The Navigator is a truck. It's built on a pickup-style ladder frame, with a separate body bolted to that frame, rather than welded into one unit. But unlike most truck-based vehicles, the Navigator features a fully independent rear suspension, which tends to promote smoother ride and handling than the solid rear axle on the typical truck.
The Navigator L is nearly 15 inches longer than the standard model, extending its full length to almost 19 feet. The extra length does not significantly change passenger accommodations, however. Besides making this big sport-utility even more challenging to park, the Navigator L's additional size translates entirely into an additional 25 cubic feet of storage space behind the third seat. That extra space (by itself) is about 30 percent larger than the trunk in a full-size luxury sedan like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class or Lexus LS460.
The Navigator's basic shape is clean, if slightly bland. It consists of mostly sheer, tapered surfaces that are consistent across the vehicle, with a chrome strip running below the windows. The profile is tidy for such a big vehicle, almost lean.
The front and rear were clearly designed in Lincoln's retro-style brand theme. The eye is immediately drawn to the big, intricate grille in front. Its horizontal and vertical lines are supposed to inspire thoughts of Lincoln's Star logo, and the high-intensity beam headlights on either side add a jeweled, classy look. A second, thinner grille below the bumper replicates the bigger one above, flanked in this case by the fog lights.
The taillights could be lifted from Lincoln's MKZ sedan. They're shaped like wings that cut into the liftgate and wrap around the rear corners, with chrome edging and a hard contrast between the red and white sections.
The details seem to be an attempt to spice up an otherwise staid look, as if Lincoln is trying to out-bling popular competitors like the Cadillac Escalade. The optional chrome hood accent is basically a thick piece of chrome tacked on the end of the hood above the grille. We'd find the Navigator more attractive without it, but it harkens back to the brand's heritage.
The Monochromatic Appearance Package extends the body color to the lower grille, lower bodyside cladding and side mirrors, while keeping the upper grille chrome. The resulting look has less bling, but arguably more style. The more ambitious Monochrome Limited Edition Package adds the chrome hood accent outside and, inside, decks the Navigator in Ebony wood trim and Stone or Camel leather with black inserts and black piping.
The Navigator comes standard with 18-inch double-spoke alloy wheels. The chromed 20-inch wheels look good, but have an adverse effect on ride quality and interior noise. We prefer the 18-inch wheels because the taller sidewalls soften the bumps and are better for towing.
Two exterior features have definite benefits. The outside mirrors are large, with repeating turn signals along the bottom edge and approach lamps underneath. The lamps light when the doors are unlocked with the remote key fob, and cast a nice circle of visibility around the doors. More than that, the big mirrors retract against the windows with the touch of a button. You'll appreciate this convenience when you pull a vehicle as large as the Navigator into a garage.
This Navigator also retains its trademark retractable running boards. When the doors open, these drop and extend about five inches, creating a step that makes climbing in and out easier. They are artfully integrated into the overall exterior design, and are almost impossible to detect when the doors are closed.
another of the Navigator's strengths. It will actually seat adults approaching six feet in reasonable comfort, as long as they're willing to climb back there. The longer Navigator L does not increase rear seat legroom, though it does add a few millimeters more hip and headroom.
Lincoln's power-folding rear seat is easy to use and can be handy. The seat is split, and operates with a pair of toggle switches just inside the power liftgate. Simply press one or both, and one or both seat halves fold flat to the load-floor level. We'd like it better if there were redundant switches on the dash, as there are for the rear sliding doors on a minivan, for example. And if the rear-seat headrests are up, the driver has to lean into (or climb into) the rear to manually release them before the power folding mechanism will work.
Cargo capacity for the Navigator L is 128 cubic feet with the second- and third-row seats folded. For perspective, that's more space than the entire interior volume of most passenger vehicles. Moreover, the dimensions of the Navigator L's load floor are largest in the class, with enough space for four-by-eight sheets of building material. Behind the third row of the Navigator L is 42.6 cubic feet of cargo space when the seats are upright. That's considerably more than any other luxury sport-utility, and almost as much as in the typical mid-size wagon with its rear seats folded.
A cargo divider folds up out of the floor behind the seats and essentially splits the load area in half, which helps control cargo by limiting the space over which packages or bags might slide back and forth.
The Lincoln Navigator is very quiet inside for a truck, and generally quite smooth, almost placid. It's a full-size SUV, and if you tend to drive conservatively you will probably like this vehicle. Initially, the brake pedal feels a little soft, but it's very progressive in application and easy to master for smooth, even stops, despite a curb weight exceeding 6,000 pounds. With a little practice, the driver can avoid the fore-aft bobbing that can make motion-sensitive passengers feel car-sick.
The Navigator is full of noise-mitigating technology, including acoustically dampened glass in the windshield and side windows. The body boom familiar in vehicles that are essentially big steel boxes, which often comes across as pulses of air hitting the eardrums, is nearly eliminated in the Navigator. The quiet seems to emphasize noise generated by the tires, which is the only noticeable encroachment on the solitude inside.
The optional 20-inch wheels and low-profile tires are noisy; when not whacking over bumps and pavement joints, there's the steady hum of tread on the road surface. We like the appearance of larger wheels, but the price of style is high in the Navigator. We recommend the standard 18-inch wheels and higher-sidewall tires, which offer a smoother, quieter ride.
