store some stuff
or transport stuff this is kind of going to get in the way so just keep that in mind but what's
nice is that while you are using it you do have plenty of cubby space down here we have wireless
headphones for the infotainment system I've got a huge amount of space down below and there are
cup holders built in there's some down here I've got some in the door so overall very practical
and very comfortable finally if this entertainment screen is not enough for your kids you do have a
variety of charge ports down here so they can plug in their own devices that's nice finally these
seats slide four and aft to give either you more room here or more room for the people behind you
and I can lean back and relax if I need to that's nice another great feature about the Navigator is
the space in the third row not all third row SUVs are created equal some actually really don't give
you a lot of space back here what's nice about this is a couple of different things for one the
floor is low you'll get in some SUVs in the back row the floor is way high so it keeps your knees
almost up to your chest not so here it's a low floor it's a flat floor so a lot of space to sit
in all three seats that's really great I also have quite a bit of leg room and Headroom this
is more leg room than the Escalade about the same legroom as the Jeep Grand Wagoneer Headroom is on
par with its peers and a couple other features back here they've got two cup holders I've got
a little storage cubby and there's a USB charge port on this side and as well on the other side
one final trick back here there's also a power recline button now to the cargo space and as you
can see with the third row up you do still have some meaningful space behind that row of seats
so that's nice these also fold flat giving you a lot more cargo space so with the third row folded
you can see the second row console and how much higher it sticks up so if you are one of those
people that's going to need the maximum interior space with the seats folded Lincoln does offer an
optional bench seat in the second row which makes this an eight passenger vehicle finally just a
quick reminder that we are testing the normal wheelbase of the Lincoln Navigator if you're
looking for all of this but in an even larger package there is the Navigator L that will add
about 16 cubic feet of additional space behind this third row of seats and it's about three
thousand dollars more depending on the trim all right driving Impressions generally they're pretty
good but there are some flaws to this car so let's get to it what I like is that this is a quiet
comfortable car this is a very large luxury SUV so it should be comfortable this Navigator has an
Adaptive suspension system that uses a camera to detect imperfections in the road and then adjust
the suspension accordingly so it does a good job but there's no hiding or denying the fact that
the end of the day this is a body on frame big heavy SUV this is based on the Ford Expedition
it's built much like a truck so there's only so much that Lincoln can do to Mass some of the
bumps in the roads this is not going to feel as smooth or sophisticated on a bumpy road as maybe
the Range Rover or the Mercedes-Benz GLS wheel this is going to feel more like a truck-based
SUV which is exactly what it is and that puts it in a similar ballpark to Cadillac's Escalade
that's also a truck-based SUV so while there's some chatter coming into the cabin from bumps in
the road there is no Road or wind noise to speak of and that's really nice in terms of power the
Navigator definitely has enough 440 horsepower 510 pound-feet of torque that's great both in
the real world and on paper there have been some times though when I've been on the freeway or I'm
going to pass somebody and I floor it and it takes the transmission maybe one or two downshifts and
the engine to kind of spool up the turbos to give you that power there'll be times I'd like it to be
more readily available so the minute you put your foot down you're getting that passing power this
doesn't quite have it it does have different Drive modes so you can put it in a sports setting that
will give you more of that power more immediately but I'd like it to be in the default setting in
this Navigator otherwise the steering and the brakes definitely feel good for a vehicle of
this size but there's no masking that this is a big heavy vehicle finally one of my favorite
things is the visibility it's really good some Vehicles today are trying to be more aerodynamic
and that comes at a cost of visibility not so this is a big upright SUV you can see the road you can
see what's behind you so that's been really nice but all of that does come at the expense of fuel
economy as I mentioned earlier because this is the four wheel drive version of the Navigator
it's rated by the EPA at 16 miles per gallon in the city 22 on the freeway and 18 overall however
over 350 miles of testing and a lot of that has been on the freeway we're averaging 14.7 miles per
gallon so definitely another large SUV that has a turbocharged engine where the on paper results
