All full-size SUVs look big and imposing – particularly the luxury models. The 2025 Lincoln Navigator is so formidable that designers compare it to lounges and parks, not vehicles.
Lincoln hasn’t entirely redesigned every bolt of its big SUV. The chassis, engine, and transmission of the 2025 model will be the same as those of the 2024 Navigator, but Lincoln has so thoroughly remade the body and cabin that they call this a new generation. We’ll go with it.
We won’t know the pricing for a few months. We expect the Navigator to start at around $80,000 and perhaps push as high as $120,000 fully equipped.
Grand Presence
Lincoln uses nautical terms for its vehicles: Navigator, Nautilus, Corsair, Aviator (the U.S. Navy’s term for a pilot, chosen because “pilot” already had a maritime meaning). They could have gotten away with renaming the 2025 Navigator the “Lincoln Battleship.”
True, the 2024 model was already big. But, for 2025, Lincoln has enlarged the grille, turning it into a genuine maw that looks ready to eat a Volkswagen Golf in traffic. An available Jet Appearance Package turns it completely black if you want to underline the threat.
A lighted logo sits in the center of a lighted horizontal line wide across the front that ticks up into the headlights, like wingtips. The hood has just enough of a curve that seems to bulge.
In back, a split tailgate appears. About two-thirds of it lifts, with one-third folding downward – helpful in loading items into the cargo space without the risk of them rolling out. To open it, you stand still behind the car with the key for three seconds. That’s all it takes. Opening the lower gate creates a bench with a seating capacity of 500 pounds.
The low liftover section is also needed because many owners would have trouble getting a suitcase over anything higher. The 2025 Navigator rides on 22-inch wheels, with 24-inch models on higher trims.
A ‘Third Space‘ Inside, With Acres of Screen
To explain the Navigator’s interior, we have to diverge into a discussion of city planning. We’re not kidding.
In recent years, city planners have taken to talking about “third spaces.” These are the places you look forward to going that aren’t your home or your office. Your third space might be a park, a coffee shop, or a wine bar (we’re not judging). It’s the place you go to get away from the other two.
Lincoln says the Navigator’s interior is “a third space that rejuvenates clients in an entirely new way on and off the road.”
Oh, your ride is like a luxury car inside? Mine’s like a neighborhood bistro with a view of the river.
What you view from the Navigator’s front seats are screens. An enormous 48-inch-diagonal screen surface stretches almost from door to door. The only non-screen surfaces are the speakers. Lincoln has sprinkled 28 speakers around the cabin. The Revel Ultimate 3D Audio System is standard equipment at every trim level.
That enormous screen is set surprisingly far from the people, but that’s deliberate. Lincoln says its distant focal length means the driver’s pupils have to adjust less when looking down the road to check the vehicle’s speed.
The steering wheel is a pleasant squircle (squared circle) to interfere less with the view.
The big screen shows driver information on the left, infotainment in the center, and a separate entertainment setup for the passenger on the right. Movies and games, however, only play when parked to avoid distracting the driver.
The screen is too far away to operate as a touchscreen, so a touchscreen underneath controls it.
Other creature comforts include a 24-way power-adjustable driver’s seat and a 22-way power-adjustable passenger’s seat — 30 ways if you spring for the top-of-the-line Black Label model. All front seats (and, optionally, second-row captain’s chairs) offer heating, ventilation, and massage functions.
The third row offers a clever 40/20/40 folding function to customize cargo space.
Programmable Scents, Meditations
Programmable scents are standard. Even the base model lets you set the cabin scent.
Maybe your third space is a spa? Lincoln has two offerings for you in that case. A Rejuvenate setting “automatically adjusts seat position with heat and massage options, climate control, scenting, sound, lighting, and expansive visuals to reduce stress and create a relaxing experience inside the vehicle.”
Spa experiences include Waterfall Meditation, Aurora Borealis, and Elements.
Lincoln will give buyers a one-year subscription to the Calm meditation app to solidify the spa theme.
Don’t meditate while driving. But we understand the temptation. Ford’s Blue Cruise hands-free highway system is standard on every trim.
“Navigator clients have access to BlueCruise for four years at vehicle purchase,” Lincoln says. Extending beyond four years will run $75 per month or $800 per year if current pricing holds in 2029.
Same-Old, Same-Old Mechanicals (Which Is Fine)
By now, you’ll notice that we haven’t discussed how the vehicle drives. That’s because there isn’t much to report. Under the hood, a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 engine makes 440 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque. Four-wheel drive is standard, as is an adaptive damping suspension.
That’s the same setup as the 2024 Navigator. That’s not a complaint – KBB expert test driver Colin Ryan says of the old setup, “This big Lincoln SUV glides along smoothly and calmly even when that right foot does a little flexing. A road-reading adaptive suspension is part of the deal, bringing a fine balance of comfort and control.”
Lincoln saw little reason to change any of that.
Still Impressive in a Do-It-All Class
All full-size luxury SUVs showcase everything an automaker can do. The Cadillac Escalade V accelerates like a sports car with seating for seven adults. The Infiniti QX80 senses your body temperature and adjusts the airflow to each passenger separately to compensate. They’re all remarkable.
However, Lincoln may be on to something with its “third space” on wheels. To be sure, we’ll have to see how much it costs. The 2025 Navigator will reach showrooms next spring, but dealers will start taking orders in October.
