2020 Lincoln Aviator Reserve AWD |
3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 (400 hp @ 5500 rpm, 415 lb/ft. @ 3000 rpm) Ten-speed automatic transmission, all-wheel drive 17 city / 24 highway / 20 combined (EPA Rating, MPG) 21.1 (observed mileage, MPG) 13.7 city / 9.7 highway / 11.9 combined. (NRCan Rating, L/100km) Base Price: $59,795 US / $71,200 CAD As Tested: $76,310 US / $82,950 CAD Prices include $1095 destination charge in the United States and $2,200 for freight, PDI, and A/C tax in Canada and, because of cross-border equipment differences, can’t be directly compared. |
We were never a family that splurged on high-end brands. Store-brand staples were generally good enough for most household needs. Our TVs and stereo equipment were Sony only because my dad sold electronics at a big retailer in the Eighties. We straddled the fine line between frugality and cheapness. We just weren’t those kinds of people.
If there was a luxury brand of car, it was certain that we wouldn’t have it. Chevy or Olds, not Cadillac. Ford, not Lincoln – at least until I was out of the house. Dad, when choosing yet another car to ferry him on his sales calls around the Great Lakes, finally splurged on a late ‘90s front-drive Continental. As I recall, it was fine, but it didn’t wow me with the luxury I’d expect from the Lincoln nameplate.
Today, however, Lincoln is staging a comeback. First, the brand restored ACTUAL NAMES to its vehicles, rather than tacking MK-whatever on everything. Now, this genuinely elegant 2020 Lincoln Aviator makes a legitimate claim to the luxury SUV throne.
I mean, look at it. Lincoln has been killing it on exterior styling for a few years now, and the Aviator continues the theme. While the CD6-chassis Explorer roots are evident, the Ford is already handsome for a three-row SUV. This Aviator hones those well-proportioned bones into a chiseled beauty. I don’t even hate the corporate grille – it’s not nearly as garish and overwrought as those gaping maws found on many competitors.
The interior is similarly stylish and well thought out. As much as I hate the idea of the iPad-on-the-dashboard infotainment screen seen on so many new cars, at least in this case it’s well integrated and seemingly allows the overall dashboard height to feel low, giving great outward visibility. The rest of the style is elegant, feeling like an updated Sixties-vintage Continental rather than the too-modern, too-angular trim bits found in, say, the Cadillac XT6.
God, the seats in this thing are magnificent. Had I known two months ago when I was driving the Aviator that I’d be confined to my home office for a seemingly interminable length of time, I might have feigned a vandalism claim for my tester and absconded with one of these 30-way adjustable, heated, cooled, massaging chairs into which I could park my ass for these fifteen-plus-hour days in my basement. The adjustments can take a minute to perfect – since there are so freaking many – but once situated, these are heaven for the posterior.
[Get new and used Lincoln Aviator prices here!]
They do cost a good bit, however. Appearing as part of the Reserve I package, which adds at least ten thousand dollars to the base price of the Aviator, they’re still worth absolutely every penny.
Second row comfort is nearly as good as that in the front, especially with the optional captain’s chairs seen here. The third row is a bit tight for legroom for full-sized adults – it’ll work in a pinch, but folks under about 63” tall (the height of my 11-year-old) will be fine. Press a couple of buttons, and that third row folds into a 41.8 cubic foot cargo hold for furbabies or whatever.
The Aviator drives like a Lincoln should, too. It’s decidedly unsporty. While it doesn’t heave and wallow in turns, neither is it diving for apexes with verve. The ride is soft, controlled, and relaxing – perfect for all-day road trips or a relaxing commute. The optional Air Glide suspension, part of the $3,000 Dynamic Handling package, works with a road-scanning system to adapt the suspension to road irregularities and lessen the impacts ahead. The crumbling tarmac here in Ohio makes this option basically mandatory – it’s magical in how it isolates the cabin from the nasty road ahead.
It does scoot away from stop lights with authority, however. Four hundred horses paired with an excellent 10-speed automatic do a fine job of putting power to all four wheels. I’ve heard others complain of occasional shift weirdness from this transmission/engine combo, but I have absolutely no complaints about the way the power gets to the ground.
Yep, Lincoln is back. This Aviator is a stately, dignified family wagon with class to spare. I’d like to think that my dad might have forsaken his cheapskate ways to splurge on this comfy highway hauler.
