The Lincoln Navigator and Aviator
These new Lincolns show a car company pushing itself to a new level.
I live in a town where the parking lots are filled with luxury cars, and, with the exception of Teslas, they’re almost always foreign: BMWs, Audis, Mercedes, Porsches, Volvos, Jaguars, Maseratis and lots of Lexuses and Infinitis. These are great cars, and I’ve nothing against them. But there’s a certain homogeneity to these parking lots; even Teslas have become a bit run-of-the-mill.
I speak, in candor, as the driver of a Mini Cooper Countryman, which I bought in part because it’s extremely fun to drive and in part because it is not one of the cars listed above. But my next car might be a Lincoln, not just because I like to buy American where I think it’s a good choice but also because Lincoln has been making some very successful cars lately. Too often drivers associate this brand with the car they take home from the airport. They should start thinking about it as a maker of excellent luxury cars—there’s passion and perfectionism showing itself in Lincoln’s latest creations.
I had the opportunity to drive a Lincoln Navigator recently and came away impressed. Granted, it’s too big for me. (See above Mini Cooper disclosure.) But if you need that much space and you don’t want to sacrifice luxury to get it, this is a great car. It’s big and confident on the outside without being obnoxious. The inside feels like the kind of car you’d like to be driven around in—tons of room, decadently comfortable, an amazing sound system, thoughtful technology that does a lot without the frequent need to pull over to figure out how to use the climate control. (That would be my other car, a Ford Flex.)
I’m also excited about the forthcoming Lincoln Aviator, a seven-seat, three-row SUV that you might consider as an alternative to, say, an Audi Q7. (And by the way, kudos to Lincoln for getting away from its misguided and confusing naming system—MKC, MKT, MKX. Who the hell knows what that means? I wish other carmakers would do the same. I know what a Mustang is, and I know the way its name makes me feel. A BMW 7 Series? I can’t keep track.)
Forgive me, for I am shallow, and when it comes to cars, these things matter to me: Aviator is a cool name for a cool-looking car. The name suggests to me a bygone era of elegance, adventure and style. The car itself, with its long, sloped roof and the name emblazoned on the side just in front of the driver door, does indeed look dashing—but its technology is anything but dated. And inside, it’s gorgeous: incredibly comfortable seats, a sophisticated and unobtrusive dash, creative use of tech to facilitate comfort and safety, oodles of room. This car, unlike the Lincolns we used to think of when we thought of Lincoln, has a personality. I can’t wait to get to know it a little better. lincoln.com
