LIKES
- Great seats
- Second-row massage option
- Standard adaptive suspension
- Larger touchscreen
- Excellent standard safety and convenience features
DISLIKES
- Black Label themes are a reach
- Too big to be agile
- More features, more money
BUYING TIP
The 2022 Lincoln Navigator paves the road of luxury in massaging seats and sublime comfort.
What kind of vehicle is the 2022 Lincoln Navigator? What does it compare to?
The 2022 Lincoln Navigator is a luxury full-size SUV based on the Ford F-150 pickup. It’s one of the most polished and posh SUVs we’ve driven. It competes against the Cadillac Escalade, Jeep Grand Wagoneer, BMW X7, and the Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class.
Is the 2022 Lincoln Navigator a good SUV?
We give it a TCC Rating of 7.5 out of 10. If only it earned better fuel economy!
What's new for the 2022 Lincoln Navigator?
Despite a refreshed face, it’s hard to spot the differences on the exterior from the old model. Adaptive LED headlights come standard, and the grille design moves to pointillism for its mesh vertices. The lower grille integrates into the upper grille with a smile tipped by a chrome mustache. At the back, sequential LED taillights fade in and out when entering or exiting the vehicle.
Upgrades to the available 30-way power massaging front seats hit the target better for Lincoln, and second-row passengers get standard heating and cooling and now have the option for massagers. All the better to watch Amazon Fire TV on dual 10.1-inch touchscreens with wireless headphones, or all eight passengers can rock out to an available 28-speaker Revel sound system with eight new speakers mounted overhead. A new infotainment interface promises to be faster and offers wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Extending the Lincoln hallmark of comfort is the debut of ActiveGlide hands-free driver-assist system. Use the system like you would adaptive cruise control, and it will center the Navigator in the lane and maintain speeds with only periodic intervention from the driver. Related to Ford’s Bluecruise and competing with Cadillac’s Super Cruise, the Level 2 system can take over for drivers on more than 130,000 miles of divided highways in North America. It requires navigation, and the data plan reverts to a subscription model after the three-year trial. We’ll tell you more once we’ve sampled the system.
One thing that doesn’t change is the powertrain. The twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6 makes 440 hp and 510 lb-ft of torque sent through a 10-speed automatic transmission to the rear wheels or available four-wheel drive. It tows 8,700 lb and the trailer package now comes with reverse guidance when equipped with Pro-Trailer Backup Assist. An adaptive suspension comes standard, along with 12 sensors that read road conditions to make predictive suspension changes to optimize the ride quality—which was already optimal, in our opinion.
More sensors help with a robust suite of standard safety systems, including automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, active lane control, blind-spot monitors, park assist, and Intersection Assist that can automatically brake the vehicle from oncoming traffic when turning left.
Standard features include 20-inch aluminum wheels, at least five USB charge ports, leather upholstery, 10-way power front seats, heated and cooled second-row seats, power folding rear seats, a heated steering wheel, and wireless smartphone charging.
How much does the 2022 Lincoln Navigator cost?
Prices will be announced closer to the on-sale date early next year. The current 2021 Navigator starts at about $75,000 and tops $100,000 in Black Label trim.
In Louisville, Kentucky.
Styling
Get us the number of Lincoln’s tailor?
Is the Lincoln Navigator a good-looking SUV?
It’s exceptional, especially for its size. Designers have disguised its heft with deftly drawn body panels and fitted the Navigator with a jewelry-box interior rife with retro nods and heritage cues, but not subsumed in them. It’s a 9 here, with two extra points for the interior and one for the exterior.
We’d like the number of Lincoln’s tailor, please. Whomever they are, they know how to hide wide shoulders and a thick waist in a tastefully detailed look. The Navigator’s bluff front end bears its light-up badge with grace amid a wide grille. The body sides are tall but not too imposing, and the balance with glass is on point. The Navigator ties it all together with signature LED lighting.
Performance
Twin turbos escort the Navigator to speed, but it’s the ride that pulls us in.
With strapping twin-turbo power, available all-wheel drive, and an adaptive suspension, the Navigator doesn’t miss a technical trick in its mission to deliver excellent performance. We like its V-8-like power and its ride, and give it a 7 here.
How fast is the Lincoln Navigator?
The Navigator’s 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6 develops 450 hp and 510 lb-ft of torque. Power gushes from it like water released from a dam through a well-sorted 10-speed automatic that rarely dithers when selecting a gear. It’s quick enough to hit 60 mph in under seven seconds, and still can hit triple-digit speeds despite a face engineered for the opposite of aerodynamic efficiency.
