Can you guess which combustion-powered car enjoyed the greatest model loyalty as of last year? You might expect it to be something archetypal with a publicly passionate base, like a Corvette, a 911, or a G-Class. It’s actually the Lincoln Nautilus, with model loyalty of 46.7 percent, according to the analysts at S&P Global Mobility.
Dig deeper, and that statistic gets even more interesting. Not only is the Nautilus one of the few Chinese-built cars you can buy in America, it also faces some stiff competition, including the ever-popular Lexus RX. So why do 46.7 percent of owners love their Nautilus so much that when they want to replace it, they’ll just buy another one? I grabbed the keys to a Nautilus for a week to find out.
[Full disclosure: Lincoln Canada let me borrow this Nautilus for a week so long as I kept the shiny side up, returned it with a full tank of premium fuel, and reviewed it.]
The Basics
Engine: Two-liter twin-cam turbocharged inline-four.
Transmission: Eight-speed torque converter automatic.
Drivetrain: Full-time all-wheel-drive.
Output: 250 horsepower at 5,500 rpm, 280 lb.-ft. at 3,000 rpm.
Fuel economy: 21 MPG city, 29 MPG highway, 24 MPG combined (11.2 L/100km city, 8.1 L/100km highway, 9.8 L/100km combined)
Base price: $55,535 including freight ($63,045 Canadian)
As-tested price: $70,730 including freight ($80,195 Canadian)
Why Does It Exist?
While mainstream two-row midsize crossovers are dwindling in volume, the luxury two-row midsize utility vehicle market is as strong as ever, and packed with serious contenders. Think Lexus RX, BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz GLE, Genesis GV80, the list goes on. With that in mind, it’s only sensible for Lincoln to offer something between the compact Corsair and three-row Aviator, and the Nautilus fills that Goldilocks spot.
How Does It Look?
Talk about a glow-up. While the previous generation Lincoln Nautilus was a reskinned Ford Edge, the current one is something different. Crisp lines, a floating roof, and loads of intricate detailing like subtly masked frit in the quarter windows all give off a handsome vibe while rejecting the abhorrent puritanism of minimalism. It’s not too fussy, it’s not too plain, this crossover is, visually, just right. Oh, and even though the exterior door handles are electronic, there’s still a key hole in the driver’s door in case of emergency.
What About The Interior?
Slide into the Lincoln Nautilus, and the first thing you’ll notice won’t be the weirdly oblong steering wheel swaddled in exceptionally smooth hide. Instead, it’ll be the screen setup, because it’s a bit of a size queen. Two ultrawide displays under a single pane of glass right at the base of the windshield offer 48 inches of real estate with only the meanest of black strips between them, while an 11.1-inch touchscreen sits closer to the occupants. It sounds like a lot, but because the really big display arrangement is so far away, you’re left with space to admire how much thought and money’s gone into this cabin.
Almost every panel and accent you can see and touch is either metallic, glass, upholstered, or soft touch, from the jewel-cut volume knob to the cold aluminum speaker grilles to the stitched leading edge of the dashboard. There’s a little bit of shiny black plastic used to flow the screens into the doors and add ambient lighting, but otherwise, the cabin of the Nautilus is tasteful, refined, decidedly upscale, and incredibly well-assembled. My test car had seen roughly a year of press car miles, which are arguably even harder than rental car miles, and it’s still snare drum-taut. As for comfort, available 24-way front seats are just about perfect once you adjust all the motors and air bladders, there’s absolutely loads of space for all occupants, and the steering column has enough rake and reach adjustment for almost all statures.
How Does It Drive?
It’s easy to bag on about how everything seems to now offer a two-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, but even though the market’s mostly converged on a familiar formula, tuning matters. Even though Lincoln’s two-liter is smaller and less potent than the 2.4-liter turbocharged four-banger in the Lexus RX 350, Lincoln’s done a better job of capturing a smoother, more eager character. The Nautilus wants to rev, and the eight-speed automatic’s dialled in just right for the application. There’s even a refreshing omission of paddle shifters, an admission that they’re bollocks in a midsize luxury crossover. The owner of this sort of vehicle won’t be flicking through the ratios; their irresponsible teenage son will, and thwarting teenage mayhem for the benefit of ergonomics seems like the right move. Admittedly, you can tell that this is essentially the same powertrain you can get in a Ford Maverick, but since it’s a pleasant one, I doubt most customers will notice.
