The New Lincoln Navigator Is a Beauty, but Is It the Luxury SUV Standard Bearer?

Lincoln carries over the 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6. Its 440 hp and 510 lb-ft of torque are plenty powerful and marry well to the 10-speed automatic transmission to accelerate smoothly and quickly, always in the right gear. “The Lincoln has hot rod character underneath the chrome,” associate editor Billy Rehbock said. “At 120 mph, it’s a brick flying down the highway, but nonetheless if you’re driving around with a VIP and you need to get away from the paparazzi, this will do it.”

This huge vehicle struggles on a handling course; it exhibits more body roll than others in the segment and more body-on-frame shakes and shimmies. The air suspension helps some, but it’s still noticeable.

You also get BlueCruise hands-free driving and lane change assist by tapping the turn signal, as well as in-lane repositioning. However, this standard feature does not perform as well as GM’s Super Cruise. It has a tendency to bounce off the lines and make sharp steering corrections.

The standard four-wheel drive performed well in deep sand and provided the traction needed to climb slippery rollers, but the Navigator L wasn’t as happy on hard-packed washboards.

Certainly, the Navigator has a long list of nice touches and amenities inside a gorgeous interior, but Lincoln may have gone too far in moving functions to digital screens, and the ride quality doesn’t meet the standards the rest of the competitive set.

This review was conducted as part of our 2026 SUV of the Year (SUVOTY) testing, where each vehicle is evaluated on our six key criteria: efficiency, design, safety, engineering excellence, value, and performance of intended function. Eligible vehicles must be all-new or significantly revised.