In its stoutest configuration, the Navigator can tow up to 8,700 lb—far behind the distantly related Ford F-150, but plenty for a trailer full of mid-century modern finds.
The Navigator comes with rear-wheel drive, but four-wheel drive can be fitted to any version. It sports driver-selectable modes that alter traction and stability control for fuel economy, snow and ice, sand and rocks, and assorted bad weather.
It’s still more at home on the road than it is on the open range. Its independent suspension and adaptive dampers let it cruise down interstates with aplomb, unbothered by deep potholes and rippled pavement. In part that’s because the Navi weighs about three tons; that weight can calm abrupt impacts even from its available 22-inch wheels.
Steering has a direct feel without too much heft, but the Navigator takes at least 40 feet to make a circle in a parking lot, so easing into tight spaces might be a better job for an experienced valet. With the Navigator, it usually is.
Comfort & Quality
Opulence...in the Navigator, you own everything.
With up to 120.2 cubic inches of space for things, eight seats for people, and a second helping of panache, the Navigator earns a perfect 10 for comfort and quality.
Base Navigators lack for nothing. Even they have power-adjustable heated and cooled front seats and leather upholstery, with myriad ways to make the driving position perfect, including power running boards for the climb into the cabin. Moving up the ladder into the Black Label, 30-way power seats can flex their padding to support individual thighs. If that’s not luxury then what is?
Most Navigators come with two captain’s chairs in the second row, and this year adds available heating and cooling and massaging, but a plebeian bench can be fitted if you prefer. Either way, head and leg room make the NBA grade; it’s why so many celebrities and athletes own ‘em. The second-row is surrounded by cupholders and charging ports; the seats slide out of the way to ease access to a third-row seat that’s doable for tall passengers for short rides, even in the short-wheelbase edition.
Interior materials are Lincoln’s new hallmark, and the brand doesn’t do it better than the Black Label Navigator. Whether it wears dark-stained wood etched with a map of Central Park or white-and-blue leather combinations that bring back the ‘70s without the punishing bits, the Black Label exudes world-caliber luxury.
Safety
Active Glide has entered the chat.
How safe is the Lincoln Navigator?
We give it an 8, though the IIHS hasn’t crash-tested it. The Navigator gets five stars from the NHTSA, comes with standard automatic emergency braking, and a host of other safety features, including the latest in driver assistance.
Every Navigator also has standard blind-spot monitors, adaptive cruise control, and active lane control. A head-up display and a surround-view camera system are available, as is automatic parking assist. We’d take them all, as outward vision isn’t great to the rear.
Features
The Navigator earns its luxury reputation, particularly in Black Label trim.
Lincoln stocks the Navigator like a speakeasy, straps on a new infotainment system this year, and ladles on two more interior Black Label themes to earn an 8 here. It’d rank higher if it were a better value and if it had free maintenance with its warranty.
With a base price of about $80,000, the Navigator has leather upholstery, a power tailgate, keyless start, second-row captain’s chairs, 20-inch wheels, and a new 13.2-inch touchscreen with 14 speakers, a faster interface, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Options include a 20-speaker sound system and twin-screen rear-seat entertainment with Amazon Fire TV access.
For a few thousand dollars more, the Reserve edition adds a surround-view camera system, 22-inch wheels, a light-up Lincoln badge, a panoramic sunroof, and options for 28-speaker sound and 30-way power front seats.
The Navigator’s an over-the-top choice to begin with, so why stop at anything less than the Black Label? We’d cruise with the long-wheelbase L and the blue Yacht Club interior (Chalet, Central Park, and Invitation are also available) and pay $100,000 or more for it. At that price free maintenance has become a standard feature, but the Navigator doesn’t include it with its 4-year/50,000-mile warranty. It does offer free car washes and valet service for maintenance appointments.
Fuel Economy
It’s big and it’s thirsty.
Is the Lincoln Navigator good on gas?
It’s not, and it earns only a 3 here. Its twin-turbo engine and heavy body consume gas at the rate of 16 city, 22 highway, 19 combined mpg according to the EPA. That’s for a rear-drive Navigator with the standard wheelbase; with four-wheel drive, it’s pegged at 16/21/18 mpg. The rear-drive Navigator L manages 16/21/18 mpg. A hybrid version is reportedly in the pipeline, but it isn’t here yet.
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