Speaking of comfort, let’s talk about the ride quality of the Lincoln Nautilus. It doesn’t float like a Town Car—the damping’s much too good for that—but it wafts like a luxury car of old, from a time when luxury meant comfort over everything. Potholes and expansion joints evaporate as this midsize crossover glides like Fred Astaire over positively pockmarked pavement. The tradeoff is that the Nautilus has a bit of body roll and feels a bit loosey-goosey if you’re booking it like the library closes in 20 minutes and you don’t want to pay late fees. The brake pedal’s also on the soft side, and there’s not an enormous amount of confidence on tap if you need to take evasive action at freeway speeds, even though the steering is weirdly good at communicating changes in road camber. The overall result is a plush cruiser with marshmallow creme vibes, and for luxury crossover shoppers, that’s pretty much perfect 90 percent of the time.
Does It Have The Electronic Crap I Want?
As you’d expect, the Lincoln Nautilus offers pretty much all the toys you could want, but we first need to talk about the screen setup. The black levels and fluidity are great, but I’d like a bit more customization than just the song playing, the weather, and a few trip computer screens. However, always having a map on display close to your line of sight is hugely beneficial, and Lincoln’s managed to implement this massive display array without making it distracting. Plus, the black levels are so good that the panoramic screen offers a better overall experience than a HUD that doesn’t wash out through polarized lenses. Well done.
Beyond the screens, the array of available gadgets is extensive, from powerful massaging seats to a multi-stage heated steering wheel to wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay to a solid 360-degree camera system. My test car also came equipped with the 28-speaker Revel Ultima 3D audio system, a Harman International setup with remarkable power and clarity, so long as you keep some of the wilder sound processing turned off. It’s easily one of the best audio systems in the segment, outshining most rivals at modest listening volumes.
Of course, the other big toy on hand is BlueCruise, Lincoln’s hands-free Level 2 highway driving assistance system. It’s genuinely getting better all the time, to the point where I used it for the rush hour highway slog back to the press office and felt weirdly calm about the whole thing. Considering Lincoln throws in four years of it, which should be enough to cover most leases, it’s definitely a highlight that could tip the scale in favor of the Nautilus on its own.
Three Things To Know About The Lincoln Nautilus
- The 24-way massaging seats are absolutely worth the money.
- It’s one of the few luxury crossovers that doesn’t require premium gas.
- That wacky infotainment setup will make you realize screens are better than a HUD.
Does The Lincoln Nautilus Fulfil Its Purpose?
The Lincoln Nautilus fulfils its purpose by doing luxury better than a Lexus RX 350, or even a low-spec Mercedes-Benz GLE 350. The 24-way massaging seats are the tits, the Revel system bumps, I’ve driven six-figure cars with worse ride quality and build quality, and Lincoln’s happy medium crossover has a luxury-first character that’s really all its own in this segment. Nobody’s doing sheer singular cushiness like this in the $60,000 to $70,000 price bracket, and the people are getting tired of luxury cars that don’t waft. However, at just over $70,000 as-tested, it’s going up against some stiff competition with less overall ease but greater bandwidth.
You can tell the Genesis GV80 rides on far more premium bones as it drives with greater sophistication, and that Korean two-row is right in the same price bracket as the Lincoln and has a cabin that truly measures up. At the same time, don’t discount the Volvo XC90. Sure, it might be a decade old, but it has even better seats, a superlative available Bowers & Wilkins sound system, and is made of equally nice stuff.
What’s The Punctum Of The Lincoln Nautilus?
Lincoln’s built a better Lexus RX.
Top graphic image: Thomas Hundal
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I actually think these are a home run from an exterior design standpoint. They genuinely look very elegant and unique without being overdone. Whenever I’m in the car with someone who isn’t an enthusiast and we come across one they almost always ask “Nsane you know cars, what is THAT?!?!” I think that’s a good sign to be honest.
Apparently the interior materials are top notch as well, and I appreciate that there are still some manufacturers keeping old school luxury alive. Not everything needs to be engineered to set lap records on the Nurburgring. As someone who has to sit through some of the worst traffic in country with regularity I really am starting to get the appeal of just sitting in silent comfort through it.
They even offer a hybrid! Really my only hang up with these is the tech overload. Even in this day and age I don’t want to be surrounded by screens 24/7/365 and these strike me as being there for the sake of being there and not much else. You can fit everything the mega screen is showing you here in a bog standard digital gauge cluster.
Could I get used to it? I don’t know. I’m not the target market for these anyway and will likely never be in one unless one pulls up as a ride share. But I still think overall this is a job well done by Lincoln. The old school luxury market is underserved at the moment, especially with Lexus going in odd directions with some of their newer products. It’s one of the reasons Genesis is doing well.
That being said if you want one lease it or buy used because they do depreciate. Once these start showing up off leases in a year or two in the 40s they’re going to be pretty intriguing.
Finally, a car that really earns the name of my favorite seashell.