The Navigator is as smooth inside as any body-on-frame truck we've tested, and generally free of annoying vibration. The ride is smooth, too (except for the effect of the 20-inch wheels), thanks partly to the fully independent rear suspension. Moreover, the rear suspension helps keep the rear tires pressed to the pavement on bumpy surfaces, eliminating most of that skipping feeling familiar in trucks with solid rear axles. There's no axle tramping over bumps or undulations, and a reasonably smooth driver can keep the Navigator's body (and those inside) nice and level through turns.
Steering is on the heavy side, perhaps surprisingly so in this type of vehicle. The good news here is that, for tracking curves or changing lanes, the steering feels responsive, direct and reasonably quick. The bad? In big, slow-speed turns, such as trying to whip into a parking space, the heavy steering feel can slow things down. Those who like the steering in smaller sedans will probably like the Navigator's. Those expecting airy, old-school Lincoln Town Car response may not.
Bottom line, the Navigator rides comfortably and handles competently in nearly every situation. Just don't try to get racy. This vehicle is a lot of mass to move, and in quick, hard, left-right turns, all that weight wants to sway in the direction opposite of your choosing.
Navigator's 5.4-liter single-overhead cam Triton V8 generates a maximum 310 horsepower, which is no longer particularly impressive by large SUV standards. The Triton delivers torque evenly, with similar thrust whether the engine is already turning 1000 or 4000 rpm, and the six-speed automatic transmission is a definite plus. There's more than enough acceleration in the Navigator to merge safely or turn quickly across traffic, and it's probably quicker than what we considered a fairly quick car in the mid-1990s. Yet at the bottom line, the Navigator accelerates more slowly than just about any luxury sport-utility we've driven in the past few years.
The automatic transmission might be the best. It's smooth and responsive. The Navigator's six-speed comes from ZF of Germany, and it was the first of its kind in a full-size SUV. It performs almost exactly as we like, shifting up or down when we would if we were doing it with a gear-change and clutch, and almost never shifting inappropriately. It will hold a gear when going downhill, for example, maximizing engine braking and reducing the need to use the wheel brakes.
While Navigator is down on power compared to competitors, a combination of factors, including the transmission, give it excellent towing capacity of 8,500-9,000 pounds (depending on model). Moreover, its Triton V8 runs on 87-octane Regular, while nearly all the other vehicles in this class demand Premium fuel.
Fuel economy for the Navigator is and EPA-estimated 14/20 mpg City/Highway; the EPA doesn't publish figures for the Navigator L models.
The Navigator is not an easy vehicle to park, and if you can parallel park this truck with any kind of consistency, you deserve some sort of award. The rearview camera, which comes standard, is helpful for judging distances to the car behind and alerting the driver to unseen objects.
The Trailer Tow package is a must for anyone who tows. We've found the load-leveling air suspension works very well.
The 2010 Lincoln Navigator 4x2 ($54,400) and Navigator 4x4 ($57,300) come with leather upholstery and a choice of Dark Ebony or lighter Anigre wood trim. Two second-row captain's chairs and a third-row bench seat are standard for seven-passenger seating, though a three-place second-row split bench seat is available at no charge for eight-passenger seating. Rear seats are heated, while the front seats are both heated and cooled. A power-folding third-row seat and power liftgate come standard. Other standard features include a high-watt stereo with six-CD changer, 14 speakers and auxiliary input jack; three-zone automatic climate control with rear-seat fan and controls; leather-and-wood steering wheel with audio and climate controls; 10-way adjustable front seats; power-adjustable pedals; keyless entry keypad; remote keyless entry; front seat position memory; power-deploying running boards; roof rack; high-intensity discharge headlights; power-folding mirror with memory; fog lamps; and 255/70R18 tires on alloy wheels.
Navigator L 4x2 ($56,565) and Navigator L 4x4 ($59,465) are similarly equipped.
The Elite Package ($4,280) features a DVD-based navigation system, rear-seat DVD entertainment package with eight-inch screen, and power sunroof; the voice-activated navigation system includes Sirius Travel Link, with real time traffic, weather, and ski-resort conditions. The rear-seat DVD entertainment setup ($1,295) can be ordered separately. Stand-alone options include a remote starter ($345), 20-inch chromed wheels ($1,495). The Trailer Tow package ($595) includes rear load-leveling air suspension, heavy-duty hitch integrated with rear bumper, 2-inch receiver, heavy-duty radiator and transmission cooler, brake module wiring, four-pin and seven-pin connectors. The Monochrome Appearance Package ($420) includes body-colored trim and chrome accents, while the Monochrome Limited Edition Package ($620) adds Ebony wood trim and special leather colors inside.
Safety features include dual-stage front airbags, front-seat side-impact airbags, curtain-style head-protection airbags for all outboard seats with rollover sensor. All Navigators are equipped with Lincoln's AdvanceTrac electronic stability program with Roll Stability Control, which uses a gyroscopic roll-rate sensor to enhance rollover resistance. Four-channel antilock brakes (ABS), rearview camera, and a tire-pressure monitor are standard.