The 2025 Lincoln Navigator is not a Cadillac Escalade, but it’s an still enormous, over-the-top, three-ton $130,000 luxo-mobile with “digital scents” and a four-foot wide screen. I’m sure you have some curiosities about it.
Jason Torchinsky is on his final leg of an absolutely ridiculous cross-country trip in a 375,000 mile beat-to-heck former New York City taxi cab, and I wanted to surprise him with a car he can relax in upon his arrival. Three-thousand miles in an $800 heap that was really designed for city driving and not long freeway runs is no joke, after all. So I chose something ridiculously bougie, but not only that — it’s a car I’m legitimately curious about, because it looks…kinda good!
It’s basically a swanked-up Ford Expedition (in much the same way that an Escalade is a swanked-up Suburban), but it’s coming from a brand that’s putting some real dollars behind a push towards a much-needed renaissance. I drove the baby-Navigator, the Nautilus, last year, and I thought it was great. Surely the ‘gator will be even better?
We’ll find out.
If you have any questions about the new 2025 Lincoln Navigator, throw them into the comments below!
I am honestly curious at to how this compares to the Escalade. I mean, maybe the Chevy handles a bit better or whatever, but no one buying these cares about that. The Lincoln’s seats look so much nicer than the Escalade’s, and overall the interior seems to have the edge. I also think the Lincoln looks better, and it’s cheaper.
Is there any reason why someone should consider the Escalade over this other than image?
I do not have a single question about this thing, but thanks anyway.
When I buy this for my kept wife to drive to yoga class, how long will it be before the bumpers are trashed and the doors are all scraped up?
How does it compare to a 2020 Continental? Are Lincolns actually better now that they are an all SUV lineup?I know two sets Lincoln-faithful elderly folks, one who replaced a Continental with a Navigator and another who is looking at doing so.
The Navigator owners are non-plussed: they would have preferred yet another Continental but they like the Navigator well enough. The still-Continental drivers are skeptical. They like having a fairly new car and hate surprises, but also have never owned an SUV. Should they just try to keep Continental going another 10ish years? Or buy a new car?
Does Lincoln’s massive “single” screen feel like a single piece, or just 3 or 4 smaller screens sharing a single bezel like everyone else (looking at you Mercedes)?
As opposed to the analog scents of the taxi?
(Seriously though, is it some kind of oil diffuser? Won’t that cause buildup inside the vehicle?)
This is probably just a marketing gimmick. I’m sure it doesn’t make and scents.
Are the taillights as reminiscent of a mid-90s Ford Tempo as they appear at first blush??
I’m interested to know how easy you find it to actually use the tech in the vehicle. Also, how useless is the screen in front of the passenger?
Have the SUV stylists all been fired, or are they just incredibly lazy?
Through various reasons, I have been watching various seasons of Mentalist, with the last episode being made a whole decade ago.
And the monster SUVs they had then (it is really funny seeing tiny actors like Robin Tunney trying to leap into them) look just like this monster in the pic.
Maybe they changed the hub caps. Ask them if that makes it go faster.
Our regional trainer brought by a ’25 Expedition a couple days ago. As soon as I learned they moved the memory seat functions from the driver door to the top screen – controlled by an unmarked capacitive button on the steering wheel, no less – I mentally checked out. Oh, and to get all the benefits out of the vehicle, Ford wants you to have a Google account.
I’m sure the Navigator will be even more of the same. I don’t mind technology in cars, but it’s getting horrendously overdone.
Does the center touch screen for everything make you take your eyes off the road too much? I did 1000 miles in a pre-pro in January of this year and blue cruise hated me when I was trying to change the radio or any other functions through the screen.
Also how bad is the tailgate, and door fitment. It was a major pain point for the previous u55x generation.
Good lord, I hate that dash.
Will it have hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions? And will those hybrid versions still have a decent tow rating?
How did it handle the parking garage at the Sherman Oaks Galleria when you went there to get the preppiest striped polo and tennis shorts in Abercrombie’s guys’ line for Otto and a shiplap-beige “Live Laugh Love” sign for them to bring home to Sally?
Just going with the theme of hooking up Torchinskys with things that run counter to their publicly known preferences…
Is it really worth $40,000 more than an Expedition?
I drove my family around Utah last week in a rental Expedition Max. That thing was swank. Super comfy, great power, and even managed 20 mpg. I loved the power folding seats.
I can’t imagine a few screens and some better interior materials being worth a brand-new BMW 3-series more. That’s crazy talk.
FWIW a loaded-out Expedition is $90k so the base Nav is $15k more. After spending a decent amount of time in both, I’d go Navigator since its a bit nicer feeling inside and I think it looks better.
Can you ask FoMoCo why they didn’t think it necessary to create an Escalade V competitor with the Raptor R engine? Because the world needs that.
Ford charges an extra $30K to upgrade to the Raptor R over the V6 Raptor; with the assumption Lincoln would do something similar with procing, I’m not sure how many people would buy a Navigator for around $170K.
The Esclade V is 170k and it’s so popular that there are additional ADMs on it. I think there’s a market.