[Images: © 2020 Chris Tonn/TTAC]
I love these, after a rough launch hopefully the bugs are being ironed out, but @ $76K Ford is sure proud of these
This weekend I checked out a Lincoln Corsair (Escape based) and it too was beautiful. Basically a smaller version of this, but it stickered for almost $50K. Too much for an Escape :(
This seems much, much better than the XT6 but for that very reason the XT6 will have a lot more discounts.
Well an Explorer is just as big for half the price! ;)
Exactly, go with the Explorer
The Explorer ST is similar mechanically, but it’s REALLY cheap-looking inside.
Yeup – while I like the Explorer exterior, the interior is absolute garbage. I think it was the vlogger Savagegeese who said it, “This was a car built to be sold to people who have bought Explorers for 20 years and will keep buying them, no matter how garbage it is.”
My understanding is that the driving dynamics of the new Explorer are good, but lord, that interior is absolute junk.
Yes, but having test driven them back-to-back, a Explorer Platinum and a Lincoln Aviator Black Label (no, I didn’t buy either – I’ll wait to buy one off lease – these were all mystery shops), you can tell the Aviator has a completely different suspension design from the Explorer. The Explorer road nice, handled well, but ride quality in the Aviator was so much better. In fact, the Explorer rode better than a Cadillac XT, but the Aviator was heaven on wheels.
I test drove an xt4, cx5 GTR, and Buick envision over the weekend. To get the trim and options we wanted it would sticker for 53k. I’ve seen them sell for 45K. It wasn’t worth 8k more than the envision with similar options or 15k over the CX5.
I’ve seen lots of complaining on the prices of CX5s here and out of the three vehicles we test drove, it was by far the one we liked ignoring the price. The materials were as good as the Envision and better than the XT4.
So what’s the point of these luxury SUVs again?
Snob appeal
Why do ppl compare a 3 row suv with 2 row suvs?!
If you want a 3 row suv with good pick up and go power, your options are the Dodge Durango or the Aviator that’s it.
Whether the interior amenities are worth it depends on the person. It was worth it to us so we were happy to spend $67.5k OOD for one that had an MSRP of $69.9k
Envisions are cheap because no one buys them owing to 100% “Made in China” and shipped to the US, combined with poor reliability – especially in the electronics department.
CX5s are nice but the comparison is bad. The CX5 is much smaller and is propelled by a 4 cylinder motor that is neither fast nor fun. They are in different classes, even if both have great interiors.
Of course, given the chance, I would take the CX5 over the Envision just so that my car wasnt the target of an errant bottle by a misguided patriot.
Id take the Aviator over any of these in a New York minute.
But it’s not an Escape. In fact you just told us, inexplicably, it’s “Escape based”.
Yeah… So what’s your point, or do you have one?
The photography in this review is exceptional. More please.
Is ford smoking the crack?
You can get a nice BMW X 5 for $76 large.
I like the Lincoln but come on man (a la Joe Biden) ; come on man !
This interior is leaps and bounds nicer than the one in the X5.
It may look nicer than the BMW at first but in typical American (especially Ford) fashion it will age poorly.
My neighbor just finished spending 5K sealing up oil leaks on her X5 with 80K miles, me, I’ll take the Aviator.
@canam23
BMW fans call that “routine maintenance.”
Not to go all Scotty Kilmer, but the X5 is hot garbage. You have to hate money AND be a masochist to own one out of warranty.
Oil leaks are but one of many problems with their longevity. They were not designed to last beyond their warranty period without significant, financial life support.
This Lincoln looks nice, but Ford’s had too many problems with these to trust them, either. The H/K twins and the long warrantied Atlas seem to be the way to go for 3 rows.
“It may look nicer than the BMW at first but
in typical American (especially Ford) fashion it will age poorly.”
Are you serious? Love Ford or hate them, but there is very little on the planet that ages worse than a modern BMW to include non automotive things such as milk in the sun. Modern ones are ugly, they get uglier with age, and they cost a fortune to keep on the road.
I got to ride in a friends early E39 540i manual today (98 I believe) and was reminded exactly how far the mighty have fallen. That was a magnificent car that has given him no real trouble at 20+ years of ownership. Still fast today and still feels tight like it was carved from a block of steel. A true “Ultimate driving machine”
Nowadays…expensive garbage.
Not my experience. 3 BMW’s – no problems with any of them at all.
Over 120K on a 530I, still have a 2004 325CI that runs like a top.
From my perspective your comments are BS.
Have you owned one?