My wife was really interested in one of these for her next car until we went out to drive a few cars she was looking at. After the experience at Lexus, we headed to Lincoln. The dealer experience pushed her to pass on it without even driving the car. We ended up with a Q5, which was the next stop. Sewell’s experience was on par with Lexus, and they had the green one she wanted on the lot.
It doesn’t need premium gas, but if it’s anything like my maverick it might have a barely perceptible yet annoying extra vibration in a certain rev range when running regular. Most people won’t notice or care though.
I like Lincoln is going for comfort. Fast Ring times does not mean luxury.
The inside of a Lincoln is a really nice place to be.
Muuuuch nicer looking than the Lexus Predator abomination. It’s a shame the hybrid only ekes out 30 mpg.
It’s compelling, but I’d still go for the GV80 or XC90.
I like it, but what is its small-overlap frigate crash rating? What about results vs. vicious cachalots? Asking for an ex-East India Trading Company friend.
I hope this becomes a trend. I have no idea why people buy S/CUVs and put up with a garbage ride worse than sports cars. A luxury product should feel like it.
“Among individual brands, Tesla continues its run as the leader in brand loyalty with a rate of 67.8% for the first half of 2024. While all Tesla models retain more than 60% of their previous owners, the Model 3 remains the leader in the brand’s lineup with a loyalty rate of 72.1%.”
leaving a little kryptonite for the kommentariat.
You’re giving us information that’s literally a year old? I wonder if anything’s happened in the last year to change that.
Also, I see no relevance to this piece?
lol cope
I have a 2017 MKX, and it’s the nicest car I’ve ever owned. Based on my experience with the MKX, I’d by another one again.
I know a couple of MKX owners and they really like them (both bought them slightly used after learning of their existence on the dealer lot). It’s kind of a shame not many people know about the current Lincoln crossovers, but maybe I’m not plugged into enough algorithms to receive modern marketing 🙂
The crossover segments are so overcrowded, it’s just a shame to see good cars that might end up on the chopping block.
Psst… I see rich people
Hey, mustard on the seat, yo!
Wipes right up, got synthetic leather seats, bro.
Left turn, signal with my amberlamps, and make my turn, so
Nail throttle to the stop, engine makes a lotta noise, though
What’s up with these panorama-ass dash showin’ me…somethin’?
The industry has changed us, to the mall with my mama
How many apps we really got? I mean it’s too many apps, son!
I’m finna RTFM, but printed’s not an option!
Cool my ass and warm the wheel, the combo just shockin’
The Nautilus, the Natilus, the Nautilus….
/zero apologies to that hack
Lincoln has really been hitting the handsome mark with their cars lately. They look refined, not just a nose job on their Ford roots, and I believe that they will age very well going forward.
My bosses wife recently got a Corsair plug in hybrid and they are thrilled with it. Although coming from a Grand Caravan that served family duty for 10+ years almost anything would be an upgrade.
Bold move to double down on one of the least popular takes in the history of the site. 😛
I mean, I imagine most of us don’t have a lot of experience with any separated screen(s) in our vehicle that is/are A) large, B) not a touchscreen, and C) not the instrument cluster. So I think there’s pros and cons to make them more measured than simply “oh, here’s a huge screen and the entire thing is a touchscreen.”
Besides, it looks like they still kept a few crucial buttons. That’s something.
Edit: either way, I don’t have personal experience with HUDs, but if they have a problem with polarized lenses, yeah, that’s a major issue.
I watched Tiff Needell’s review of the M5 E60 that was linked in yesterday’s M5 wagon review, and he said HUDs “will be a must have for all the cars of the future.” Made me wonder what happened to that alternative universe.
$130K for a loaded Navigator starts to look downright reasonable when a Chinese-built 2.0T mobile is $70K.
The uncalled for anti-Chinese sentiment really is unusual and unwelcome.
A lot of people’s perceptions of anything Chinese in manufacture is permanently stuck in 1998 and nothing will ever shift it, I’m afraid.
My disappointment in this particular case is not with Chinese people, or even the CCP, but with Ford.
And what, exactly, about Ford?
For outsourcing production to a hostile country that uses slave labor and *generally* builds to a lower quality, then selling it for the same price as a US or Western built competitor.
It’s rational for all parties, but that doesn’t mean I need to like it.
yeah, especially when there’s perfectly good slave labor right here!
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-immigration-hyundai/
The measure of a government isn’t what bad actors do under its watch, but how it responds to them.
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/us-labor-department-sues-hyundai-over-us-child-labor-court-filing-2024-05-30/
https://www.voanews.com/a/fact-check-china-denies-forced-labor-in-xinjiang-un-reports-otherwise/6743460.html
That’s our former government. I don’t have confidence that our current regime would pursue any action against that type of infraction.
