The 2018 Lincoln Navigator is all-new and comes packed with luxury features, but it is really worth its over $100,000 price tag?
Our Lincoln Navigator Reserve model was packed with about $10,000 worth of options, bringing the total up to $103,300 Canadian. For that much money, we found a few nice little cottages and trailers that we could buy in Ontario (that’s definitely on the cheap end of things in Ontario’s cottage real estate market right now). But which would serve me better?
Well, the Lincoln provides all the luxury appointments that a $100K cottage could never provide. The Perfect Position seats are not overselling themselves, with the ability to perfectly contour to whatever body shape you might have. Numerous lumbar supports can push out to support your back, and the leg bolsters can even be adjusted individually if one leg is a little longer than the other.
Providing power for the Navigator is Ford’s high-output 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 making 450 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque, sent through a 10-speed automatic transmission. It moves the heavy SUV, which weighs in at 5,855 pounds, with authority when you mash the accelerator pedal. And the 10-speed always knows where it wants to be, providing good power at all times.
Fuel economy for the 4×4 Lincoln Navigator in Canada is rated at 14.9l/100 km in the city, 11.3l/100km on the highway for a combined 13.3 l/100km. In the US, this beast is rated at 16 mpg city, 21 on the highway and 18 mpg combined.
In our day of testing with the Navigator, we averaged 15.3l/100km (which is where the two different fuel economy scales crossover, meaning the Navigator was also burning 15.3 mpg), not quite living up to its ratings. For a vehicle so heavy and an engine so powerful, this isn’t all that surprising.
The drive of the Navigator is soft and luxurious while loping down the road, but it’s not the strongest selling point here. Inside, the new Lincoln is gorgeous, and doesn’t look anything like the Ford Expedition on which it is based.
Real-wood grain runs along the length of the dashboard, accented by chrome and piano black trim. The floating design of the center console between the front seats helps create an airy feeling in the cabin and allows for a massive amount of storage up front. A push-button transmission also saves space on the dash.
For those reasons and many more I explain in the video review, I think the Navigator is worth the price tag. Not that I could afford it myself, but for someone with $100,000 to spend, this luxury SUV won’t leave you feeling like you got ripped off.
So is it really worth more than a cottage? That’s a debate I’m not sure I can settle, but I did come up with the perfect strategy to keep everyone happy. You’ll have to watch the video review above to find out what it is.