No, not 1 lwest, I have owned many. In fact, I think I’ve owned a 3 either new or nearly new of every generation since my nearly new e30 based touring in the mid 90s. I think that was peak 3, but I’ll allow for debate on the e46 3 series though it was definitely less reliable than the e30, bit no less than the e36. Sadly it was rapidly downhill from there. The E39 5 was the best one I ever had. Slow (525i), but chiseled from stone and though maintenance was more costly, it was every bit as reliable as a Lexus. The 5 series that followed were sadly freakshows under the hood with eastern block levels of reliability.
I won’t even hold the 850 I briefly had against it since that car’s maladies were not all inflicted upon it from the factory.
You had some good ones. Cool, but anecdotal. My best cars have been Fords. Does that mean I’m gonna run out and grab a powershift? It does not.
Still, my experience has been not terrible compared to many and in many cases I overlooked the faults because they were so good in other ways. I’m not a Toyota buyer…I’m willing to live with a little drama for how they drive (or used to)
I feel compelled to say on behalf of my V10 M5 owning friend though to shout from the rooftop “ROD BEARINGS ARE NOT CONSUMABLES” no matter if you are already in there fixing your VANOS seals for the 5th time. That is modern BMW ownership summed up.
And 2005 models are not “modern” BMWs.
Concur, I had a 2003 530i and it was the stuff. Sold it at 160k to get a crossover. Still miss that car. BTW, it was silver on black and looked almost new when sold. Routine maintenance (BTB) was all it ever needed.
Having sampled both, this most definitely *isn’t* nicer than the newest (G05; 2019+) X5. I’d say they’re on par with each other.
I don’t know that it is nicer than the new (2019+) X5, but it certainly is unique and beautiful in its own distinctive way.
The new BMW dash design is garbage and the 3rd row in the Aviator is also roomier.
But yeah, think the Aviator prices are a bit on the high side, but discounts can make up for that.
@jkross22
Wouldn’t recommend the Atlas, according to CR, it’s a hot mess when it comes to reliability.
Ha! Since when did BMW X5 have 3 rows? At least three usable ones? You need to compare this to the X7 if you want to do an apples to apples comparo
I would take the Lincoln over the X5. So come on man, you dog faced pony soldier (“a la Joe Biden”).
Hi little teddy, still a bit hung over this morning?
Can I grab a first gen X5 V8? Honestly that is more appealing than either to me.
It would be interesting to see the lease vs. buy on this vehicle. I would think three quarters or more would be leases. You would have to have a very good reason to buy one of these. I wonder what the lease rates for these would be? This vehicle is styled very well and hopefully, early manufacturing glitches have been sorted out.
I went to a website to answer my question. Although I worked for a car dealer in college I had forgotten about all the aspects of leases (I buy all my vehicles). The lease depends on your zip code, miles driven, credit score, and from my car salesman days, money factor. So there is no one size fits all. I hope Ford succeeds, but this car is a little too rich for my blood.
“You would have to have a very good reason to buy one of these” Couldn’t that apply to all vehicles? What makes this one different?
I love the direction that Lincoln has taken. The line-up of SUV’s/crossovers looks mighty solid, top to bottom. This Aviator is beautiful inside and out. The only design quibble with the exterior that I have is that I don’t like the rounded, wrap-around headlight bezels with the rest of the upright, squared-off face. And that’s just a detail. Otherwise, this thing looks like money.
Was able to play inside of one at the local auto show a few months back.
Without driving, everything about being inside this car is simply spectacular. You might have a gripe or two on a couple of materials choices, but what you might complain about there is made up for the fact that the design of the interior is extremely classy and feels very special to have around you. And yes, the seats are superb. Middle row has plenty of room.
The fact that Lincoln nails the ride quality and gets the whole serenity thing down is icing. Its like Lincoln FINALLY figured out it is an American luxury car company. Not dressed up everyday cars. And not trying to be a better BMW.
I dig this car.
I’ll also say the Corsair was also very impressive inside for its class as well.
These should be on your shopping list.
Hopefully the launch issues have been resolved.
Agreed with you, 100% They’re both very impressive.
I’m a fan, and I don’t like vehicles like this at all. Love the styling, love the interior, and apparently it’s a great driver.
Hopefully they solved the build issues.
How ’bout a Corsair review as well?
I’m not one to describe SUVs as “elegant”, but this comes darn close. But that grill…yeah there are worse offenders, but I can’t wait for the oversized-maw trend to die. In a fire, hopefully.
One glance is enough to tell me this will do far, far better than any previous Lincoln SUV in rich coastal cities. These will fit right in with X5s and Range Rover Sports in the school pickup line.
This is the Lincoln you expected? One that’s got styling ripped of from Land Rover and is riddled with quality issues.