Calling China a “hostile country” when living in the United States is pretty funny, gotta say. The lower quality thing is also completely meaningless when Ford issues more recalls than any other make, while making the most vehicles in the US.
It’s because I live here that I call China a “hostile” country. Whether we like it or not, their government wishes us ill.
A lot of people here in this thread seemingly drawing no distinction between us and them, which I cannot disagree with strongly enough.
As for quality, my experience with low-quality cheaply built Chinese products didn’t end in 1998. Maybe it did for others, in which case I’d encourage them to show their support of Chinese manufacturing by buying a Nautilus.
man, Americans are really obsessed with this idea that the rest of the world wants to treat them the same way that they want to treat the rest of the world… what if I told you that’s not how normal people think?
Your honestly considered opinion is that the Chinese government is a friendly peer state?
That their good relations with Russia, Iran, North Korea etc have no impact on how we should see them?
That they don’t have designs on Taiwan? A US ally and vitally important trading partner?
I wouldn’t have supported outsourcing auto production to the Soviet Union in 1960. I wouldn’t support outsourcing production to Russia or Iran now. I won’t apologize for sincerely believing that there are countries in the world that are our enemies.
God if that isn’t the most telling phrase possible.
I respect your opinion enough to ask, in all sincerity, you believe there’s no difference between the CCP and the US government? That life there, under that system, would be preferable to life here?
No matter what your opinion of the current administration is, I can’t imagine a serious person taking that position.
What they are, right this minute, is approximately the worst case scenario for what this administration *could* potentially become.
You’re trying to argue an unwinnable point here on this board.
I’m not gonna say that doing biz with China is the worst thing, because the system is already in place, and changing that would be neigh impossible, and pretty self-destructive to the US at this point. However, I see your stance and can empathize and agree to a (mostly) point.
Members of my family have married into families, and have had kids, with Chinese/Hong Kong/Singapore backgrounds. Once you talk to the siblings/parents/cousins of that side of the family, it becomes clear that it’s not as simple as “China wishes us harm”.
It may be true, to an extent, that governmental policies are generally hostile, but on a human level it is way more nuanced than that, in my opinion. I’m just not sure it’s a “Yes or No” topic. Not in 2025, anyway.
Just sayin’.
Have never meant to imply anything different than this.
I wish nothing but the best for the Chinese citizens, and I hope I live to see them get the government that they deserve.
In that case, I think that the “radicals” (lol) on here would be more receptive to your opinion on this, if you communicated it more eloquently.
In all honesty, it has always come off as pretty standoffish when it comes to China. You do you and all that, but that’s how I’ve always read it. Like I said before, I see your point, but I also see how some people on here would get into a huff about it.
Anyway, I gotta go to work and get rich retired people drunk while watching a Florida sunset, lol. Hope you have a great weekend as well! 🙂
You’re sounding downright leftist in some of these comments my friend 😉
Haha!
Yeah, I’m none of any of it. Despite the opinions of those that have called me a “Trump bootlicking, Nazi Fascist” in some bizarre attempt to insult a character they have created in their minds, that doesn’t exist, I’m none of that.
Just a normal dude who has been around the world and been lucky enough to do so. I’m also lucky enough to develop my own opinions on things, rather than parrot some trendy “phrase of the week” crap, or cut-and-paste the same tired bullshit, year after year.
Either way, I gotta go. Have a great weekend as well 🙂
Likewise, pour em stiff for those retirees
Thats the thing, i think the US Government is worse.
Is China hostile tho? Compared to whom?
China is not dropping bombs. China is not abandoning allies. China is building bridges and hospitals.
China supports it’s industries far better than the US ever did.
Yes – Chinese companies abuse their workers. So do US companies – leading by example.
China is better at Capitalism than the US ever was.
And while China is Authoritarian – So is the US these days.
But China also has some of the best mass transit in the world.
China sees health care as a right for all citizens.
China knows how to build things that the US can only dream of anymore.
Chinese leadership is simply honest about who they are. They don’t resort to the threat of bombs and trade wars to influence other countries – and are able to plan beyond the next news cycle.
If Ford builds cars in China – it’s Ford’s fault, not the Chinese.
It’s almost quitting time on Friday so this is going to be my last comment here today, but I’m just going to say that it’s both profoundly sad how many seem to have just given up on the country they live in, and a profound failure of imagination to not truly consider what a world dominated by China would mean for vulnerable countries and people.
I believe in America, I believe that despite our missteps through the years that we have a track record over centuries that is better than almost any major power in the history of the world, and no matter who the president is I’m going to be proud to live here, to leave political fights at the water’s edge, and to advocate for a world where we have power and influence rather than those who don’t share our values.
That’s it.