The Car Connection Expert Review
Likes
- Decadence along every vector
- Safety technology
- Immersive displays
- Long-wheelbase version
- Sumptuous Black Label versions
Dislikes
- Still no hybrid
- Dollars to donuts, it’ll cost even more
- So, it’s large…
Buying tip
The 2025 Lincoln Navigator soothes the savage SUV driver with digital displays, a distinctive scent, and oodles of space.
What kind of vehicle is the 2025 Lincoln Navigator? What does it compare to?
The Navigator luxury SUV rides on a full-size frame that’s a distant cousin to the Ford F-150 and a sibling to the Ford Expedition. Sold in Reserve and various Black Label trims, it’s a competitor for the Cadillac Escalade, GMC Yukon, and Jeep Grand Wagoneer.
Is the 2025 Lincoln Navigator a good SUV?
It’s been great, and the improvements lack only a hybrid add-on. The 2024 model earned a TCC Rating of 7.2 out of 10. We’ll update everything here once we take its new features for a spin. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
What's new for the 2025 Lincoln Navigator?
To the classically handsome SUV body, Lincoln grafts on a new front end this year. It’s akin to the face of the midsize Nautilus, with a taller chain-mesh grille strapped on with a thick band of LED light, stick-pinned with a lit Lincoln gunsight logo. The light band underscores slimmer LED headlights, which point down the Navigator’s body into a wide metallic band that rockets to the rear end. There, the Navigator bends another band of LEDs down on the sides of its taillights and runs it atop a gloss-trim panel with subtler Lincoln badges. It’s different, but really more of an improvement in front than in the back.
Inside, the Navigator stashes a semi’s worth of panache. As in the Nautilus, a nearly full-width display rests atop a flat dash top, behind a squared-off steering wheel and above a secondary touchscreen and a set of piano-key transmission controls and a “crystal-inspired” control knob. The interior, Lincoln says, promotes rejuvenation and relaxation, even with all the pixels of that 48-inch-wide display firing off in every possible direction.
Around the interior, even base Navigators come with 24-way driver and 22-way power-adjustable front passenger seats with heating, cooling, and massage functions. Navigator L SUVs have about a foot more in overall length, which mostly boosts cargo space. Second-row bench seats or captain’s chairs slide and fold forward for better third-row access; the third-row bench can be folded into the floor and gets seat heating as an option.
New themes for Lincoln’s fab Black Label models include the beige-and-gray Enlighten and blue-gray hues of Atmospheric, the latter of which gets 24-inch copper-colored wheels, leather trim, 30-way power front seats, heated and cooled second-row captain’s chairs with nearby wireless smartphone charging, and heated third-row seats.
Once in its new Rejuvenate mode, in 5- or 10-minute increments, the Navigator warms its seats, slides the driver’s seat back, and initiates massage mode, while the screens go into a dreamy screensaver mode and the car begins to emit its distinctive scent. Waterfalls, an aurora borealis, or patterns inspired by the four core elements (fire, water, earth, and air) wash over the screens while the 28-speaker Revel 3D audio plays softly.
Cargo space on the standard Navigator hits 22.9 cubic feet behind the third-row seat, up to 69.9 cubic feet with the third row down and the second row moved forward, and up to 107.0 cubes behind the front seats with all rear seats lowered. The Navigator L grows cargo space to 37.4 cubic feet behind row three, 84.5 cubic feet behind row two, and a staggering 121.6 cubic feet behind the front seats—all accessed through a split tailgate.
Lincoln hasn’t updated the Navigator’s powertrain to add on hybrid technology, so the twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6 carries over. With 440 hp and 510 lb-ft of torque, it’s paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel drive. Lincoln rates towing capacity at a max of 8,700 pounds. The standard adaptive suspension system mutes the road through standard 22-inch wheels, while 24-inchers are available.
Ford’s BlueCruise driver-assist system comes standard this year, along with lane-change assistance. The Level 2 system covers more than 130,000 miles of highways in the U.S. and Canada. After four years, the service converts to a subscription. Other standard safety technology includes active lane control, adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, automatic parking, and blind-spot monitors. Trailer-hitch and backup assistance also factor into its network of sensors and cameras.
How much does the 2025 Lincoln Navigator cost?
The 2025 Navigator likely will cost nearly $90,000 when it goes on sale later this year. Standard equipment also will include an 11.1-inch touchscreen to configure its 48-inch display and to run wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Voice commands can also run the system, which can display output from gaming and video entertainment when the vehicle’s in park. The Navigator will also include 5G service and Google Maps navigation for four years for free; a subscription will be required after that. Prices likely will nudge $120,000 for a Black Label Navigator L.
Where is the 2025 Lincoln Navigator made?
In Louisville, Kentucky.