The fact that the Kia Telluride is equal interns of quality tells me this really isn’t the Lincoln people expected.
Funny that you compare to the Telluride, which is every bit as much “ripped of [sic] from Land Rover” as this.
The Telluride is a Kia, but punches above its weight.
Lincoln is supposed to be a “luxury” car. Ever since the 1980s, when “luxury” features like power windows and seats became commonplace, Lincoln has been “ersatz” luxury. An XL Ford, if you will.
This is a Lincoln PRESS CAR. The little note stating “Ford Motor Company provided this car free of charge (and may also have paid for any meals and lodging associated with the review) is conspicuously absent.
It does share one thing in common with older Rolls products–well sort of… they were “hand-built”. These vehicles are “hand-rebuilt”
But, by all means, based on this glowing report, please consider buying or leasing one.
Just be sure to ask what type of loaner car you will get–you may not want a Focus with the infamous transmission.
I mean yeah if you don’t look at the Kia. If you actually look at it there is nothing about it that was ripped off from Land Rover.
But nice try.
This MKExplorer is a joke. If it was priced appropriately (as in following the Explorer pricing) then it would be worth a look. But at this price point there are FAR better luxury SUVs out there. No need to look at this near luxury Explorer.
“No need to look…”
An apt description for the usual nonsense that comes out of your yap.
EB, as always telling us what to think and what to do. He’ll set us straight :(
If anything, the Telluride looks more like an XC90, shape-wise.
And the XT6 looks even more like an XC90.
I bag on the XT6 a lot, primarily because it’s so…blah. It’s generic to look at, and apparently it’s generic to drive. It’s the least “Cadillac” Caddy since the mid-80s’ Seville/Eldo.
But even so, it has some competitive advantages over the Aviator, the primary one being that it’s going to be a better people/stuff hauler.
Kind of. But there’s something about the Telluride’s hips and general shape that make it *really* look like an XC90.
As for the XT6, it looks handsome enough. it’s the right size and it’s got the right features. For the target audience, I’m not convinced it was a bad move. Will Lincoln’s pedigree Aviator prevail, or will Cadillac’s plebeian-boned XT6?
I reckon they’ll both do well. It looks like the Cadillac will command lower prices, and probably not attract as many of the folks coming from expensive European motors. But the Aviator looks like it might very well be as finicky and expensive to own *as* one of those Euro cars, whereas the XT6 could be closer to the RX/MDX side of the reliability spectrum.
I think the Telluride/Palisade is very GMC/Chevy/Cadillac. In fact I’ve often mistaken the Palisade for an Arcadia
You mean, Acadia? I bet lots of folks in Arcadia drive them.
Yes, the car is so damn generic that people forget its’ name, LOL…
Oops!
How about we just call it the GMC Canadian?
The Telluride looks little like a RR.
In fact, the Aviator (and the Ford Flex) has a greenhouse more akin to the RR.
It may look nicer at first, but in typical American (especially Ford) fashion it will likely not age very well.
This is a pretty nice looking vehicle, even better in real life. I do love an underdog story and hope they can pull of a real comeback. However…
Diminishing returns, you can get 90% of this vehicle for little more than half the price. That goes for vehicles from basically every luxury automaker though. Not a knock on Lincoln, but a knock on overpriced things generally.
You missed the difference from the Explorer: the Aviator has a nice SLA front suspension, instead of the Explorer’s ye olde strut. Lincoln spent the $$ where it counts.
I remember comparison driving the last Aviator and it’s Explorer Cousin. The Explorer’s seats were terrible, unusable for any distance, while the Aviator’s were great. That made the Aviator the one to get, despite the poor gas mileage of it’s DOHC 4.6.
I have high hopes for Lincoln now that they’ve found their design theme and some fantastic names. Their interiors are unbelievably good, but I cannot get past that surface irregularity where the rear bumper meets the rear quarter between the taillight and the wheel well. Those two large surfaces are horrendously not flat with each other and it shows with the deep metallic paint.
Whooo… 91k for the topped out Black Label ( only two options available though – towing package and Lincoln Play for the kiddos ). Sans those options the Black Label Grand Touring truck is 88k not too bad I guess compared to the vehicle here skipping any garbage extras the stealership tries to sell you.
Lincoln definitely needs to up the info game on their web page. They have a dynamic ride package that comes with some trims but doesn’t tell you exactly what its composed of? I would hope its mag-ride and not say two or three way dampers. Also do they have something akin to active sway bars ( my guess is no) in the package as well?