don't match the real world so something to be thinking about if you're shopping for this vehicle
so how does the Navigator stack up against the competition well it starts at about 79
000 for a normal wheelbase version and then goes all the way up to 111 000 for a fully loaded Black
Label L that's a long wheelbase so that puts it in the company of certainly the Cadillac Escalade
that's probably the closest competitor to this because it too is a truck-based luxury SUV but you
could also put it up against the Mercedes-Benz GLS the Range Rover the BMW X7 maybe even the Lexus LX
or Infiniti QX in terms of overall sophistication the Range Rover is going to be the one to beat but
it's also considerably more expensive so take that into account up against the Mercedes GLS I
would probably choose that one over the Navigator if you're looking for something more refined and
more just inherently luxurious meanwhile the Cadillac Escalade is going to feel more Tech
focused whereas this Lincoln is going to feel more sophisticated that Cadillac remember the inside
has that large curved screen and the Escalade does have the super Cruise hands-free system which as
I mentioned earlier I do prefer over over this Lincoln's active Glide in terms of safety all
Navigator models come with copilot 360 2.0 which includes Lane keeping assists pedestrian detection
intersection assist blind spot monitoring with rear cross traffic alerts post Collision braking
and auto high beams this truck also has active park assist reverse brake assist and adaptive
cruise control as standard so one of the bigger updates to this Navigator is that Lincoln added
active Glide it's a hands-free system that is optional on all Navigator models and I've got
it engaged right now as you can see I've got my hands free like Cadillac and General Motors
SuperCrew system it has a driver monitoring system so there's a little camera on top of the steering
wheel that's watching my face to make sure that I'm not distracted if I were to get distracted
or look at my phone or look away for too long it will disengage the system so I'm really glad
it has that that's just irresponsible bit of tech that should come on systems like this so kudos to
Ford and Lincoln for including that so I've been using the system for the past week now and while
it works and generally works well I do have some issues with its functionality the biggest thing
is that it doesn't communicate its status as well as General Motors supercruise if you're familiar
with that system it has a series of Lights built into the steering wheel red or green or blue that
make it very obvious to the driver what the status of that system is whether it's ready to be engaged
whether it is engaged or whether it's disengaged this car I'm relying on the display in front of
me or the heads-up display and it's not as obvious so that's a little frustrating I've also noticed
that there are times where the system just goes from hands-free to we need your hands back on
the steering wheel without much of an alert right you would hope that would be very obvious to the
driver that they need to resume control there have been times where it just there's no chime
there's no indicator change suddenly just the system is turned off and I'm forced to use my
hands again so that's a little frustrating I would want it more obvious when the driver needs to take
control finally the other issue I'm having is the system just generally doesn't seem to be as
accurate or working as well as super cruise and keeping you in your lane I've been dry diving it
on some curvy freeways not sharp curves Mighty but just some rolling curves and at times they
just sort of bounced around the lane or veered into the other lane and that obviously is very
disconcerting it's been a few times this isn't happening all the time but it's enough to make
me frustrated with the system overall so while I'm glad the car has active Glide and it's nice
to see that technology rolling out to new models it just doesn't quite work as well as super Cruise
so what do you guys think our hands-free Driving Systems like this or super Cruise ready for the
road and are they safe is your next vehicle going to have that let us know in the comments below
all right folks there you have it our review of the 2023 Lincoln Navigator Pros while you
can't beat the interior space for either people or cargo the powertrain is smooth and quiet and
refined and the Navigator nicely Blends Tech and sophistication on the inside cons well the ride
quality isn't as refined as some of its Rivals the active Glide hands-free system doesn't work
as well as super cruise and the real world fuel economy lags significantly behind the EPA ratings
so overall the Navigator is a jack of all trades large luxury SUV in that it does everything well
without any major flaws so for reviews or listings of this Navigator or anything else you're shopping
for be sure to check out cargurus.com and before you go like And subscribe to this channel so
you can get alerts on all of our future updates we'll see you out there [Music] foreign [Music]