Even more important is that Lincoln managed to make the new Aviator look and feel *special* in a market that is pretty generic and blandified.
It’s not that you need to feel that the X5 or the Aviator is the “better” car, but at least aesthetically, the Lincoln is unique and good. In terms of driving dynamics, the Lincoln is unique and good – but again, different than what you’ll get in the X5.
It’s exciting that the Aviator is genuinely competitive, on its own terms, instead of aiming at BMW or Mercedes as a target.
From a local Lincoln dealer I know there have been significant supply issues since launch, with a multiple months long waiting list. Good work on this car.
Interior looks fantastic.
Can’t stand the exterior though – especially from the front, it looks like a refreshed 2005 Benz ML (W164).
Too fussy with no design focus. The chrome window surround abruptly terminating at the C-Pillar looks like it had a part fall off. Expecting it to either loop back or loop around the back.
I owned a 2005 Aviator and loved it. It was not just a gussied up Explorer, it had all aluminum suspension, Tohio shocks, and many other upgrades. It drove incredibly well but was never marketed correctly.
I love the new one and it looks like they pretty much got it right. I too believe it’s a mistake to target BMW, it’s a different kind of vehicle, just as nice and frankly, probably more reliable in the long run.
Late 2016 – the new Buick Lacrosse center console is too wide and the open under storage is hard to access.
2020 – hey look – almost every luxury brand is going with a super-wide center console and an open storage area using a “bridge” as the design.
Didn’t Volvo introduce this feature, like, 15 years ago?
Those who compare Ford vs Lincoln by price alone remind me of the Oscar Wilde quote, “he knows the price of everything and the value of nothing”. They will probably argue that this is worse than platform sharing, it’s badge engineering. Nevermind they never looked at the specs of the two brands. However, this is not an oddity in the automotive world; every Lexus had an exact Toyota equivalent and ever Audi has an exact same VW many on here will tell you that! Ford has built a luxury SUV (Lincoln) that is uniquely American with lazy power and torque with engines that don’t rev to the moon and have suspensions that glide over the third quality pavement that exists in most cities today instead of jarring your teeth like a “crisp-handling European that really carves the corners”. From a corporate point of view, Lincoln can stand at 19 with every blackjack hand and quietly make a little bit of money on each one sold. GM on the other hand tries to hit 21 each and every time and with only two cards. I’d like to see comparisons between a platinum Explorer (I think) and a lower trim Corsair. I think some of our skinflints might opt for the “quilted toiler paper”. Gone are the days that your Towncar and F-150 took the same oil filter.
No, every Audi does not have an exact same Volkswagen. The A3, Q3 and TT are Golf-based. The newest Touareg uses the MLB platform (making it a close cousin to the Q7 and Q8, as well as the Cayenne and Cayenne Coupe, Urus and Bentayga), but that’s a case of a VW on an Audi platform, and not the other way around. The R8 shares its architecture with a Lamborghini, with the platform probably a joint effort between the two. Everything else is on the MLB platform, which–again–isn’t utilized much by Volkswagen.
I agree with you that this is a bona-fide luxury car, even if it does share a platform with a lesser brand.
Why not just bolt a drive-in theater screen on top of the dash? If they keep getting any bigger, mf’rs should be there by about 2024.
I really want to like the Aviator, but the build quality worries me. This would be my first domestic brand in many years and I think I would be disappointed. From what I have read on some message boards, early production Aviators suffered from a variety of problems. Even after those issues were resolved, panel gaps and trim piece alignment continue to be substandard. Those make me wonder about the parts of the car I can’t see.
Styling, features, interior appointments and color choices look outstanding, but I am not sure I can muster the confidence to sign on the bottom line.
DM335 I feel the same way. If Ford can’t properly assemble vehicles in the year 2020 but insist on continuing with substandard union assembly, then my money would go elsewhere.
How was the paint quality on this car? I parked next to a new Nautilus a few months ago, and dark blue paint showed some terrible orange peel. Ford seems to have some of the worst paint quality I’ve seen recently. Maybe acceptable on the Ford, not so on the much more expensive Lincoln version.
My X5 is celebrating it’s 10th anniversary this year. It has stranded me on the road twice and at home twice in the past 10 years. It has also been expensive to repair and maintain. I am very particular about preventative maintenance and sometimes will spend for the repair before it’s necessary to head off any disasters. But I love it nevertheless – not sure I would get anything else in the future. I don’t know of any SUV which has the same combination of solidity, sportiness, decent ride and handling in inclement weather/snow.
I just read these reviews to size them up as potential CPO purchases.